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Radcliffe PJ, Patihis L. Judges and lawyers' beliefs in repression and dissociative amnesia may imperil justice: further guidance required. Memory 2024:1-17. [PMID: 39146469 DOI: 10.1080/09658211.2024.2383311] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2024] [Accepted: 07/17/2024] [Indexed: 08/17/2024]
Abstract
This article examines continuing misunderstanding about memory function especially for trauma, across three UK samples (N = 717). Delayed allegations of child sexual and physical abuse are prevalent in Western legal systems and often rely upon uncorroborated memory testimony to prove guilt. U.K. legal professionals and jurors typically assess the reliability of such memory recall via common sense, yet decades of scientific research show common sense beliefs often conflict with science. Recent international surveys show controversial notions of repression and accurate memory recovery remain strongly endorsed. In historical cases, these notions may lead to wrongful convictions. The current study surveyed the U.K. public, lawyers, and mental health professionals' beliefs about repression, dissociative amnesia and false memories. Study findings give unique data on judges' and barristers' beliefs. Overall, the study findings reinforce international scientists' concerns of a science - knowledge-gap. Repression was strongly endorsed by lay, legal and clinical participants (> 78%) as was dissociative amnesia (> 87%). Moreover, suboptimal professional legal education and juror guidance may increase misunderstanding. Correcting beliefs about memory function, and extending the contribution of memory science in the courtroom remains an important quest for cognitive scientists.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Lawrence Patihis
- Department of Psychology, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, UK
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Stockner M, Convertino G, Talbot J, Marchetti M, Mitaritonna D, Vicario M, Mazzoni G. An exploration of Italian laypeople's belief in how human memory works. Memory 2024:1-17. [PMID: 39116041 DOI: 10.1080/09658211.2024.2387093] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2024] [Accepted: 07/25/2024] [Indexed: 08/10/2024]
Abstract
We present the first study to measure the beliefs held by Italian laypeople about how human memory works, using a newly developed tool: the Italian Memory Belief Questionnaire (IMBQ). Research conducted in other countries has demonstrated that beliefs about memory vary widely between different professional and non-professional groups, indicating that limitations exist regarding the dissemination of empirically researched scientific knowledge. To ascertain what Italian people understand about memory-related topics, including eyewitness testimony, repression of traumatic memories and factors influencing memory recall, 301 native Italian participants completed the IMBQ in Study 1. In Study 2, 346 additional participants completed the IMBQ, alongside various additional measures, to examine the construct validity of our new instrument and investigate socio-demographic predictors of memory beliefs. Exploratory factor analysis in Study 1 identified three distinct belief factors that were present in the dataset: eyewitness and memory reliability, trauma and remembering and aspects that improve remembering. Study 2 partially confirmed this factor structure and found IMBQ scores to correlate with existing memory belief questionnaires. Correlations were also found between the IMBQ subscales and measures of fantasy proneness, but not dissociation. In both studies, many Italian laypeople strongly endorsed the notion that controversial topics (i.e., repression) are possible. Contrastingly, Italian laypeople do appear to understand the conceivable inaccuracies of memory in eyewitness settings. Sex, age and education were shown to predict beliefs about memory. Findings are discussed in relation to the importance of addressing misinformation about memory, especially in clinical and forensic settings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mara Stockner
- Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, "Sapienza", University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | | | - Jessica Talbot
- Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, "Sapienza", University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Michela Marchetti
- Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, "Sapienza", University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Danilo Mitaritonna
- Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, "Sapienza", University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Marta Vicario
- Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, "Sapienza", University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Giuliana Mazzoni
- Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, "Sapienza", University of Rome, Rome, Italy
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Staniloiu A, Markowitsch HJ. Dissociative Amnesia: Remembrances Under Cover. Top Cogn Sci 2024. [PMID: 38728576 DOI: 10.1111/tops.12734] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2023] [Revised: 03/29/2024] [Accepted: 04/01/2024] [Indexed: 05/12/2024]
Abstract
The existence or questionability of "repressed memories" can be discussed as being a matter of definition. It seems, however, far-fetched to consider all "lost" memories as caused by encoding problems, brain damage, forgetfulness, failure to disclose events, and so on. We argue that dissociative amnesia (DA) (or "psychogenic amnesia," or "functional amnesia," or, as we favor to call it, "mnestic block syndrome") is caused by psychic alterations, but ultimately they can be traced to changes in the physiology of the brain, as we are of the opinion that all memory processes-positive or negative-alter brain functions, sometimes more permanently, sometimes transiently. We have proven this idea using functional imaging techniques, in particular fluoro-deoxy-d-glucose positron emission tomography. Having investigated dozens of patients with severe and long-lasting DA conditions, we believe it to be disrespectful to many (but not to all) of the affected patients to question their disease condition, which can be proven to be not caused by feigning, malingering, or direct brain damage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angelica Staniloiu
- Department of Physiological Psychology, University of Bielefeld
- Department of Psychology, University of Bucharest
- Psychiatry and Psychosomatics, Oberberg Clinic Hornberg
