Dissociative amnesia is best described as?

• A. cannot recall any autobiographical information
• B. can recall traumatic memories vividly
• C. memory for skills is preserved
• D. can’t remember parts of their own identity

Answer: (D)

Dissociative amnesia centers on a disruption of autobiographical memory—the personal memories that make up one’s life story. People with this condition can’t recall important information about themselves or their identity, often after a traumatic or stressful event, even though other types of memory, like skills or general knowledge, remain intact. That means they may forget parts of who they are or details of their life history, while still being able to remember how to perform tasks or recall non-personal facts.

Among the possibilities, the description that someone can’t remember parts of their own identity best captures this autobiographical memory loss. The other statements describe either memory loss that’s too broad (forgetting all autobiographical information), or memories that are preserved (skills), which aren’t the defining feature of dissociative amnesia.