<strong>Orne</strong> 1979 IJCEHhttp://www.sas.upenn.edu/psych/history/orne/orneijceh19794311341.html4 de 23 19/03/2012 17:24seriously <strong>in</strong>jured. British Columbia law is such that if the driver had been careless or distracted, her<strong>in</strong>surance would be liable to the estate <strong>of</strong> her dead passenger <strong>and</strong> she herself would have no substantialclaim; however, if another car ca<strong>use</strong>d315 USE AND MISUSE OF HYPNOSIS IN COUR<strong>The</strong>r to run <strong>of</strong>f the road, her <strong>in</strong>surance company would not be liable <strong>and</strong> she herself would be able torecover very substantial damages from a special fund created for the purpose. At the time <strong>of</strong> the accident,however, the woman reported no recollection <strong>of</strong> such a car. Some time later her attorney referred her to apsychiatrist for help with emotional difficulties stemm<strong>in</strong>g from the accident, <strong>and</strong> also requested that hemight seek to facilitate her memory for the accident. <strong>The</strong>re is little doubt that the driver <strong>and</strong> her lawyerwere clearly aware <strong>of</strong> the substantial difference it would make whether or not another vehicle had been<strong>in</strong>volved <strong>in</strong> the accident; thus it is hardly surpris<strong>in</strong>g that under <strong>hypnosis</strong> she remembered a van com<strong>in</strong>gtoward her <strong>and</strong> forc<strong>in</strong>g her <strong>of</strong>f the road. If the driver had simply stated that one day she suddenlyremembered that a van had forced her <strong>of</strong>f the road, a jury would be likely to reject such "spontaneous"memories as self-serv<strong>in</strong>g <strong>and</strong> not trustworthy. Memories which are recalled via the <strong>use</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>hypnosis</strong>,however, are more apt to be taken at face value. This case was ultimately settled on the <strong>court</strong>ho<strong>use</strong> steps.Even so, it represents a <strong>use</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>hypnosis</strong> closely analogous to hypnotiz<strong>in</strong>g a defendant <strong>and</strong> open to all thecaveats <strong>in</strong>volved <strong>in</strong> such a <strong>use</strong>.THE NATURE OF HYPNOTIC RECALLWhen <strong>hypnosis</strong> is <strong>use</strong>d with a defendant or pla<strong>in</strong>tiff who has much to ga<strong>in</strong> by recall<strong>in</strong>g one set <strong>of</strong>memories rather than another, motivational factors are superimposed upon the basic mechanisms <strong>in</strong>volved<strong>in</strong> hypnotically aided recall. While these motivational factors complicate the picture, the basic facts aboutthe phenomenon <strong>of</strong> <strong>hypnosis</strong> <strong>and</strong> its effects on recall apply to all circumstances where <strong>hypnosis</strong> isemployed. <strong>The</strong> unreliability <strong>of</strong> hypnotic recall is due both to factors <strong>in</strong>herent <strong>in</strong> the nature <strong>of</strong> <strong>hypnosis</strong> <strong>and</strong>properties <strong>of</strong> the human memory system.Age RegressionWhile direct suggestion is sometimes <strong>use</strong>d to facilitate recall <strong>in</strong> <strong>hypnosis</strong>, the procedures most widelyemployed <strong>in</strong>volve some form <strong>of</strong> hypnotic age regression. This dramatic phenomenon appears to enable<strong>in</strong>dividuals to relive some past event which might have occurred many years ago. However, it is a methodthat can be equally effective <strong>in</strong> help<strong>in</strong>g an <strong>in</strong>dividual to relive recent events, particularly if they <strong>in</strong>volvesome trauma lead<strong>in</strong>g to motivated forgett<strong>in</strong>g manifested by the <strong>in</strong>ability to recall significant events. Notonly are extensive cl<strong>in</strong>ical observations available concern<strong>in</strong>g hypnotic age regression, but it has also beenstudied systematically <strong>in</strong> the laboratory, provid<strong>in</strong>g data which shed much light on the nature <strong>of</strong> theprocess, <strong>and</strong> on the critical issue <strong>of</strong> the historical accuracy <strong>of</strong> hypnotically elicited recall.316 MARTIN T. ORNEWhen a hypnotized <strong>in</strong>dividual is told that he is 6 years old <strong>and</strong> at his birthday party, for example, he willbeg<strong>in</strong> to act, talk, <strong>and</strong> to some degree th<strong>in</strong>k like a child. He may play as a child would; address the friendswho apparently were at his birthday party; <strong>and</strong> describe <strong>in</strong> detail the room where the party is occurr<strong>in</strong>g,the people who are <strong>in</strong> attendance, the presents he is receiv<strong>in</strong>g, <strong>and</strong> so on. <strong>The</strong> naturalness with whichthese descriptions are given <strong>and</strong> the conviction that is communicated by the <strong>in</strong>dividual are compell<strong>in</strong>geven to tra<strong>in</strong>ed observers. <strong>The</strong> feel<strong>in</strong>gs which are expressed appear appropriate to a child more than to anadult, <strong>and</strong> the entire phenomenon is such that it is generally described as beyond the skills <strong>of</strong> even apr<strong>of</strong>essional actor. In a therapeutic sett<strong>in</strong>g, the material that is recovered dur<strong>in</strong>g hypnotic age regression is<strong>of</strong>ten <strong>of</strong> great importance to a patient's treatment. As Breuer <strong>and</strong> Freud (1895/1955) discovered at the end<strong>of</strong> the 19th century, the reliv<strong>in</strong>g <strong>of</strong> traumatic events may result <strong>in</strong> the cure <strong>of</strong> troublesome pathological