Speaker: Prof Jennifer J. Freyd
Title: Betrayal Blindness, Institutional Betrayal, and Telling about Betrayal.
Date: 21 Jan 2014 (Tuesday), 12pm
Venue: AS4/02-08 (Psychology Department Meeting Room)
Abstract:
In this research lecture Professor Freyd will focus on new research on betrayal trauma, including research on betrayal blindness, institutional betrayal, and the disclosure of betrayal. Betrayal blindness is the unawareness, not-knowing, and forgetting exhibited by people towards betrayal. Victims, perpetrators, and witnesses may display betrayal blindness in order to preserve relationships, institutions, and social systems upon which they depend. The term “Institutional Betrayal” refers to wrongdoings perpetrated by an institution upon individuals dependent on that institution, including failure to prevent or respond supportively to wrongdoings by individuals (e.g. sexual assault) committed within the context of the institution. New research suggests that institutional betrayal can exacerbate the impact of interpersonal traumas. Freyd will also discuss research she has conducted with her colleagues investigating aspects of the disclosure of trauma. She will discuss some of the ways that telling about betrayal trauma can be risky and some of the ways it can be healing. Freyd will also describe research regarding a simple intervention that appears to improve the outcome of trauma disclosures.
About the Speaker:
Jennifer J. Freyd Ph.D, is Professor of Psychology at the University of Oregon. She received her BA in Anthropology from the University of Pennsylvania and her Ph.D in Psychology from Stanford University. Professor Freyd directs a laboratory investigating the impact of interpersonal and institutional trauma on mental and physical health, behavior, and society. She has published over 150 articles and her H-index is 40. Freyd is author of the award-winning book Betrayal Trauma: The Logic of Forgetting Childhood Abuse and she co-edited with Anne DePrince the volume, Trauma & Cognitive Science. Her new book Blind to Betrayal, co-authored with Pamela J. Birrell, was published in English by John Wiley & Sons in March 2013 with translations into Portuguese, Korean, Simple Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Japanese, and Russian. Freyd is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, the American Psychological Society, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She currently serves as the Editor of the Journal of Trauma & Dissociation.
