¶ … Infantile Amnesia and Causes
Infantile Amnesia is defined as the failure of an individual to remember events from their early years of life. According to Freud, infantile amnesia usually entails a loss of memory of events that occurred before the sixth or eighth year. (Freud 1905,1953) Freud asserted that many early childhood memories were to startling to recall and were therefore filtered out and become screen memories.(Johnston n.d.)
There are several explanations for the occurrence of infantile amnesia, which include; neurological immaturity, lack of memory ability, lack of sense of self, and amnesia caused by sexual abuse. There is no clear consensus on the causes of infantile amnesia, but most clinicians agree that any of these factors play a role in infantile amnesia. Over the next few paragraphs we will explore these factors in detail.
Neurological Immaturity
The theory of neurological immaturity suggests that the brain of a young simply isn't developed enough to process certain memories. This is a popular view for explaining the occurrence of infantile amnesia amongst clinicians. Studies have illustrated that between 8 and 24 months of age there is a synaptogenesis that occurs in the frontal cortex. (Johnston n.d.) In addition, after the age of two the process slows and allows a greater ability to recall certain events. (Johnston n.d.)
In addition, Freud suggests that throughout ones development processes through which we recall change. (Bauer 1996) Freud asserts that early childhood memories are often repressed but he also suggests that memories that young children create are different from those formed at older ages. (Bauer 1996) An article published in the journal, American Psychologists found that "Early...
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