The Effect of Hypnosis on Eyewitness Memory: Reconciling Forensic Claims and Research Findings

Mingay, David J.

doi:10.1111/j.1464-0597.1987.tb00383.x

Cited by 5 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 56 publications

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“…To illustrate, Smith (1983) reviewed the literature on the use of hypnosis to enhance memory performance of eyewitnesses to, or victims of, crimes. Although there have been a few widely publicized cases in which hypnotically induced states have resulted in critical information being furnished by the witness or victim, Smith (1983) concluded that there is no experimental evidence to support the conclusion that hypnosis has any consistent or reliable effect on retrieval of information (see also Mingay, 1987; Spiegel & Spiegel, 1987). This issue notwithstanding, it is unclear exactly what differences one might expect between genuine and simulating amnesics on these measures: To the best of our knowledge, there is no research in the literature that compares genuine and simulating amnesics on any of these measures.…”

Section: Detection Of Malingeringmentioning

confidence: 99%

The use of indirect memory tests to assess malingered amnesia: A study of metamemory.

Horton¹,

Smith²,

Barghout³

et al. 1992

Journal of Experimental Psychology: General

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Many techniques have been suggested for identifying criminal suspects who are simulating amnesia for the events surrounding a crime. The present research focuses on indirect memory tests as a potential means of discriminating between those who genuinely suffer from amnesia and those who are simulating. Subjects studied a list of words and subsequently performed either a word completion or a fragment completion task. Under normal indirect test instructions, typical priming effects were observed. When subjects were motivated to simulate amnesia for the list, target completion rates were consistently, and sometimes reliably, below baseline completion rates. This finding is contrary to the performance of genuine amnesics, whose performance on indirect tests typically mirrors that of normal subjects. Indirect tests may prove useful in discriminating genuine and simulating amnesics.

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Section: Detection Of Malingeringmentioning

confidence: 99%

The use of indirect memory tests to assess malingered amnesia: A study of metamemory.

Horton¹,

Smith²,

Barghout³

et al. 1992

Journal of Experimental Psychology: General

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“…The questions that have arisen from this particular application of hypnosis have stimulated a substantial amount of theoretical and empirical attention on the issues involved when hypnosis is used to influence memory (e.g. Mingay, 1987;Orne et al, 1984;Pettinati, 1988;Smith, 1983).…”

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confidence: 99%

Hypnotic memory and confident reporting

Krass

Kinoshita

McConkey

1989

Applied Cognitive Psychology

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The effect of hypnosis on the relationship between confidence and accuracy of memory reports is examined. Specifically, the article reviews experimental research that has measured subjects' confidence in their hypnotically influenced memory reports. The findings of this research are discussed in terms of the factors that increase confidence without affecting accuracy, and the factors that decrease accuracy without affecting confidence. The article argues that both the experiential and social factors associated with hypnosis potentially reduce the correspondence between confidence and accuracy of memory. Finally, the article specifies the major implications for further theoretical and empirical work on hypnotic memory and confident reporting.Hypnosis can be descriptively defined as a social interaction in which one person, the subject, experiences alterations in perception, memory, or voluntary behaviour in response to specific suggestions that are given by another person, the hypnotist (Kihlstrom, 1985). Perhaps because of the apparent utility of hypnosis in the clinical setting, there has been an increased use of hypnosis in the forensic setting to obtain memory reports from victims and eyewitnesses of crime (Orne, Soskis, Dinges and Orne, 1984). The questions that have arisen from this particular application of hypnosis have stimulated a substantial amount of theoretical and empirical attention on the issues involved when hypnosis is used to influence memory (e.g. Mingay, 1987;Orne et al., 1984;Pettinati, 1988;Smith, 1983).One issue that has received relatively little focused attention, however, is the extent to which an individual's confidence in the accuracy of his or her memory may be altered when hypnosis is used to refresh that memory. In this article we review relevant experimental research that has been conducted on this issue, then integrate the findings of this research into a theoretical perspective on confidence and accuracy of memory, and finally specify the major implications for further theoretical and empirical work on hypnotic memory and confident reporting. The article uses theoretical concepts from outside the area of hypnosis to provide a framework for understanding existing data, and to guide suggestions for future research.

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“…In clinical practice, some approaches consider hypnosis to be the best tool to revive lost memories, a conclusion also accepted by some in the field of criminal justice (Mingay, 1987; for a review, see Robin, 2013). Yet, many researchers and even clinicians have refuted the power of hypnosis to improve memory performance above and beyond waking conditions, and courts in the United States have become increasingly skeptical of the use of hypnosis to recover accurate memories and barred hypnotic testimony from legal proceedings in 27 states.…”

mentioning

confidence: 97%

Hypnosis and false memories.

Robin¹,

Bonamy²,

Ménétrier³

2018

Psychology of Consciousness: Theory, Research, and Practice

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We investigated the effects of attitudes toward hypnosis and hypnotic instruction on false memories per the Deese–Roediger–McDermott (DRM) paradigm. We selected participants on the basis of their scores on the Attitudes Toward Hypnosis Questionnaire (positive vs. negative) and assigned them to three experimental conditions. A nonhypnotic condition (i.e., a typical DRM paradigm) was compared with two hypnotic conditions in which a hypnotic instruction suggesting that participants focus on DRM lists was provided before either the learning phase (hypnosis-encoding condition) or the recognition phase (hypnosis-retrieval condition). We found that the instruction provided before the encoding reduced the proportion of false memories relative to the hypnosis-retrieval and nonhypnotic conditions. Accordingly, a hypnotic instruction can at least partially override the automaticity associated with the DRM effect at encoding. Individuals with positive attitudes produced more false recognitions than those with negative attitudes. These data add to the growing body of evidence confirming that the persistent effects of posthypnotic false memories are partially related to beliefs and attitudes about hypnosis. Introducing hypnosis into research on memory illusion could improve our understanding of controlled and automatic cognitive processes.

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The Effect of Hypnosis on Eyewitness Memory: Reconciling Forensic Claims and Research Findings

Cited by 5 publications

References 56 publications

The use of indirect memory tests to assess malingered amnesia: A study of metamemory.

The use of indirect memory tests to assess malingered amnesia: A study of metamemory.

Hypnotic memory and confident reporting

Hypnosis and false memories.

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