False Memory Syndrome

[False memory syndrome: state of the art].

The review describes the heated dispute on the present state of recovered traumatic memories. There are two main schools concerning the status of recovered memories of child abuse. One school believes in their authenticity unconditionally. Those who oppose the authenticity claim False Memory Syndrome's existence. They describe it as "a serious form of psychopathology characterized by strongly b...

The false memory syndrome: experimental studies and comparison to confabulations.

False memories, or recollections that are factually incorrect but strongly believed, remain a source of confusion for both psychiatrists and neurologists. We propose model for false memories based on recent experimental investigations, particularly when analyzed in comparison to confabulations, which are the equivalent of false memories from neurological disease. Studies using the Deese/Roeding...

Implicit Memory versus False Memory

False claims about false memory research.

Pezdek and Lam [Pezdek, K. & Lam, S. (2007). What research paradigms have cognitive psychologists used to study "False memory," and what are the implications of these choices? Consciousness and Cognition] claim that the majority of research into false memories has been misguided. Specifically, they charge that false memory scientists have been (1) misusing the term "false memory," (2) relying o...

Emotion and False Memory

Emotional memories are vivid and lasting but not necessarily accurate. Under some conditions, emotion even increases people’s susceptibility to false memories. This review addresses when and why emotion leaves people vulnerable to misremembering events. Recent research suggests that pregoal emotions—those experienced before goal attainment or failure (e.g., hope, fear)—narrow the scope of peopl...