Self-narratives: True and false
ULRIC NEISSER 2017-11-20
Self-narratives: True and falsethe narratives themselves. There is scarcely more evidence of the exis-tence of satanic cults as described than of flying saucers; any suggestive situation that elicits such bizarre stories must be regarded with consider-able skepticism. Here, the key elements of the situation seem to be (1) a distressed patient urgently seeking an explanation of her problems, and
(2) a strong therapist who expects to find that explanation in a sexual-abuse narrative. The dynamics of this situation provide the answer to a question that is frequently asked: Why would anyone make up such ter-rible things if they weren't true? It is because they are essential to a narra-tive in which both parties are heavily invested.
I am also suspicious of the unusual form of "repression" that must be postulated to make these stories true: The events occur regularly for years, are then forgotten for decades, and finally reappear in florid detail. Although child abuse certainly does occur - more often than we like to think - I am inclined to believe that it is usually remembered rather than forgotten. Victims of other traumas - concentration camp survivors, Viet-nam War veterans, eyewitnesses to murder - rarely repress them in this way. On the contrary, they may be haunted by their experiences for years.