Skirting the Issue: What Does Believing in Repression Mean?

We show that, in contrast to Brewin, Li, Ntarantana, Unsowrth, and McNeilis (2019), large proportions of laypersons believe in the scientifically controversial phenomenon of unconscious repressed memories. We provide new survey data showing that when participants are asked specific questions about w...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of experimental psychology. General 2020-10, Vol.149 (10), p.2005-2006
Main Authors: Otgaar, Henry, Wang, Jianqin, Dodier, Olivier, Howe, Mark L, Lilienfeld, Scott O, Loftus, Elizabeth F, Lynn, Steven Jay, Merckelbach, Harald, Patihis, Lawrence
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cognitive science
Conscious (Personality Factor)
Defense mechanisms
Female
Human
Humanities and Social Sciences
Humans
Male
Memory
Repressed Memory
Repression (Defense Mechanism)
Repression, Psychology
Test Construction
Trauma
Unconsciousness
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Summary:We show that, in contrast to Brewin, Li, Ntarantana, Unsowrth, and McNeilis (2019), large proportions of laypersons believe in the scientifically controversial phenomenon of unconscious repressed memories. We provide new survey data showing that when participants are asked specific questions about what they mean when they report that traumatic memories can be repressed, most provide answers strongly consistent with unconscious repression. Our findings continue to show that researchers, legal professionals, and clinicians should be wary of invoking unconscious repression in their work.
ISSN:0096-3445
1939-2222
DOI:10.1037/xge0000982