False memory syndrome (FMS) describes a condition in which a person's identity and relationships are affected by memories which are factually incorrect but are strongly believed. Peter J. Freyd originated the term, which the False Memory Syndrome Foundation (FMSF) subsequently popularized.
False memories may be the result of recovered memory therapy, a term also defined by the FMSF in the early 1990s, which describes a range of therapy methods that are prone to creating confabulations. Some of the influential figures in the genesis of the theory are forensic psychologist Ralph Underwager, psychologist Elizabeth Loftus and sociologist Richard Ofshe. False memory syndrome is not recognized as an official mental health diagnosis but the principle that memories can be altered by outside influences is overwhelmingly accepted by scientists.
Read more about False Memory Syndrome: Definition, Recovered Memory Therapy, Evidence For
Famous quotes containing the words false, memory and/or syndrome:
“I shall not want false witness to condemn me,
Nor store of treasons to augment my guilt.
The ancient proverb will be well effected:
“A staff is quickly found to beat a dog.””
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“Our memory is like a shop in the window of which is exposed now one, now another photograph of the same person. And as a rule the most recent exhibit remains for some time the only one to be seen.”
—Marcel Proust (1871–1922)
“[T]he syndrome known as life is too diffuse to admit of palliation. For every symptom that is eased, another is made worse. The horse leech’s daughter is a closed system. Her quantum of wantum cannot vary.”
—Samuel Beckett (1906–1989)