2000-06-25
Thirty-four years ago, some U.S. scientists asked a group of 14-year-old males a number of questions on a variety of subjects and events.
Those men are now 48. The scientists caught up to them recently and asked them a series of questions aimed at discovering how accurately they remembered those same facts.
The result? Not very impressive. Apparently, the men would have scored about the same had they simply guessed at the answers.
There are still a fair number of psychologists and social workers out there who believe in "recovered" memories. There are many, many men on death row in the United States because they were identified by someone who claimed to remember specific details about their appearance. There is Bill Gates "remembering" that he invented DOS.
Some scientists rightly ask, how can recovered memories be trusted when our normal conscious memories, which didn't need to be "recovered", are not trustworthy?
The answer that some psychologists give is that recovered memories about sexual abuse are trustworthy because they are associated with traumatic events, which imprinted them upon the mind with unusual intensity. They have to give this explanation because they know as well as anybody that normal memory is not very reliable. So, somehow, they not only assert that memories can be "recovered", but that they are likely to be more reliable than your normal conscious memory.
So then, you should be able to prove it. You should be able to demonstrate that details of memories of traumatic events are more accurately remembered than normal memories. The location of an event, the clothing worn by the people involved, the words that were said... unfortunately, so far, no one has been able to do it.
Big HMMMMMMM.
What these people have not shown is why a memory of an intensely emotional experience can be any more accurate than other memories. The fact is, according to their own logic, we are more likely to alter or repress memories that cause us emotional discomfort. The fact is that humans rather readily alter their memories to accommodate the imperatives of self-image.
You have heard about the numerous cases of wrongful convictions now being routinely discovered through DNA testing. In many of these cases, eyewitnesses swore in court that they saw the accused commit the crime, or fleeing the crime scene, or whatever. Researchers now know that these witnesses altered their memories in order to harmonize them with the assurances of the police that a particular suspect was certainly guilty. Sometimes the police tell the witness that they have evidence that decisively proves guilt, but can't use it in court because of a technicality. Very often, a jail-house snitch claims to have over-heard a "confession" and testifies and then receives a lighter sentence himself. Nice system.
The witness thinks, well, he must be the guy. Over the years, her "memory" of the suspect's appearance becomes hardwired to the photo of the police suspect. When the suspect is proven innocent, they are often deeply troubled. They have a very hard time adjusting their "memory". Tells you something, doesn't it?
You can't trust your memories. That doesn't mean you can't enjoy them, such as they are. But you can't trust them.