Unable to Recall: The Effects of Stigma on Memory Reconstruction

It is widely known that the stigmatization of individuals with mental illnesses leads to the labeling of those individuals as dangerous, and often elicits alarm and fear. Stigma affects the self-esteem (Link, 1987), social functioning (Penn and Martin, 1998), and emplo

Our study asked participants to recall material about a video three days after watching it; future research could ask participants to return after a longer period of time. This may increase the chances of loaded questions and stereotypes influencing recall. The longer the time period between an experience and the recalling of the experience, the less accurate recall will be. The less an individual can accurately recall an event memory, the more the memory may be influenced by the ways in which he or she interprets the world. As discussed in the introduction, when individuals are primed to think about groups they have stereotyped, alternative information is not as salient as dominant perceptions (e.g., Macrae, Bodenhausen, & Milne, 1995).

As the dangers of stigma have become more realized by both the mental health industry and the general public, there have been many campaigns to increase awareness about mental illness. A study conducted by Penn et al. (1994) showed that stigmatization may be reduced by increasing contact between the public and those individuals with mental illnesses. This study also suggested that education about the ?myths and realities of mental illness? would aid in decreasing stigmatization (Penn et al., 1994). According to Corrigan and Penn (1999), there are currently three fronts to the anti-stigma campaign: protest, contact, and education. Many organizations (e.g., the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill and the American Psychological Association) are working not only to erase the negative images of mental illnesses, but also to strive to educate the public about mental health so as to prevent those images from developing. While some research has shown that educational programs are effective means of decreasing public stigma, other studies have shown that brief educational sessions sometimes do not work (Thorton and Wahl, 1996; Wahl & Lefkowitz, 1989).

?current and past mental patients, and mental health professionals have been shown to hold negative attitudes toward mental illness, as well as individuals identified as having a history of hospitalization in a mental hospital or participation in outpatient psychotherapy (p. 4).

Studies done on memory reconstruction have shown that providing leading information does affect recall (Loftus and Palmer, 1974). Loftus and Palmer (1974) found that event memories were affected by exposure to misleading questions. Wells, Malpass, Lindsay, Fisher, Turtle, & Fulero (2000) define an event memory in terms of eyewitness testimony. According to there definition: ?event memory refers to the ability of [individuals] to describe details of a critical event, such as whether a perpetrator used the right hand or left hand to hold a gun, the color of a getaway car, or a style of clothing worn by a perpetrator" (Wells et al., 2000; 582). Introducing leading information has been shown to cause event memories to be altered (Loftus, 1979; Loftus and Loftus, 1980).

Some topics in this essay:
Discussion Loftus, Illness Scale, , Loftus Loftus, Penn Martin, Miller Scott, Designs Procedures, Mirotznik Cullen, Link Cullen, Bodenhausen Milne, mentally ill, et al, negatively loaded, memory reconstruction, loaded questions, low stigma, mental illness, stigma level, levels stigma, low levels stigma, answered correctly, positively negatively loaded, mentally ill individuals, perception mentally ill, individuals mental illnesses,