ALTHOUGH he retired in 2003 after teaching at the College since 1966, Professor Emeritus of Psychology Thomas D. DeWolfe continues his professional activity by writing essays for various surveys.

The most recent essay, completed in the summer for the Encyclopedia of Forensic Science, concerned the topic of “false memories.” Psychologists have been successful in creating surprisingly detailed illusions about fictitious past events in the minds of unsuspecting subjects, illusions wh ich the subjects accept as valid memories. In real-world situations, such pseudo-memories may be unintentionally implanted by the suggestive questioning of witnesses in criminal investigations or by such suggestive psychotherapeutic procedures as hypnosis. At least some of the memories of abusive experiences in early childhood supposedly “recovered” through psychotherapy have in notable cases provided the basis of lawsuits against hapless parents. In some cases, the evidence is compelling that these were “false” memories.

A second essay written last spring for America in the 1980’s concerns trends in psychology during that decade. His main thesis was that in the decade of the 80’s mainstream psychology moved in the direction of greater respect for the genetic predispositions and biologically rooted temperament that set the trajectories with which family cultures and environment interact and modify. By the 1990’s the hypothesis that the right sort of reinforcement schedule could guarantee obedient children as well as obedient dogs was markedly less tenable. Th e profession of clinical psychology also changed. The expanding infl uence of managed care mandated that the amelioration of symptomatic distress through directed, time-limited psychotherapies or through the intervention of medication became more common while therapies with such more ambitious and expensive goals as exploring enduring conflicts or actualizing potential diminished in use and importance. That nature sets limits on what nurture can accomplish and that economic practicalities limit therapeutic goals seemed peculiarly consistent with the conservative temper of the times.

BEYOND THE Classroom FOR THE Classroom
Hampden-Sydney College Faculty Scholarship 2005-2008
A report by the Office of the Dean of the Faculty