The problem with the scientific exploration of repressed memory is, as Elizabeth Loftus and others have noted, is that it is very difficult, if not impossible, to prove that it either exists or does not exist. The intent in the following pages is to explore the history of the concept of repressed memory, examining both proposed definitions or mechanisms for it, and critiques of the conceptualization.
The Early History of Repressed Memory
There is a clear difference between memories that have simply been forgotten, or are inaccessible to us, and repressed memory as Freud conceived of it. Researchers since Freud have also distinguished between repressed memory in Freudian terms, and psychological forms of amnesia, which include fugue states and post-traumatic stress disorders. Even those who support a concept of psychological forms of amnesia (as distinct from neurological, or brain damage types of amnesia) seem to be suspicious of the Freudian description of the mechanism by which memories are repressed. Thus, for the purposes of this paper, it seems important to distinguish between a concept of repressed memory, or psychological amnesia, and the original Freudian description of the mechanism by which he believed repression to occur. The problem does not seem to be so much whether or not psychological amnesia exists, most researchers seem to support some concept of this. The problem lies in the incidence of such psychological amnesia, the mechanism by which it occurs, and the reliability of recovered memories after the ending of the amnesic period.
The starting point for looking at repressed memory is Freud. Freud's theory of repressed memory was essentially created in the late 1800s in response to his work with a number of Viennese women who had complaints of "hysterical" symptoms. Freud became convinced that most of their problems were the result of sexual trauma, including sexual abuse. These sexual traumas, and ear...