Traumatic memories easier to recall than happy ones

By Claire Sibonney

TORONTO (Reuters) - Memories of traumatic events are not suppressed by the people who experienced them and can be clearly recalled, according to Canadian researchers.

Sigmund Freud developed a theory that victims of horrific events repressed difficult memories to cope with what happened to them.

But scientists at Dalhousie University in Halifax found in a five-year study that pleasant events were more difficult to recall than unhappy ones.

"We were frankly blown away," lead author Stephen Porter said in an interview.

"We were surprised at how consistent (the traumatic memories) were relative to the good memories in life which had deteriorated dramatically and looked nothing like the reports that we heard about years ago."

The researchers interviewed 29 people who had gone through a traumatic event such as a sexual assault or domestic violence in the past few months.

The participants were asked to provide details about the experience as well as a recent happy event such as a wedding, birth of a child, award or vacation.

Porter and his team re-interviewed them after three months and again after four to five years.

Based on a questionnaire with a maximum possible score of 36, the average mark among participants for consistently recalling a traumatic experience was 30, compared to 15 for a positive one.

"I think it's quite obvious that these types of events really permeate our conscious awareness. They were just haunted by them," he said referring to the traumatic events.

"I think this provides evidence that (Freud's theory) is completely off-base," said Porter, whose findings will be published in the journal Psychological Science.

"It really makes good sense to remember the event well in the future so we can avoid those circumstances and maximize our chances of survival," he added.