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Su W, Xie C. The impact of organizational politics on work engagement-the mediating role of the doctrine of the mean. Front Psychol 2023; 14:1283855. [PMID: 38169877 PMCID: PMC10758697 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1283855] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2023] [Accepted: 11/13/2023] [Indexed: 01/05/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction Events Theory posits that the perception of organizational politics affects job attitudes. The purpose of this study was to answer the question: does organizational politics have a similar impact on Chinese individuals who adhere to the doctrine of the mean? Methods We collected survey data from 3,059 library personnel in 36 Chinese university libraries and conducted analysis using the Analytic Hierarchy Process. Results The results showed that the perception of organizational politics reduces employee work engagement. However, this impact exhibits heterogeneity. For newly recruited employees and employees aged 50 and above who are nearing retirement, the impact of organizational politics on work engagement is relatively small. Conversely, for employees aged 30-50, organizational politics has a significant negative impact. Furthermore, the doctrine of the mean moderates the impact of organizational politics on work engagement, mitigating its negative effects. Discussion The conclusions offer new insights into enhancing employee work motivation. The library should take more measures to safeguard employee rights to enhance work motivation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Weijian Su
- Economic Research Center, Shandong University of Finance and Economics, Jinan, China
| | - Chengxuan Xie
- Veterans Education College, Tangshan Open University, Tangshan, Hebei, China
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Wiechert S, Loewy L, Wessel I, Fawcett JM, Ben-Shakhar G, Pertzov Y, Verschuere B. Suppression-induced forgetting: a pre-registered replication of the think/no-think paradigm. Memory 2023; 31:989-1002. [PMID: 37165713 DOI: 10.1080/09658211.2023.2208791] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2021] [Accepted: 04/25/2023] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
Post-traumatic stress disorder is characterised by recurring memories of a traumatic experience despite deliberate attempts to forget (i.e., suppression). The Think/No-Think (TNT) task has been used widely in the laboratory to study suppression-induced forgetting. During the task, participants learn a series of cue-target word pairs. Subsequently, they are presented with a subset of the cue words and are instructed to think (respond items) or not think about the corresponding target (suppression items). Baseline items are not shown during this phase. Successful suppression-induced forgetting is indicated by the reduced recall of suppression compared to baseline items in recall tests using either the same or different cues than originally studied (i.e., same- and independent-probe tests, respectively). The current replication was a pre-registered collaborative effort to evaluate an online experimenter-present version of the paradigm in 150 English-speaking healthy individuals (89 females; MAge = 31.14, SDAge = 7.73). Overall, we did not replicate the suppression-induced forgetting effect (same-probe: BF01 = 7.84; d = 0.03 [95% CI: -0.13; 0.20]; independent-probe: BF01 = 5.71; d = 0.06 [95% CI: -0.12; 0.24]). These null results should be considered in light of our online implementation of the paradigm. Nevertheless, our findings call into question the robustness of suppression-induced forgetting.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sera Wiechert
- Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Department of Psychology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Leonie Loewy
- Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Ineke Wessel
- Department of Clinical Psychology and Experimental Psychopathology, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Jonathan M Fawcett
- Department of Psychology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, Canada
| | - Gershon Ben-Shakhar
- Department of Psychology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Yoni Pertzov
- Department of Psychology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Bruno Verschuere
- Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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Mangiulli I, Jelicic M, Patihis L, Otgaar H. Believing in dissociative amnesia relates to claiming it: a survey of people's experiences and beliefs about dissociative amnesia. Memory 2021; 29:1362-1374. [PMID: 34637695 DOI: 10.1080/09658211.2021.1987475] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Dissociative amnesia is one of the most controversial categories in the field of psychiatry and clinical psychology. Self-reports of dissociative amnesia in the general population, and beliefs about this topic, have so far not been subjected to empirical scrutiny. Here, we surveyed a sample from the general population (N = 1017), revealing that about a tenth (n = 102) claimed to have experienced dissociative amnesia. Some claims pertained to amnesia for traumatic autobiographical experiences (e.g., sexual assault), while other claims reflected memory loss for experiences that can be regarded as non-traumatic or non-stressful (e.g., dissociative amnesia for an anniversary). Importantly, many participants believed in the existence of dissociative amnesia, and those who claimed dissociative amnesia indicated even more belief in this phenomenon than the rest of the sample. Finally, many participants indicated to have at least once claimed to have feigned memory loss in their life, and that they experienced some form of forgetting when trying to retrieve events for which they lied upon. Overall, our findings suggest that claiming dissociative amnesia goes hand in hand with believing in dissociative amnesia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ivan Mangiulli
- Faculty of Law, Leuven Institute of Criminology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.,Forensic Psychology Section, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Marko Jelicic
- Forensic Psychology Section, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Lawrence Patihis
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Science and Health, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, UK
| | - Henry Otgaar
- Faculty of Law, Leuven Institute of Criminology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.,Forensic Psychology Section, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
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