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Otgaar H, Howe ML, Clark A, et al. What if you went to the police and accused your uncle of abuse? Misunderstandings concerning the benefits of memory distortion: A commentary on Fernández (2015). Conscious Cogn. 2015;33:286-90doi: 10.1016/j.concog.2015.01.015.
Otgaar, H., Howe, M. L., Clark, A., Wang, J., & Merckelbach, H. (2015). What if you went to the police and accused your uncle of abuse? Misunderstandings concerning the benefits of memory distortion: A commentary on Fernández (2015). Consciousness and cognition, 33286-90. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.concog.2015.01.015
Otgaar, Henry, et al. "What if you went to the police and accused your uncle of abuse? Misunderstandings concerning the benefits of memory distortion: A commentary on Fernández (2015)." Consciousness and cognition vol. 33 (2015): 286-90. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.concog.2015.01.015
Otgaar H, Howe ML, Clark A, Wang J, Merckelbach H. What if you went to the police and accused your uncle of abuse? Misunderstandings concerning the benefits of memory distortion: A commentary on Fernández (2015). Conscious Cogn. 2015 May;33:286-90. doi: 10.1016/j.concog.2015.01.015. Epub 2015 Feb 11. PMID: 25681697.
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Conscious Cogn. 2015 May;33:286-90. doi: 10.1016/j.concog.2015.01.015. Epub 2015 Feb 11.

What if you went to the police and accused your uncle of abuse? Misunderstandings concerning the benefits of memory distortion: A commentary on Fernández (2015).

Consciousness and cognition

Henry Otgaar, Mark L Howe, Andrew Clark, Jianqin Wang, Harald Merckelbach

Affiliations

  1. Maastricht University, The Netherlands; City University London, UK. Electronic address: [email protected].
  2. Maastricht University, The Netherlands; City University London, UK.
  3. Maastricht University, The Netherlands; University of Portsmouth, UK.
  4. Maastricht University, The Netherlands.

PMID: 25681697 DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2015.01.015

Abstract

In a recent paper, Fernández (2015) argues that memory distortion can have beneficial outcomes. Although we agree with this, we find his reasoning and examples flawed to such degree that they will lead to misunderstandings rather than clarification in the field of memory (distortion). In his paper, Fernández uses the terms belief and memory incorrectly, creating a conceptual blur. Also, Fernández tries to make the case that under certain circumstances, false memories of abuse are beneficial. We argue against this idea as the reasoning behind this claim is based on controversial assumptions such as repression. Although it is true that memory distortions can be beneficial, the examples sketched by Fernández are not in line with recent documentation in this area.

Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Adaptive memory; Belief; False memory; Memory distortion; Nonbelieved memories; Recollection

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