Introduction to Cognitive Psychology - Department of Psychological ...

Prof. Greg Francis 8/16/11RepressionRepression!! Psychotherapists (e.g. Freud) suggested thatinfantile amnesia occurred because much ofchildhood is filled with painful events and memoryof the pain is prevented by psychological defensemechanisms (repression)!! This is very unlikely!! In a laboratory, showing evidence of repressionrequires!!being unable to remember something!!being able to recover the memory through therapy!!proving that the recovered memory is accurate!! people do remember painful events well!! laboratory studies find no evidence of repressed memoriesPurdue UniversityPurdue UniversityRepressionConclusions!! In therapy, clinicians often claim evidence of repressionwith!! dream interpretation!! patterns in symptoms!! recovering a memory through hypnosis!! None of these techniques demonstrate a verifiedmemory!! Retrograde amnesia!! Anterograde amnesia!! Learning in anterograde amnesics!! Infantile amnesia!! Repression!! Among carefully controlled memory research, there isno evidence of repression!Purdue UniversityPurdue UniversityNext time!! Study schedules!! Levels of processing!! Mnemonics!! Sleep!! How to improve your memory without spending$20.Purdue UniversityPSY 200: Intro. to Cognitive Psychology 4