Running head: THE CASE STUDY OF A CASE STUDY 1

The Case Study of a Case Study: Manipulating Childrens Memories

Lucy Jackson
Salt Lake Community College
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Children will believe anything you tell them if you say it enough times. They are so easy to
manipulate because they arent as smart and havent experienced life just yet. The article, Who Abused
Jane Doe? talks about manipulating children to get you to believe what you want them to believe. Janes
dad and stepmom wanted custody of Jane and wanted to ruin the life of Janes mother. The article also
gives us readers an idea about case studies and how effective they can be when done correctly, and how
ineffective they are when done incorrectly.
Corwin and Olafson did a case study about Jane Doe, and didnt do it very well. They didnt
gather enough information and get into detail on what actually happened to Jane. But then again, they
werent really all that interested in Jane, just the idea of repressed memories. They really only wanted to
see if 17-year-old Jane could remember what 6-year-old Jane said happened to her. They wanted to know
if she could push out unpleasant memories and then remember them again after a long period of time.
Their case study served a different purpose than everyone thought it did. People thought that Corwin
wanted to know about Jane and what happened to her, but all he did was get the little information and
learn about her brain and how it pushed out the shocking event that happened to her as a child. When in
all reality, it never actually happened to her. She was manipulated by her Father and Stepmother. They
fed her all of this false information that she eventually believed to be true because she heard it so many
times.
This case study that Corwin and Olafson did together wasnt done well enough. They didnt get
specific enough and it was only done through one person. It was extremely difficult to get all of the
information put together because not enough research was done and so nobody could conclude a cause or
effect of her abuse. Disadvantages of case studies are there because the case study was not done well
enough. A case study could be done much better and have better and more accurate results if the person
conducting the study would have gone into much more detail and greater depth. The case study would
have been a much bigger asset if they conducted scientific experiments or collected more useful
knowledge. The first case study could have been much better if they had adapted ideas and produced a
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novel hypothesis about the situation. Yes, it was a rare case and it lead to a better understanding of
repressed memories, but it didnt get a wide enough audience.
The second case study conducted by Elizabeth F. Loftus and Melvin J. Guyer, was a case study
on the case study that Corwin did. They wanted to know everything that he knew, and then go even
farther in depth on the study and what happened with Jane. They came to the conclusion that Corwins
study was awful. He did not go into near enough depth and could have learned the truth and not messed
up Janes life. Corwin failed to look into all of the details. The only thing Corwin developed was the
study of Repressed Memories and how they really do exist.
Elizabeth F. Loftus states the reality of repressed memories and explains that something
shocking happens, and the mind pushes it into some inaccessible corner of the unconscious. Later, the
memory may emerge into consciousness. We learn that through therapy do most of these abusive
repressed memories return. The existence of repressed memories is not proven; however, every case it is
different. More often than not, they do occur in abusive situations. Other minor situations, like falling off
of your bike, will not likely be remembered because it wasnt an extreme, emotional, life-changing
situation. Being sexually or physically abused is definitely something you will want to try to forget and
push it to the back of your brain where you hope to never find it again. Through therapy, talking about
your past or even a visual reminder might bring that memory back and scare you all over again. That is
the entire idea of the repressed memory.
But what if that memory isnt even true? What if it was something that was fed to you as a child
and you believed it because you were never told anything else? That is what most people believe
happened to Jane Doe. After the further investigation and case study, they discovered that it couldnt be
proven that she was ever abused by her mother. We assume that her father and stepmother fed her lies
about her mother because they didnt like Janes mother and they just wanted custody. But we dont know
if 6-year-old Jane gave us accurate information. A child cannot provide a reliable testimony because they
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dont even understand most of what is going on. They havent had a chance to live life and figure
everything out yet. They are still kids that believe everything you tell them. If you tell them something
enough times, they will believe it. It doesnt matter what the topic is either. Math, science, religion,
colors, or what someone is supposedly doing to them. They will believe it if they hear it enough times.
Which is what I think happened with the Jane Doe case study. The Father and Stepmother fed Jane
enough lies about what her mother is doing to her that Jane started to believe it all. Then when confronted
about it, she told the investigator what her dad told her to say.
Childrens brains arent entirely developed and they cant remember if something happened a
week ago or an hour ago. They might not even remember if they were abused until it is proven to them. If
a professional were to interview or converse with a child who has been allegedly abused, they would want
to take into consideration the fact that their brain is still figuring stuff out. They would want to think
about all of the factors, find proof, and dont just assume something is going on. They should want to ask
questions about how that child feels toward the accused abuser and see what the child says while not in
their presence.
In conclusion, case studies arent efficient without going into all of the detail and finding out as
much information as possible as well as making the audience as broad as possible. Case studies are also
great ways to do an investigation or research for a unique case. The idea of manipulating children into
saying horrible things about people close to them so they can get what they want is unethical. Creating
false, horrific scenarios and telling the child that its true is wrong. Repressed memories are real but very
different in every case.
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References
Bronwyn Becker, Patrick Dawson, Karen Devine, Carla Hannum, Steve Hill, Jon Leydens,
Debbie Matuskevich, Carol Traver, and Mike Palmquist.. (1994 - 2012). Case Studies.
Writing@CSU. Colorado State University. Available at:
http://writing.colostate.edu/guides/guide.cfm?guideid=60

Case Study. (n.d.). In Merriam Webster online. Retrieved from: http://www.merriam-
webster.com/dictionary/case%20study

Christensen, C. R. (1981) Teaching By the Case Method. Boston: Harvard Business School.

Loftus, Elizabeth F. & Guyer, Melbin J. (n.d.). Who Abused Jane Doe?. [Abstract] The Hazards
of the Single Case History: Part 1.