NCJ Number
101212
Date Published
1985
Length
23 pages
Annotation
This review examines the relationship between amnesia and violent crime within the context of cognitive psychological and neuropsychological research.
Abstract
Clinical observations and research has identified three types of functional amnesia: (1) functional retrograde amnesia, entailing loss of knowledge of personal identity and autobiographical memories, (2) limited episodic amnesia, in which memory of a relatively recent traumatic event or episode is lost, and (3) multiple personality amnesia in which there is substantial memory loss between and among the different personalities. Of these, limited episodic amnesia is encountered most often in criminology. Studies of claimed limited episodic amnesia in homicide cases indicate an incidence of between 30 and 65 percent. Of importance in criminal cases is determining whether the amnesia is genuine or feigned. Approaches to distinguishing real from feigned amnesia include analysis of the accused's behavior and the character of the crime, nature of the memory loss (e.g., its onset and termination, its consistency), and polygraphy or hypnosis. Empirical research with college students suggests that another approach, based on the frequency of the feeling-of-knowing judgments about unrecalled items, may aid in distinguishing genuine amnesics from simulators. 76 references.