International Handbook of Clinical Hypnosis - E-Lib FK UWKS

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International Handbook of Clinical Hypnosis. Edited by G. D. Burrows, R. O. Stanley, P. B. Bloom
Copyright # 2001 John Wiley & Sons Ltd
ISBNs: 0-471-97009-3 Hardback); 0-470-84640-2 Electronic)
Memory and HypnosisÐ
General Considerations
PETER W. SHEEHAN
Australian Catholic University
This chapter concerns itself with hypnosis and memory, and the relationship
between them. At the outset, it seems most appropriate to de®ne the nature of both,
and then to brie¯y review the association that exists between them. The concern of
this chapter is primarily with memory distortion, rather than accuracy, as the
distorting effects of what people remember are often clinically relevant.
THE NATURE OF HYPNOSIS AND MEMORY
THE NATURE OF HYPNOSIS
The nature of hypnosis has been much debated in the literature Orne, 1959;
Kihlstrom, 1985; Lynn & Rhue, 1991). Nevertheless, there is reasonable consensus
about some of its de®ning properties. Although distortions typically occur, hypnosis
can be said to occur when one person the subject) experiences alterations in
perception, memory, or mood in response to suggestions given by another person
the hypnotist). Although distortions typically occur, hypnosis is essentially an
experiential phenomenon where the hypnotist typically guides the subject to create
a favorable situation for the display of his or her special capacities and skills.
Substantial reliance has to be placed therefore on the subject's self-report as to the
nature of his or her experience.
If a subject is motivated to fake hypnosis i.e. to report an experience that he or
she is not having), then it is possible to do so. In such a case, subjects typically base
their performance on the information that has been given about hypnosis before the
hypnosis session and on the cues that are given during the hypnosis session itself.
This is not a view that is compatible with hypnosis recovering traces of original
perception, and sits most comfortably with the perspective that memories retrieved
in hypnosis are products of hypnotized subjects' imaginative capacities at work. It
does not say, however, that hypnosis is inherently distorting.
International Handbook of Clinical Hypnosis. Edited by G. D. Burrows, R. O. Stanley and P. B. Bloom
# 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd