Two Cases of Malingered Crime‐Related Amnesia

• Published in: Topics in cognitive science Vol. 16; no. 4; pp. 752 - 769
• Main Authors: Zago, Stefano, Preti, Alice N., Difonzo, Teresa, D'Errico, Annalisa, Sartori, Giuseppe, Zangrossi, Andrea, Bolognini, Nadia
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.10.2024
• Subjects: Amnesia; Amnesia - physiopathology; Crime; Forensic Psychology; Homicide; Homicide - psychology; Humans; Lie detection; Malingered crime‐related amnesia; Malingering - diagnosis; Memory detection; Malingered crime‐related amnesia; Homicide; Lie detection; Memory detection
• ISSN: 1756-8757; 1756-8765; 1756-8765
• DOI: 10.1111/tops.12643

Amnesia is a frequent claim in major crimes, and it is estimated that the complete or partial absence of memory following a crime ranges from 25% to 50% of total cases. Although some cases may constitute a genuine form of amnesia, due to organic‐neurological defects or psychological causes, and possibly combined with a dissociative or repressive coping style after an extreme experience, malingering is still fairly common in offenders. Therefore, one of the main goals in medico‐legal proceedings is to find methods to determine the credibility of crime‐related amnesia. At present, a number of lie and memory detection techniques can assist the forensic assessment of the reliability of declarative proof, and have been devised and improved over the past century: for example, modern polygraphs, event‐related potentials, thermal imaging, functional magnetic resonance imaging, kinematic, and facial analysis. Other ad hoc psychological tests, such as the so‐called Symptom Validity Test (SVT) and Performance Validity Test (PVT), as well as the autobiographical Implicit Association Test (aIAT), can also be used. To date, however, there is little evidence or case reports that document their real usefulness in forensic practice. Here, we report two cases of crime‐related amnesia, whereby both defendants, who were found guilty of homicide, appeared to exhibit dissociative amnesia but where the application of SVTs, PVTs, and aIAT detected a malingered amnesia. One of the main goals in the context of crime‐related amnesia is to find methods to distinguish whether it is due to an organic‐neurological origin, psychological factors or malingering. Here, we report two homicide cases in which the application of two memory detection techniques, the forced‐choice test and the autobiographical implicit association test (aIAT), strongly suggested a malingered amnesia.