NCJ Number
75322
Journal
Journal of Police Science and Administration Volume: 8 Issue: 4 Dated: (December 1980) Pages: 385-389
Date Published
1980
Length
5 pages
Annotation
This article deals with the question of whether hypnosis can be used in enough instances to justify its development within a law enforcement organization and discusses the effectiveness of hypnosis in aiding witnesses' recall of incidents surrounding crimes.
Abstract
The subject group was comprised of 65 college students who viewed a film in which 11 different simulated crimes were committed, ranging from a possible murder to simple theft. The film ran for 28 minutes; the mean time of each incident was 66 seconds. Subjects were told to watch the film as they would events in everyday life and were requestd not to memorize any facts of the crimes. Immediately following the viewing, all subjects were tested for recall and were separated into five groups that had been selected prior to the viewing. The results of this first test showed no significant differences in recall among the groups. Then, a first group was tested under hypnosis 2 to 13 days after the viewing; a second was tested under hypnosis after both 2 to 13 days and 18 to 28 days; a third acted as a control group and participated in all tests without being hypnotized; a fourth group also acted as a control group, but its members were told before the film that they would not participate in the study; and a fifth consisted of persons who did not wish to be hypnotized, but who also participated in all tests. Participants in all groups took an additional test, without the benefit of hypnosis, 40 days after viewing the film: as with the first test, no statistically significant correlations among groups were noted. However, significant differences were recorded between subjects who were hypnotized for the tests and those who were not. The results showed that subjects with no particular emotional involvement in being witnesses to criminal activity could be helped to recall events with the aid of hypnosis. Law enforcement agencies are encouraged to include hypnosis among their investigative tools. Data tables, footnotes, and a 13-item bibliography are included.