Recall tricky for the courts

ANALYSIS

DR RAJ PERSAUD

FALSE memory syndrome occurs when people develop a conviction based on their memory that something happened yet it didn’t happen – or it didn’t quite happen the way they remember it.

Knowledge of it has been around for about 30 years, but the more memory comes into court cases and therapy today, the more it has become an issue. It is different from someone making something up – that’s lying.

But false memory syndrome is when someone has a genuine belief for something, however their memory is false.

One way in which false memories can be created is by therapists who say they believe you were the victim of abuse and you may not be able to remember it. In the case of vulnerable patients it can happen.

The famous psychologist Elizabeth Loftus, who was brought into the Ghislaine Maxwell court trial, is often brought into defence cases.

She is a controversial figure, but part of the key contribution she has made is that when the police quiz people about an event, the way they ask the question can influence a person’s memory.

For example, if the police ask, “How fast was the car going when it crashed into the other car?”, you will give a different answer than if they say “How fast was the car going when it hit the other car?” because the word “hit” suggests a lower speed than “crashed”.

She has also done experiments that show you can plant an idea in someone’s head.

Although I’m a big fan of the police, they’re not psychologists and can ask questions that lead you down a certain route.

False memory can also be inserted if there is a long interview process.

The trouble is false memory syndrome is very difficult to prove one way or the other. ■■Dr Raj’s book The Mental Vaccine for Covid-19, published by Amberley Press, is on sale now