Gidday, TIPsters. As many of you know, Beth Loftus has endured a boatload of abuse the past decade for her research on the problems with the concepts of repressed and recovered memories. That abuse reached its peak a couple of years ago when the University of Washington treated her with something close to contempt, a situation that prompted Beth to take up a Distinguished Professor position at UC Irvine. The case that started it all--the case of "Jane Doe"--is now a lawsuit brought forward by Jane Doe herself, probably with the support of some of Beth's detractors. Beth's experiences have chilling implications for all of us, not just those of us who have interests in human memory.
(As an aside, if you have read this far and have no idea what I'm rabbiting on about, you can read the excellent series of articles in the Skeptical Inquirer. The piece is called Who Abused Jane Doe? and starts at http://www.csicop.org/si/2002-05/jane-doe.html Be sure to read the wonderful commentary by Carol Tavris at http://www.csicop.org/si/2002-07/high-cost.html) Well, some of us have decided that it's about time we threw a party for Beth to thank her for her dedication. She'd be the first one to tell you that she's too young for a festschrift, so this January, before the 6th meeting of the Society for Applied Research in Memory & Cognition, we're going to have an all day tribute and and all night dinner party. I imagine that some of you won't be able to make the trip, since it's here in New Zealand--but nonetheless, please do think about going to our tribute web page and writing a message to her. So far we have submissions from other colleagues, former students, people who "recovered" memories of abuse and later recanted, and families torn apart by false accusations, lawsuits and criminal proceedings. The tribute page is at http://www.vuw.ac.nz/psyc/sarmac/beth-loftus/tribute.php We'll collect them into a book and give it to Beth in January. Thanks. Maryanne Garry Victoria University of Wellington Psychology Wellington New Zealand --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
