Not the REAL lurker

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: FYI - : The Loftus piece under the name lurker was completely unlike anything posted by the real lurker. It was part of the rantings of Poser Week. : Interesting exchanges on the subject of the 'lost in mall' experiments. I've spent a couple of hours trying to track down the journal Ethics & Behavior. It is, unfortunately, not available at any public or university library in British Columbia, so I am unable to comment on the article, only the abstract (and attitude) provided by 'lurker.' : : It would seem that the anonymous 'lurker' is pleased to label 'fraudulent' any experiment or set of experiments that do not sit well with her ideological standpoint. : : It might seem to 'lurker' that if the Loftus experiments with false memories of trauma could be dismissed, exposed as junk science, or shown to be riddled with error, then the entire edifice of opinion that questions the accuracy of 'recovered memories' would fall, criticially wounded, and dissolve into gas. : : Well . . . 'lurker' . . . this is not at all likely. Doubt and skepticism of the accuracy of 'recovered memories' of child sexual abuse are due to far more than this particular aspect of the work of Dr. Loftus. : : I would hope that someone with access to the issue brought forward by 'lurker' will take the time to read and comment on the entire article, as well, of course, as Dr. Loftus' response. : : I would also like to have some information on the journal itself. The only references to it that I have been able to find (an admittedly limited search) have been article abstracts such as these featured below. : : Is it possible that 'Ethics and Behavior' is a type of 'house organ' for the coterie of adherents to Jennifer Freyd's theories of traumatic betrayal? : : Interesting how 'lurker' lards up the posting of the Crook & Dean abstract with plentiful booga-booga editorial fudge . . . EXPOSED! Fraudulent! : : One of 'lurker's asonishingly stupid also-rans makes a consistent point of ranting against Dr. Loftus -- as liar, hypocrite, scientific fraud, and, intriguingly, someone who did an about-face on the subject of 'recovered' memories.' Indeed, in this alternate universe of undented ideological rectitude, Loftus is said to have recovered memories of childhood sexual abuse herself, only to turn about and deny this reality when the gravy train of the FMSF was about to leave the station. : : These illogical and incorrect fixations are dealt with { <a href="http://members.xoom.com/CollNCal/newton/newtLoftus4.htm">Loftus & 'Memories'</a> ] briskly, but the misinformation will rise again. I have managed to gain permission from Dr. Loftus to mirror her copyrighted articles, though, so that we may rebut her rather frothingly vituperative opponents in forums such as these, with ease, and with well-indexed hyperlinked texts. I will post to this board these relevant links. : : In the meantime, comments on the two Freyd aricles in 'Ethics & Behavior'? Has anyone read them? : : ( from: Selected Traumatic Amnesia Publications [at] http://dynamic.uoregon.edu/~jjf/trauma.html ) : : Freyd, Jennifer J. (1994). : : Betrayal trauma: Traumatic amnesia as an adaptive response to childhood abuse. **Ethics & Behavior** : : 4 (4) 307-329. : : Abstract: Describes psychogenic amnesia as an adaptive response to childhood abuse based on : : betrayal trauma theory. Why amnesia is a response to childhood abuse, the cognitive architecture of : : these dissociations, why and how traumatic amnesia occurs, and the implications of these findings are : : discussed. Victims may need to remain unaware of the trauma not to reduce suffering but rather to : : promote survival. Amnesia enables the child to maintain an attachment with a figure vital to survival, : : development, and thriving. Analysis of evolutionary pressures, mental modules, social cognition, and : : developmental needs suggests that the degree to which the most fundamental human ethics are : : violated can influence the nature, form, and processes of trauma and responses to trauma. : : (PsycINFO Database) : : Ordering: The Ethics & Behavior issue can be ordered from LEA by calling 1-800-9BOOKS9, : : fax to 201/236-0072, or e-mail to orders@leahq.mhs.compuserve.com. : : Freyd, J. J. (1998) : : Science in the Memory Debate. Ethics & Behavior, 8 (2), 101-113. : : Abstract: Experimental Psychology has much to offer the current debate about memories of : : childhood abuse. However, laboratory scientists, with their enormous cognitive authority to define : : reality for the rest of the population, must be especially conservative when arguing that laboratory : : results on memory generalize to contested memories of abuse. Researchers must make an effort to : : untangle the appropriate from inappropriate application of research results to this debate. A crucial : : untangling strategy for future research on general phenomena involves taking care to pose questions : : separately. When the research is disseminated, its relevance and its limitations must be carefully : : communicated. Finally, scientists must attend to their power to define reality for others. : : Ordering: This article appeared in a Special Issue of Ethics & Behavior. Other contributors include : : ***Ross Cheit, Anna Salter, David Calof, Jennifer Hoult, Laura Brown***. The special issue (Volume 8, : : Number 2) of Ethics & Behavior can be ordered from LEA by calling 1-800-9BOOKS9, fax to : : 201/236-0072, or e-mail to orders@leahq.mhs.compuserve.com.

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