Memory development: implications for adults recalling childhood experiences in the courtroom

Abstract

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Manipulating the reported age in earliest memories

“…A detailed episodic representation will have a higher probability of being recalled, especially when it is connected to various bits of factual knowledge (i.e., semantic memory), simply because multiple types of cues will match. However, compared to later memories, early memories are impoverished in that they contain fewer narrative categories (e.g., who, where; Bauer & Larkina, 2014;West & Bauer, 1999) and that they have fewer connections with factual knowledge (Howe, 2013;Pillemer, 1998). In addition, factual knowledge may be absent or organised differently in children than adults (Conway, 2005;Howe, 2013), resulting in reduced ways of accessing early representations with further development.…”

“…However, compared to later memories, early memories are impoverished in that they contain fewer narrative categories (e.g., who, where; Bauer & Larkina, 2014;West & Bauer, 1999) and that they have fewer connections with factual knowledge (Howe, 2013;Pillemer, 1998). In addition, factual knowledge may be absent or organised differently in children than adults (Conway, 2005;Howe, 2013), resulting in reduced ways of accessing early representations with further development. Thus, for older children and adults, general "describe-yourearliest-memory" instructions would elicit too few cues that overlap with too few elements in early representations for retrieval to be successful.…”

What if you went to the police and accused your uncle of abuse? Misunderstandings concerning the benefits of memory distortion: A commentary on Fernández (2015)

“…The point here is that such false memories of abuse, precisely because they are experienced as extremely painful and feel like an authentic memory, may be acted upon and may result in criminal proceedings against innocent people (e.g., Howe, 2013;Loftus & Davis, 2006).…”

“…Some clinicians still use certain therapies (e.g., memory recovery, hypnosis, dream interpretation) to help patients with their alleged trauma history. However, as noted, these techniques might actually fuel the formation of false, but not true memories (Howe, 2013;Patihis et al, 2013). Ideas put forward by Fernández might cause therapists to carry on with their questionable techniques despite the fact that these techniques could catalyze memory distortion.…”

“…Placing a confidence in these signals might lead therapists to falsely interpret certain "symptoms" as being the result of sexual abuse and they then might ask suggestive questions to "uncover" whether a patient has forgotten history of abuse. Unfortunately, this approach may give rise to false memories of childhood abuse (see Loftus, 1996;Howe, 2013;Patihis, Ho, Tingen, Lilienfeld, & Loftus, 2013).…”