Memory distortion: how minds, brains, and societies reconstruct the past

Hypnosis, confabulation, source amnesia, flashbulb memories, repression - these and numerous additional topics are explored in this timely collection of essays by eminent scholars in a range of disciplines. This is the first book on memory distortion to unite contributions from cognitive psychology, psychopathology, psychiatry, neurobiology, sociology, history, and religious studies. It brings the most relevant group of perspectives to bear on some key contemporary issues, including the value of eyewitness testimony and the accuracy of recovered memories of sexual abuse.

The Reality of illusory memories / Elizabeth F. Loftus, Julie Feldman, and Richard Dashiell -- Constructive memory and memory distortions: a parallel-distributed processing approach / James L. McClelland -- False beliefs: some developmental and clinical considerations / Stephen J. Ceci -- Hypnosis and suggestions / David Spiegel -- Post traumatic stress disorder: psychobiological mechanisms of traumatic remembrance / John H. Krystal, Stephen M. Southwick, and Dennis S. Charney -- Mood-congruent memory biases in anxiety and depression / Susan Mineka and Kathleen Nugent --Biological foundations of accuracy and inaccuracy in memory / Larry R. Squire -- Confabulation / Morris Moscovitch -- Emotional activation, neuromodulatory systems, and memory / James L. McGaugh -- Speculations on the fidelity of memories stored in synaptic connections / Rodney A. Swain [and others] -- Steps toward a molecular definition of memory consolidation / Ted Abel [and others] -- Some patterns and meanings of memory distortion in American history / Michael Kammen -- Dynamics of distortion in collective memory / Michael Schudson -- Ancient Egyptian antijudaism: a case of distorted memory / Jan Assmann -- Not…