International Handbook of Clinical Hypnosis - E-Lib FK UWKS

58 INTERNATIONAL HANDBOOK OF CLINICAL HYPNOSIS
explication of these, see the Chapter 7 in this book and also, McConkey &
Sheehan, 1995).
CONCLUSION
As argued above see also Sheehan & McConkey, 1993), hypnosis is not communication
in the usual sense of the word. It frequently involves a close interpersonal
relationship, and can involve radical changes in ways of thinking which
can occur in a range of different social contextsÐincluding therapy. Hypnotized
people do not in general critically analyze incoming detailed information Kihlstrom,
1985), and this has major implications for the use of hypnosis in the clinical
and forensic setting. Furthermore, beliefs of the hypnotist and of clients reliably
in¯uence the manner in which hypnotized people respond. Looking at memory, in
particular, although hypnosis may increase the volume of material recalled, there is
no dependable enhancement in the accuracy vs inaccuracy) of the information
retrieved. Demonstrations of increases in the accuracy of remembered material,
are, in fact, relatively rare e.g., Crawford & Allen, 1983; McConkey & Kinoshita,
1988; Stager & Lundy, 1985).
In this chapter, two sample phenomena have been analyzed and general conclusions
drawn about the association between hypnosis and memory.
Clinically speaking, in relation to memory and its association with hypnosis, if
the decision has been made to proceed with hypnosis then it must be assumed by
the practitioner that bene®ts are likely to occur. Such bene®ts may be the promise
of therapeutic cure, events that will take the form of refreshed memory on the part
of the client which can be checked independently, or the determination of the state
of consciousness of an involved participant when some event took place. A whole
complex set of motivational factors comes into play once the decision to use
hypnosis has been taken and the link with the relevant laboratory evidence has been
made. There may be, if the person is truly hypnotized, motivational factors
associated with hypnosis, such as a desire to please the hypnosist; but there may be
other extrinsic motivational factors at work as well that are related to the context in
which hypnosis is embedded. In clinical hypnosis, for example, these cues are often
salient and powerfully motivational in character. In the case of forensic hypnosis,
victims may in some cases have reasons for wanting innocent people convicted,
and this is vividly illustrated in the cases discussed by Orne 1979). Suspects may
have a very strong need to demonstrate their innocence or guilt) and a large
number of motivating forces can be present. It is probably very rare in the clinical
or forensic setting to ®nd any participant who can lay claim to be emotionally
neutral.
The question of hypnotizing a person who is involved in an actual memory event
to be later retrieved) has many potential dif®culties. The laboratory evidence tells
us that aptitude for trance is clearly a highly relevant variable, state instruction may