"In reality, both the 'repressed memory' and the 'false memory' positions are probably at least partially correct" (Matlin, 1998). Discuss this statement with reference to evidence from cognitive psychology.

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“In reality, both the ‘repressed memory’ and the ‘false memory’ positions are probably at least partially correct” (Matlin, 1998).  Discuss this statement with reference to evidence from cognitive psychology.

When forming a memory, the brain takes what we see, hear, smell and or taste, and fills in the blank spots with information that we have perceived from common knowledge and stores it as a memory.  But sometimes something happens that is so shocking that the mind grabs hold of the memory and pushes it underground, into some inaccessible corner of the unconscious.  There it sleeps for years, or even decades, or even forever, isolated from the rest of mental life.  Then, one day it may rise up and emerge into consciousness.  When the unconscious tucks away a memory, to hopefully be forgotten, it is called ‘Repression’.  Repression is a defence mechanism derived from Sigmund Freud near the beginning of the century.  

If a person cannot recall a memory, was it ever really a memory?  Did it ever really happen?  If so, can the conscious be manipulated and made to think that, through controversial methods such as hypnosis or a truth serum called sodium pentathol, a false event actually happened?  And if these false events are believed, then can the manipulated mind be used in court cases to sue the people who caused the traumatic experience?  

Memory loss may be caused by a number of factors, including physical trauma and drug abuse, in which actual brain cells or systems are destroyed.  There are a few theories on forgetting, the most influential being the ‘motivated-forgetting theory’ and the ‘distortion’ and ‘decay theory’ of forgetting.  According to the motivated-forgetting theory, forgetting is a motivated process rather than a failure in terms of learning or other processes.  Whereas, the distortion theory (Gestalt theory), claims that memories undergo qualitative changes over time rather than being lost completely, and become distorted towards a ‘better’, more regular, symmetrical form.  However, the decay theory claims that metabolic processes occur over time, which degrade the engram (part of the brain where memory is stored). The consequence of this is that the memory contained within it is no longer available.

According to Sigmund Freud, ‘the essence of repression lies simply in the function of rejecting and keeping something out of the consciousness’.  When the term ‘repression’ is used, it does not necessarily imply a strict Freudian interpretation.  Parkin sees the use of the word as:

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‘simply acknowledging that memory has the ability to render part of its contents inaccessible as a means of coping with distressing experiences’ and that ‘the mechanism by which memory achieves this…is an elusive one.’

It is important to note that repression is different from suppression.  Suppression is the process of deliberate self-control, keeping impulses and desires in check (perhaps holding them in privately while denying them publicly) or temporarily pushing aside painful memories.  Individuals are aware of suppressed thoughts but are largely unaware of repressed impulses or memories.

Scientists around the world are yet to understand the ...

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