The biggest problem with False Memory Syndrome….
See also Holocaust denial. False Memory Syndrome is not a true syndrome, nor is it a recognized condition in the DSM. It is a descriptive label for a situation in which someone supposedly remembers abuse which did not happen.
The Basic Problems
The biggest problem with False Memory Syndrome is that it does not exist.
Yes: there have been many studies which people claim proved its existence. They claim to have convinced their subjects that they were lost in a mall at age four, or that they saw someone in an accident scene who was not there, or whatever. The current favorite is a study in which a large number of people who watched news coverage of September 11th reported having seen a plane crash into the second tower on September 11th, when that footage was not shown until the next day.
Here’s the thing.
All they have proven with any of these studies is that the details of everyday memories can be messed up, especially when someone asks you leading questions or (in Elizabeth Loftus’ case) mixes in “false memories” with very similar stories that they know happened.
We already know that our memories can be confused, whether it is about what we had for breakfast yesterday or whether we were raped at age four or age five. This is not the big deal, the whipped cream on the sundae, the tops or the coliseum.
The question was not, “Hey! Can I get confused about things that actually happened to me, and embroider them, expand them, get the dates wrong, when you tell me direct lies about my experiences?” The question was, “Can I make up a memory about something totally alien to my experience which normally I would never accidentally think happened to me, and believe in it for the rest of my life?”
And consistently, repeatedly, every single time, the answer has been NO.
And, in fact, consistently and repeatedly and every single time, the major researcher on the subject (Elizabeth Loftus) has lied about her findings, and the False Memory Syndrome Foundation has misrepresented them both in the media and in courts.
The Drama, The Madness