Repressed Memories

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Pages: 5

The article that I will be summarizing is The Reality of Repressed Memories by Elizabeth F. Loftus of the University of the Washington a direct link to the article can be found here https://faculty.washington.edu/eloftus/Articles/lof93.htm This is a study on repressed memories that was the first post in 1993. Much of the information that went into this study came from well document legal cases where repressed memories were used to in the preceding. The study also breaks down several different aspects of repressed memories and ways to unlock them.
With this stated the summarization could begin in earnest. The first section of the article is a landmark case that occurred in 1990 where the final piece of evidence needed to put away the killer was a repressed memory of a witness. This memory was on the verge of twenty years old at the time though as it started to surface it came back to the witness clear as day. This process is remarkable for how clear and concise the information was and how it came to surface. The article states that the witness, a Miss Ellien Franklin was playing with her young daughter when a phrase she said trigged a part of the memory. This started with just a fragment, but over time like a
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They convicted the killer, her father, using such a well-explained memory. However, even before the full end of this section, several points dealing with repressed memories in court and the memories themselves came into conflict. Miss Franklin’s tale changed slightly from telling to telling, changing small facts that worried some that it was not in all truth. If the remains of the victim hadn’t been found a year before she told recalled her memory in court the case might have fallen through. The article goes into great depth about how this could have easily had her testimony thrown out, or even worse had the charges