International Handbook of Clinical Hypnosis - E-Lib FK UWKS

HYPNOSIS AND RECOVERED MEMORY 101
1996) argued, however, neither the clinician nor the client has de®nite knowledge
of the reasons for a particular problem. Of course, the clinician can have more or
less plausible theories regarding that problem, but these theories should not be
confused with absolute truth, however compelling they may seem. In other words,
clinicians need to deal with recovered memories in terms of their clinical utility,
without focusing on the truth or falsity of those memories Fowler, 1994).
HYPNOSIS AND MEMORY
The use of hypnosis to enhance memory can lead to major changes in recall, as
well as in the con®dence that people hold in the accuracy of their recall. The
in¯uence of hypnosis on memory generally has been the focus of substantial
investigation and comment American Medical Association, 1985, 1994; American
Society of Clinical Hypnosis, 1995; Laurence & Perry, 1988; McConkey &
Sheehan, 1995; Pettinati, 1988, Sche¯in & Shapiro, 1989), and the in¯uence of
hypnosis on recovered memory has been the focus of two special issues of the
International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis October 1994; April
1995). Overall, it is clear that people can believe strongly in the accuracy of their
hypnotically enhanced memories, even when those memories are wrong. In
summary of the experimental ®ndings about the effect of hypnosis on memory,
McConkey 1992) concluded, `It should be understood clearly that the experimental
®ndings provide no guarantee that any bene®ts e.g., increased accurate recall) will
be obtained through its use, and that some costs e.g., inaccurate recall, inappropriate
con®dence) may well be incurred through its use' p. 426). For instance,
hypnosis can lead to an apparent increase in memory, because it may lead people to
generate and report more material as memory than they would if hypnosis were not
involved McConkey & Kinoshita, 1988). Also, hypnotized individuals can accept
subtle changes to their memory, incorporate those changes into their memory, and
develop con®dence in the accuracy of what they report; one of the most consistent
®ndings from the experimental research is that hypnosis may lead people to be
inappropriately con®dent in the accuracy of their memory Nogrady, McConkey &
Perry, 1985; see also Krass, Kinoshita & McConkey, 1988). Finally, hypnosis can
lead to the creation of pseudomemory when a hypnotized person accepts a
suggestion for false information and subsequently reports that information as a
genuine memory Barnier & McConkey, 1992).
Although some have debated the interpretation and relevance of experimental
research on hypnosis and memory American Society of Clinical Hypnosis, 1995),
in their analysis of recovered memories of abuse Pope & Brown 1996) considered
that `because hypnotic technique can enhance suggestibility and lead to the
development of pseudomemories in some individuals, its use as a memory
enhancement or memory-retrieval strategy seems questionable at best' p. 59). The
importance of understanding the processes involved, as well as the possible risks