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Repressed Memories

Repressed Memories: Controversy, Evidence, and Implications

Department of General Studies, University of the People

PSYC 1504: Introduction to Psychology

Instructor: Dr. Janette Martin-Isaacs

May 08, 2024

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Repressed Memories

Repressed Memories: Controversy, Evidence, and Implications

Introduction:

In the 1990s, there was significant controversy over a number of reported cases of child

abuse that relied upon repressed memories. Sigmund Freud's idea that individuals repress certain

memories so as not to feel their painful impact further complicated matters in this regard. In this

case, recent research has clarified the question about whether such memories exist or not. The

findings from the study by Gesa Schaadt et al. and the Max Planck Institute for Human

Cognitive and Brain Sciences are discussed in this paper, exploring when repressed memories

are likely to return, what may happen when they do, and personal attitudes towards memory

suppression.”

Study at Germany’s Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences:

How a mother’s mood affects her baby’s speaking skills was studied by the Max Planck

Institute of Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences (Max Planck Institute of Human Cognitive and

Brain Sciences, 2022). Emotional states and cognitive processes are closely related according to

this research, which does not directly deal with repressed memories. Strong emotions can

therefore influence the process of memory forming, recall and, consequently, suppression. In this

regard, it is possible that one might forget traumatic events depending on how they were

experienced and are thought of at present.

Gesa Schaadt et al.’s Study:

Gesa Schaadt et al (2022), looked at how the way women feel after having a baby affects

how well speech is understood by their babies at 2 or 6.5 months old. Even if this paper is about

little kid’s growth stages but it has some element on mood concentration among mothers.
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Repressed Memories

Depression or other conditions may alter the emotional ambiance that paves way for memory

formation and consequently lead to memory repression.

Situations that Can Cause Memory Repression:

Suppressed memories often come up when people are going through tough situations

psychologically including traumatic events where children were hurt regularly by their parents

than being loved. This could be because the brain of a person has a way of covering up things

one does not want to remember hence suppressing these thoughts entirely such that individual

wouldn’t get disturbed so much on them (Spielman et al., 2017, p. 286). The human mind has

within it something that guards against constant sadness caused by too much pressure.

Nevertheless, the recall of forgotten memories can be affected by therapy, hypnosis or questions

suggesting about the accuracy and authenticity of such memories.

How Remembering Past Events Can Have Impact:

Individuals can have profound psychological impacts from their memories that were

forgotten only to come back. Some people feel a certain sense of finality and they confirm past

encounters by revisiting them while others may experience uncertainty associated with such

repressed recollection causing them anxiety besides emotional turmoil. Furthermore, people who

undergo such long-term therapies or employ leading questions are doubtful about the truth of

their memories of this type.

My Thoughts and Individual Mental Assessment:

I experienced retribution from my teacher for a picture I drew in seventh grade, which

was inspired by the storyline of a famous song. In the song, it was about women turning to a

native doctor in order to save their marriages. I have not been able to draw anymore after that
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Repressed Memories

incident and I believe it is as a result of my brain’s defense mechanism that probably repressed

some traumatic events. Surprisingly enough, this specific type of memory has not come back to

me ever since despite a feeling that one time or the other it may happen. Maybe, in the nearest

time, those recollections are expected to reveal to me how my self-awareness has been shaped by

what happened in the past.

To Sum up, though research gives us an idea of how emotional states affect formation

and recall of memories, there is still uncertainty over the dependability and correctness long

forgotten memories. So, in general, it can be said that repressed memories issue is evidence that

human cognition can be hard to comprehend, and memory operations are very complicated. To

understand memory repression, its impact on psychological, and how it can be untangled, further

interdisciplinary analyses are required involving neuroscience, psychology and cognitive

science.

Word count: 812

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Repressed Memories

References
Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences. (2022, October 7). How the

mother's mood influences her baby's ability to speak. ScienceDaily. Retrieved from

www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/10/221007112133.htm

Schaadt, G., Zsido, R. G., Villringer, A., Obrig, H., Männel, C., & Sacher, J. (2022). Association

of Postpartum Maternal Mood with Infant Speech Perception at 2 and 6.5 Months of Age.

JAMA Network Open, 5(9), e2232672. DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.32672

Spielman, R., Dumper, K., Jenkins, W., Lacombe, A., Lovett, M., & Perlmutter, M. (2017).

Psychology. OpenStax College, Rice University. Download for free at

https://openstax.org/details/books/psychology.