-Caveat Lector- Dear list, More on this. all accusations are alleged excerpts from http://users.owt.com/crook/memory/ Although the mall study has been cited to support claims that psychotherapists can implant memories of false autobiographical information of childhood trauma in their patients, the therapeutic implications of the study appear to be limited to a narrowly defined and perhaps even unlikely situation. The mall study results suggest that if a psychotherapist were to devise a plausible false memory of childhood trauma and tell a client, "I was given this information by your relative who was present at the time," then the client may accept this false account as fully or partially true. Notably, a similar study (Pezdek, 1995) found that although 3 (15%) of 20 participants recalled a plausible false memory of getting lost in a shopping mall, none of the participants accepted an implausible false memory that they had received a painful enema as a child from their parent. Were Students Informed of Ethical Guidelines Specific to Their Assignment? There is no evidence to indicate that Loftus’ students were informed that deceiving study participants might be problematic. As Coan (1997) reported: "I hadn’t realized that deceiving participants as a part of psychological research was anything other than business as usual ... I hadn’t considered most of their concerns at all, let alone how to address them" (p. 275). There is no evidence to indicate that Loftus’ students were informed of ethical guidelines regarding the use of children as research participants. For example, the University of Washington’s HSC requires that prior assent must be obtained from all child participants, and a Committee-approved form is provided for this purpose (University of Washington HSC staff, personal communication, June 2, 1997). Because the experiments on Brittany and Chris were conducted by Loftus’ students without a Committee-approved form, they appear to have been conducted in violation of University of Washington HSC requirements. The results of the mall study have been pervasively misrepresented in the media, in scholarly journals, and in courtroom testimony to suggest that therapists can implant false memories of sexual abuse in their clients. Although researchers are not responsible for media inaccuracies regarding their research, they are ethically required to attempt to correct inaccuracies to the extent that this is possible. We are not aware of any efforts by Loftus to correct these inaccuracies, and we welcome any published evidence to the contrary. The ad hominem argument is a logical fallacy in which one attempts to discredit information, opinions, or questions by discrediting the person who is raising the issue (e.g., Halpern, 1996). Loftus (this issue) describes our article (Crook & Dean, this issue) as a "partisan essay" by "women like Crook" who "complain," "deliberate[ly] attempt to distort [her] work," and who "attack" her to "personally and publicly create trouble for [her]." She proceeds further to "cast doubt on the process that led to the acceptance of [this] manuscript." The ad hominem tone of Loftus’ reply follows her established strategy of response to most writers who disagree with her. Loftus has used the derogatory concept of "True Believer" (Loftus & Ketcham, 1994, p. 31) to characterize those who disagree with her as irrational fanatics and has characterized therapists who use approaches of which she disapproves as "executioners" (Loftus, Milo, & Paddock, 1995). She has compared herself to someone who risked his life to save Jews from the Nazis: "’I feel like Oskar Schindler,’ Loftus muses, referring to the German financier who rescued doomed Jews from the Nazis" (Kahn, 1994, p. 80). "I keep thinking of Oskar Schindler circling the lake with thousands of people,’ she says without a trace of irony ... "(Niemark, 1996, p. 50).1 We suggest that, in comparing herself to Schindler, Loftus leaves little doubt as to how she characterizes those who disagree with her. It is clear that those who question Loftus’ work risk being confronted with attacks on their integrity and credibility. Although we acknowledge that inaccurate and mistaken memories may occur, we must conclude that Loftus and Pickrell's mall study does not support in any manner the notion that false autobiographical memories of abuse in childhood can be implanted by therapists <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! 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