ABSTRACT

One of the major tenets of psychotherapy is the principle that traumatic experiences have long-term effects on individuals (Freud, 1915/1957). Few clinical psychologists, trauma researchers, or victims of trauma question this principle. As an impressive example of this, Elie Wiesel, Nobel Laureate and holocaust survivor of Auschwitz and Buchenwald, has devoted his life to the importance of preserving the traumatic memories of human history. Recently, however, cognitive psychologists have begun to explore a different aspect of the trauma, that is, the accuracy of memories for traumatic events. Without doubting that traumatic events have longterm effects, these researchers seek to understand if memory for traumatic events functions similarly to memory for nontraumatic events, and if these two types of memories have similar characteristics. Understanding the nature of memory for traumatic events is important because it provides a basis from which to evaluate the veracity of individuals’ traumatic recollections. This intriguing notion, that although traumatic events might have a significant long-term effect on an individual, the individual may not retain an extensive veridical memory for the original traumatic event, is the focus of this chapter.