Psychologist Elizabeth Loftus to Speak on Campus About “Memory Under the Influence”
The Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences Division of Social and Behavioral Sciences will welcome noted psychologist and professor Elizabeth Loftus, Ph.D., to Nova Southeastern University as part of the college’s 2011–2012 Distinguished Speakers Series. She will deliver a talk titled “Memory Under the Influence.”
Loftus is a psychologist and noted expert on human memory. For the last 30 years, her research has focused on the malleability of memory. She has been recognized for this work with six honorary doctorates and election to the Royal Society of Edinburgh, the American Philosophical Society, and the National Academy of Sciences. She is past president of the Association for Psychological Science, the Western Psychological Association, and the American Psychology-Law Society.
Retrieved 9/25/11. Full Storyelizabeth_loftus distinguished speakers
jeanettebartha
Jeanette Bartha
10/20/2011 at 5:25 pm
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GeorgiaGirl
10/20/2011 at 1:46 pm
That sounds logical … let me go think of a way to dispute it.
Jeanette Bartha
10/19/2011 at 9:24 pm
Oh, I have another thought. Old memories are malleable – more so than recent ones. What do you think of that? The older a memory is, the more it is subject to change.
Jeanette Bartha
10/19/2011 at 9:22 pm
LOL. OK, I see your point, good one. Appreciate the debate.
GeorgiaGirl
10/19/2011 at 8:58 pm
Yes, to believe ALL or NOTHING is too extreme.
So that leaves us with “memories CAN be malleable” — did I win this one?
Jeanette Bartha
10/19/2011 at 8:46 pm
I see your point. So where does that leave us? To believe everything or nothing? That seems too extreme.
No argument from me about the yo yo’s.
GeorgiaGirl
10/19/2011 at 7:50 pm
It’s difficult for either of us to win an argument because psychology is not an exact science, but I don’t think you can have it both ways. If memory is confabulated, then it cannot be valid. If everyone’s memory included a bit of truth, a bit of fill-in-the-blanks, and a bit of fantasy, then nobody’s memory would be valid. Do you see my point? Research, in my opinion, doesn’t amount to a hill of beans since researchers base their findings on subliminal theories. I don’t care what their credentials/titles are, I think most are a bunch of yo yo’s.
Jeanette Bartha
10/19/2011 at 3:45 pm
No, I am not saying memory is invalid.
I am saying that remembering is a process of confabulation – bit truth, bit fill-in-the-blanks, bit fantasy or misremembering.
Research over the last 20 years indicated that memory is malleable.
In what circumstances do you believe that memory is 100% accurate – unless I am making wrong assumptions about your statements. Thx
GeorgiaGirl
10/19/2011 at 12:47 pm
Loftus says, “Memory is malleable and changes over time.”
Georgia Girl says, “Memory CAN be malleable and CAN change over time.”
Jeanette, in what respect do you disagree [with me]? Are you telling me that memory is invalid, period?
Jeanette Bartha
10/18/2011 at 9:52 am
p.s. GeorgiaGirl. No need to be sorry. I appreciate the dialogue & I’m sure readers do too whether or not they comment.
Jeanette Bartha
10/17/2011 at 12:22 pm
Hi GeorgiaGirl. Appreciate you weighing in, but I continue to disagree.
Are you telling me that the memories you had in kindergarten are totally accurate? Don’t you ever look at a photo of long ago and until someone says, “Remember when…” It prompts your recall? Seems you are holding on to old Freudian and pre-Freudian notions of memory being like a tape recorder and able to be replayed in a pristine manner.
If you are referring to Loftus’ memory experiments, yes, they are controlled studies – nothing, however, that doesn’t occur outside the research lab.
GeorgiaGirl
10/16/2011 at 5:50 pm
J, I wouldn’t make a blanket statement either way. Memory “can” be malleable. I think it depends on the person and his/her particular memory, and outside influences which may affect that memory. For Loftus to say, “Memory is malleable and changes over time”, is not accurate (unless you’re a lab rat). Sorry, I had to throw that in
Jeanette Bartha
09/28/2011 at 8:07 pm
I am not a memory scholar so I encourage you to read Loftus and others who can explain this for you.
The focus on this blog is pseudoscience and how it effects patients.
So you don’t think memory is malleable? Is that what you are saying?
geri cisk
09/28/2011 at 11:07 am
Quote: “…. memory is not a process whereby someone remembers an event exactly as it occurred. Memory is malleable and changes over time. ”
I have an issue with that statement, Jeanette — but first can you expound a little, and maybe give a few examples. Thanks
Jeanette Bartha
09/26/2011 at 12:00 pm
And, Loftus’ work has been recognized for decades. I tried to print her vitae and it was so long, I thought my printer was going to explode.
I think the delay in a more universal acceptance of the woman behind the science has been because of the controversy surrounding repressed memories. She hung in there and stood behind her research findings.
There were many years that opponents of her research spent attacking her character and “implanting false information” if you will, into the professional community that spread into therapy rooms – claiming that her actions were unethical and thus discounting her scientific findings about memory.
You know how it goes, if you can’t debate & have no science behind your theories, attack your opponent and try to discredit him/her.
Add to that the ridiculous law suit that got more publicity and tied her energy up as it was meant to do – charges she was cleared of in the end. The University of Washington where she was employed, in their infinite wisdom, failed to stand behind her, and she bid them ado and went to the University of California – Irvine.
Jeanette Bartha
09/26/2011 at 11:52 am
Hi G, I like when you come here to debate as well.
Loftus’ most noted study is “Lost in the Mall” where she proved that suggesting to a subject (with the help and permission of his family) that he had been lost as a child – the subject not only remembered, but embellished the fake memories. Later, it was difficult to get him to understand that the event never happened.
When you do research using human subjects, there are strict protocols, informed consent, etc. Where else could she possibly conduct research?
You might look into Loftus, and others, who write about “memory storage & retrieval”. You may find some answers to what appears to by your support for decade-delayed memory recall, or the negating of the research process v. anecdotal reporting. You will find that memory recall is Not a process whereby someone remembers an event exactly as it occurred. Memory is malleable and changes over time.
Proponents of repressed memories would have you believe otherwise – that memories are stored in a virginal-form and when found, will be remembered in minute detail (complete with emotions) as if the experience happened yesterday.
If people were educated about the science of memory and the long debunked repressed memory theories of Freud – we would likely see a rapid decline in the occurrence of multiple personalities. But that is unlikely to happen because too many patients and therapists have their identities wrapped around the repressed memory -= abuse = multiple personality model of trauma.
Jeanette Bartha
09/26/2011 at 11:37 am
I think Dr. Loftus is an international hero. She has helped the world understand the mechanisms of memory – whether or not they have choose to listen.
V
09/26/2011 at 9:44 am
Elizabeth Loftus is an American hero. I am glad she is finally being recognized after she suffered decades of persecution for daring to speak unpopular opinions.
geri cisk
09/25/2011 at 11:02 pm
Jeanette, you’ll appreciate this. Knowing Loftus’s skepticism on repressed memories, I e-mailed her a condensed version of my story about 5 years go. She e-mailed back saying, “You don’t need me, you need a lawyer”.
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Also, I think she stated somewhere that repressed memories are possible and have occurred. Another thing I seem to remember is that the bulk of her work is done in a lab setting with volunteers. One of her experiments includes subliminal messages, which is the same as “power of suggestion”.
I guess I’m questioning the lab process vs actual long-term repression.
On the “dreams” (other thread), I’m working on a reply. Takes me a while to put a post together, but I really do enjoy visiting here and hashing things out with you!