Hypnosis can aid the retrieval of stimuli memories by activating cognitive mechanisms which reinforce normal retrieval functions or provide alternate access to the unretrieved memories. Hypnosis may aid memory by recreating conditions at the time the targeted incident occurred, by enhancing image vividness, by reinstating the encoding context and mood, and by providing a structured retrieval process. The weight of experimental evidence from controlled studies of hypnotic age regression does not support recall accuracy under hypnosis. Recall may be distorted by intentional or unwitting cues and counterfactual information supplied while in the hypnotic condition. Hypnosis may enhance the subject's confidence in the memories recalled without necessarily improving recall accuracy. The use of hypnotically enhanced recall in psychotherapy does not require recall accuracy to achieve its therapeutic purpose. A reliving of the emotional dynamic of the targeted experience may occur without circumstantial accuracy. Hypnosis for forensic purposes, however, emphasizes recall accuracy. Recalled facts under hypnosis should not be admitted as evidence unless independently corroborated, given the empirical evidence that hypnosis may yield inaccurate and distorted memories. 182 references.
Reconstructing Memory Through Hypnosis - Forensic and Clinical Implications
NCJ Number
102846
Date Published
Unknown
Length
84 pages
Annotation
This study reviews the relevant scientific literature on the accuracy and consequences of hypnotically elicited recall and discusses the implications of such evidence for the use of hypnosis in reconstructing memory in therapeutic and forensic settings.
Abstract