University of New Mexico
Paul Guinther studied under the supervision of Michael Dougher at the University of New Mexico. He conducted translational research on false memory in verbally competent adults, showing how environmental manipulations can lead people to recall a single event in multiple, different ways. He developed a paradigm to derive semantic false memories through the manipulation of contextual variables, and hopes to extend this paradigm in order to produce mood-congruent false memories and false memories that elicit specific emotions. Eventually, he would like to extend his research to include considerations of the Pennebaker paradigm, bereavement, posttraumatic stress disorder, and other domains involving the intersection of memory, loss, trauma, and recovery. Ultimately, Paul hopes that his line of memory research will contribute to a full behavior analytic account of "cognitive distortions" and "reframing," and lead to technologies that can help people interpret and reinterpret their experiences in ways that promote adaptive functioning.
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