Memory

This chapter will explore a response to traumatic victimisation which has divided the opinions of psychologists at an exponential rate. We will be examining amnesia for memories of childhood sexual abuse and the potential to recover these memories in adulthood. Whilst this phenomenon is generally accepted in clinical circles, it is seen as highly contentious amongst research psychologists, particularly experimental cognitive psychologists. The chapter will begin with a real case study of a woman who claims to have corroborated recovered memories of child sexual abuse and her experience will be further explored in the sections that follow. The remainder of the chapter will include discussion of the assumptions and counter arguments inherent in the debate and the different research methods used by the two opposing sides, consideration of the nature of recovered memories and evaluation of two different methods that have been explored as having potential for distinguishing between authentic recovered and false memories of abuse.