Truth in Emotional Memories

So said Jackson Browne in his 1974 track “Fountain of Sorrow.” The album containing this track stayed for 29 weeks on the Billboard Top Pop Album Chart. While we know rather little about changing the future, we do know quite a bit about how to change the past. Since witnesses in legal proceedings are routinely asked to recall the past, it is crucial to understand how accurate these recollections are, how prone to distortion they might be. Moreover, witnesses in legal proceedings are often asked to recall a past event that was quite emotional in nature. Thus it is crucial to also understand the nature of emotional memories. Fortunately, we have made considerable progress in this endeavor, and some of that progress is described in this chapter.