Pseudoscience, cross-examination, and scientific evidence in the recovered memory controversy.

Abstract

The recovered memory controversy is a contentious mix of conflicting claims, theories, and research. For example, reports of recovered memories of child sex abuse may be described as the result of implanting, false memory syndrome, repression, dissociation, motivated forgetting, directed forgetting, amnesia, betrayal trauma, retroactive inhibition, suggestion, self-induced hypnotic trance states, personality disorder, thought suppression, retrieval inhibition, cognitive gating, or biological protective processes. These terms may be used without clear definition or scientific basis and may unintentionally foster pseudoscientific beliefs. Drawing on Daubert and other sources, this article suggests using 6 basic sets of crossexamination questions to assess the material in this area and to expose pseudoscience. These 6 questions focus on research basis, unclear terms and deductive fallacies, inferential errors and confirmation bias, links in the chain of reasoning, ad hominem fallacies, and original sources.