About the Book
A decade or so of intensive research on false memory has revealed much that is not well understood outside the circles of scientists who specialize in such research. However, this research has produced findings that have major implications for a number of fields that are central to human welfare, such as medicine and the law. This book has been written to make those findings accessible to a much wider audience than research specialists including child protective services workers, clinical psychologists, defense attorneys, elementary and secondary teachers, general medical practitioners, journalists, judges, nurses, police investigators, prosecutors, and psychiatrists. For that reason, the book assumes little or no background knowledge in the techniques of memory research. The volume begins with a consideration of progenitors of the modern science of false memory and notes the remarkable degree to which core themes of contemporary research were anticipated by historical figures such as Binet, Piaget, and Bartlett. It continues with an account of the varied methods that have been used to study false science of false memory, with the coverage revolving around three topics: theoretical ideas, both old and new, that have been used to explain false memory and to make predictions about it; research findings and predictions about age changes in false memory between early processes conceptions of false memory, is stressed. In Part II, attention shifts to the falsifiability of eyewitness identifications of suspects; false-memory reports in abuse crimes; and false memory in psychotherapy, including recovered memories of previous lives. Although Part II is concerned with applied research, we again emphasize the unifying trends are explored, with attention being focused on three expanding areas of false-memory research: mathematical models, aging effects, and cognitive neuroscience.
Table of Contents:
Part I: Background
Chapter 1: Your Ancients
Chapter 2: Varieties of False Memory: A Modern Taxonomy
Part II: The Basic Science of False Memory
Chapter 3: Theoretical Explanations of False Memory
Chapter 4: Controlling False Memories with Opponent Processes 1: Laboratory Research with Adults
Chapter 5: Controlling False Memories with Opponent Processes 2: Developmental Research with Children and Adolescents
Part III: The Applied Science of False Memory
Chapter 6: False Memory in Criminal Investigation 1: Adult Interviewing and Eyewitness Identification
Chapter 7: False Memory in Criminal Investigation 2: Child Interviewing and Testimony
Chapter 8: False Memory in Psychotherapy
Part IV: Future Directions
Chapter 9: Some Growing Tips
References
Review :
"The Science of False Memory is at once comprehensive and "deep." Brainerd and Reyna have crafted an account of human memory and its foibles that is ensconced in the history of psychology yet is so thoroughly up to date that it can be used in virtually any memory course at any level. It is slam dunk of a book, and I found myself reading far more of it than I had time to read--all because I found the authors' analysis so compelling and the writing so
good." --Stephen J. Ceci, The Helen L. Carr Professor of Developmental Psychology, Cornell University
"As two who have been in the forefront of the science of false memory, Brainerd and Reyna have culled the massive literature, captured the basic theories, and presented the key issues in a masterful fashion. This is the definitive work on false memories . . . everything you might want to know about them and more." --Elizabeth F. Loftus, Distinguished Professor, University of California, Irvine, and author of Eyewitness Testimony
"This book is not written only for psychologists studying memory errors, but for police investigators, for lawyers and judges, and for social workers and psychiatrists, among others. There is no other book that provides so complete an overview of the critical issues surrounding the puzzling tendency people have to remember events differently from the way they originally happened or, in the most dramatic cases, to vividly remember events that never happened at
all. I highly recommend it." --Henry L. Roediger, III, James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor, Washington University in St Louis
"False memories are a hot topic in psychological research and a major issue for society. The Science of False Memory provides a compelling scholarly analysis that ranges from laboratory studies to cases in the courtroom. Written by two leaders in the field, this book is must reading for memory researchers, psychologists, and anyone else interested in understanding why people sometimes remember events that never happened." --Daniel L. Schacter, William
R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Psychology, Harvard University, and author of The Seven Sins of Memory.
"Brainerd and Reyna offer an authoritative overview of contemporary research on 'errors of commission in memory reports'... The book will interest the authors' fellow memory researchers, but it will also reward anyone curious as to why people often remember events differently from how they actually happened and why some people have vivid memories of events that never happened."--Science
"Brainerd and Reyna (both, human development, Cornell Univ.) offer here a comprehensive scholarly treatment of research in false memory. After an excellent chapter on its history, they summarize nine basic paradigms in false memory research and review the major theories...the volume should be useful not only in the academy but also to those involved with law enforcement and the courts...Highly recommended."--CHOICE
"False memory is a developing field; however, for the time being, this book is definitive, and shows how far the study of false memory has advanced from supposition to science."--Fortean Times
"The Science of False Memory shows all the signs of a work that is likely to be recognized for many years as a classic in the psychology of memory. Brainerd and Reyna have written a work that is simultaneously thorough in its scientific coverage and accessible to the educated layperson. It is breathtaking in its scholarly contribution."--reene
"Brainerd and Reyna offer an authoritative overview of contemporary research on 'errors commission in memory reports'... The book will interest the authors' fellow memory researchers, but it will also reward anyone curious as to why people often remember events differently from how they actually happened and why some people have vivid memories of events that never happened."--Science
"Brainerd and Reyna (both, human development, Cornell Univ.) offer here a comprehensive scholarly treatment of research in false memory. After an excellent chapter on its history, they summarize nine basic paradigms in false memory research and review the major theories...the volume should be useful not only in the academy but also to those involved with law enforcement and the courts...Highly recommended."--CHOICE
"False memory is a developing field; however, for the time being, this book is definitive, and shows how far the study of false memory has advanced from supposition to science."--Fortean Times
"The Science of False Memory shows all the signs of a work that is likely to be recognized for many years as a classic in the psychology of memory. Brainerd and Reyna have written a work that is simultaneously thorough in its scientific coverage and accessible to the educated layperson. It is breattaking in its scholarly contribution."--reene
