Past-Life Identities, Ufo Abductions, and Satanic Ritual Abuse: The Social Construction of Memories

Spaños, Nicholas P.; Burgess, Cheryl; Burgess, Melissa F.

doi:10.1080/00207149408409369

Cited by 72 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 21 publications

(26 reference statements)

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“…Recalling Golda Meir's famous saying, "Even a paranoid can have enemies," the biographical context of false memories may deserve more thorough elaboration; delusional systems may be based on biographical incidents and observations in a distorted form. It has been shown that even very bizarre false memories such as being a victim of alien abduction or satanic rituals may be traced partly to suggestion [67].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Metacognitive control over false memories: A key determinant of delusional thinking

Moritz

Woodward²

2006

Curr Psychiatry Rep

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This article reviews the current literature on false memories in schizophrenia. Increasing evidence suggests that neither memory impairment in general nor false memories in particular can reliably differentiate patients with schizophrenia or delusions from psychiatric controls. In contrast, it is proposed that a reduced metacognitive awareness of one's own fallibility, and overconfidence in errors, may predispose a person to fixed, false beliefs (ie, delusions). Congruent with this position, a number of recent investigations suggest that the memory of patients with schizophrenia, as well as healthy subjects scoring high on delusional ideation, is corrupted by an increased number of incorrect memories held with high confidence, possibly relating to a jumping-to-conclusions or liberal acceptance bias in schizophrenia spectrum disorders. A new training approach is described that is intended to sharpen patients' awareness of such errors and reduce confidence in fallible memories. Some empirical gaps and directions for further research are outlined.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Metacognitive control over false memories: A key determinant of delusional thinking

Moritz

Woodward²

2006

Curr Psychiatry Rep

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“…At worst, such controversial techniques include hypnotic age regression; past lives regression; sodium amytal interviews; guided imagery exercises; or bibliotherapy, in which clients are encouraged to read books on memory recovery and ritual abuse (for a full discussion see, e.g., Lindsay & Read, 1994Poole et al, 1995).3 In our latest detailed survey of clinicians, we found that among respondents who believe that ritual abuse can be accurately diagnosed, popular tech niques for diagnosis include journal/diary therapy, the use of dubious published ritual abuse symptom checklists (Gould, 1987), dream inter pretation, hypnotic inquiry, and hypnotic age regression. Hypnotherapy in particular is something manv critics of recovered memory are quite concerned about because it is known to contribute to misinformation effects in recall and generally heightened suggestibility (e.g., Bowers & Hilgard, 1988;Spanos, Burgess, & Burgess, 1994), but is widely regarded as a useful recovered memory tool (Yapko, 1994a(Yapko, , 1994bPoole et al, 1995). Empirical studies of the effectiveness of memory recovery tech niques are badly needed.…”

Section: Therapist and Therapy Factorsmentioning

confidence: 97%

The Creation of Satanic Ritual Abuse

Bottoms¹,

Davis²

1997

Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology

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Fears about satanic ritual child abuse swept the nation in the 1 980s and 1 990s, but were probably largely unfounded. In this article, we explore sociocultural, individ ual, and therapy-related factors that together may be responsible for the creation of ritual abuse allegations. We conclude that there are serious problems with embracing false ritual abuse claims and call for more responsible journalistic coverage of issues relating to child abuse, more research to identify factors that contribute to false allegations, and better therapeutic practices to aid people seeking psychological help.In the mid-1980s a new form of child abuse allegation surfaced in the United States, and eventually, worldwide. At first called satanic abuse, then satanic ritualistic abuse, and then simply ritual abuse, this form of child abuse was said by clinicians and a few researchers to be especially damaging to its victims because of its extraordinarily violent and bizarre nature (e.g., Kelley, 1989Kelley, , 1996Young, Sachs, Braun, & Watkins, 1991). Ritual abuse was said to involve large numbers of victims and perpetra tors of both genders, to be so cloaked in secrecy and involve such precise concealment of evidence that almost no one knew about it, and to involve the most horribly painful and degrading practices imaginable includ ing sacrificing human infants to satan, gang-raping young children during satanic worship, eating human flesh and feces, and forcing

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“…Outside the laboratory, there is convincing evidence that reported traumatic memories are some times false. For example, some people have reported memories of events such as being abducted by space aliens or being molested in a prior life (Spanos, Burgess, & Burgess, 1994). Many individuals who originally claimed to have uncovered repressed memories of CSA have later changed their minds and claimed that those memories were false (Lief & Fetkewicz, 1995).…”

Section: Alternative Interpretations Of the Csa-bpd Associationmentioning

confidence: 98%

Does childhood sexual abuse cause borderline personality disorder?

Bailey

Shriver

1999

Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy

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Several studies have found that women with borderline personality disorder are more likely than controls to report a history of childhood sexual abuse. Researchers have generally assumed that childhood sexual abuse causes borderline personality disorder, but there are other possible interpretations of the association. We surveyed psychologists about the likelihood that patients with various personality disorders would engage in behaviors relevant to several alternative interpretations. Relative to patients with other personality disorders and to the "typical outpatient," patients with borderline personality disorder were rated as especially likely to misinterpret or misremember social interactions, to lie manipulatively and convincingly, and to have voluntarily entered destructive sexual relationships, possibly even at young ages. We discuss the plausibility of relevant alternative interpretations of the association between childhood sexual abuse and borderline personality disorder.

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Past-Life Identities, Ufo Abductions, and Satanic Ritual Abuse: The Social Construction of Memories

Cited by 72 publications

References 21 publications

Metacognitive control over false memories: A key determinant of delusional thinking

Metacognitive control over false memories: A key determinant of delusional thinking

The Creation of Satanic Ritual Abuse

Does childhood sexual abuse cause borderline personality disorder?

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