Orne, M.T. The use and misuse of hypnosis in court. International ...
Orne, M.T. The use and misuse of hypnosis in court. International ...
Orne, M.T. The use and misuse of hypnosis in court. International ...
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<strong>Orne</strong> 1979 IJCEHhttp://www.sas.upenn.edu/psych/history/orne/orneijceh19794311341.html8 de 23 19/03/2012 17:24changed his story many times, <strong>and</strong> had not reported many <strong>of</strong> the details that emerged only dur<strong>in</strong>g<strong>hypnosis</strong>, he will now report his "memories" consistently <strong>and</strong> with conviction. As a consequence,memories which occurred only dur<strong>in</strong>g <strong>hypnosis</strong> may be <strong>in</strong>correctly presented <strong>in</strong> <strong>court</strong> as though theyrepresented recollections based on orig<strong>in</strong>al memory traces <strong>of</strong> the events that actually occurred on the day<strong>in</strong> question.321 USE AND MISUSE OF HYPNOSIS IN COURTHypnotic Recall as Part <strong>of</strong> Basic Memory Processes<strong>The</strong> idea that one can <strong>in</strong> <strong>hypnosis</strong> somehow reactivate orig<strong>in</strong>al memory traces stems from a widely heldview (especially among lay hypnotists) that memory <strong>in</strong>volves a process analogous to a multi-channelvideotape-recorder <strong>in</strong>side the head which records all sensory impressions <strong>and</strong> stores them <strong>in</strong> their prist<strong>in</strong>eform. Further, there is a belief that while this material cannot ord<strong>in</strong>arily be brought to consciousness, itcan be accessed through <strong>hypnosis</strong>; this mechanism is presumed to make possible the phenomenon <strong>of</strong> ageregression or revivification. Suffice it to say that such a view is counter to any currently accepted theory<strong>of</strong> memory <strong>and</strong> is not supported by scientific data (for reviews, see for example, Hilgard & L<strong>of</strong>tus, 1979;Jenk<strong>in</strong>s, 1974; Putnam, 1979; Roediger, 1979). As Bartlett (1932) po<strong>in</strong>ted out many years ago, memory iscont<strong>in</strong>uously chang<strong>in</strong>g <strong>and</strong> is reconstructive as well as reproductive. It is possible that highly traumatic,emotional material that is repressed could be less subject to the k<strong>in</strong>d <strong>of</strong> cont<strong>in</strong>u<strong>in</strong>g changes seen withrelatively neutral material, but even this is doubtful s<strong>in</strong>ce, as has been po<strong>in</strong>ted out earlier, many <strong>of</strong> thememories recovered <strong>in</strong> psychotherapy <strong>in</strong>clude material which is not historically accurate.Particularly relevant to our consideration here, however, are the observations discussed by Hilgard <strong>and</strong>L<strong>of</strong>tus (1979) <strong>in</strong>dicat<strong>in</strong>g that free narrative recall will produce the highest percentage <strong>of</strong> accurate<strong>in</strong>formation but also the lowest amount <strong>of</strong> detail. Conversely, the more an eye-witness is questioned aboutdetails, the more details will be obta<strong>in</strong>ed--but with a marked decrease <strong>in</strong> accuracy. This observation, basedon research with unhypnotized <strong>in</strong>dividuals, is virtually certa<strong>in</strong> to apply to hypnotized subjects as well.From Hypnotic Enhancement <strong>of</strong> Recall to the Creation <strong>of</strong> MemoryWhile the laws which govern memory <strong>in</strong>evitably apply to hypnotic recall, it is difficult to disentanglewhich aspects <strong>of</strong> hypnotically enhanced memories represent accurate recall <strong>and</strong> which represent fantasiesthat are confabulated to approximate what might have occurred. <strong>The</strong> extent to which the process <strong>of</strong>confabulation may be stimulated by <strong>hypnosis</strong> becomes obvious when, <strong>in</strong>stead <strong>of</strong> be<strong>in</strong>g asked to relive aprior event, the subject is given suggestions to experience a future event--about which no memories couldpossibly exist. For <strong>in</strong>stance, <strong>in</strong> age progression (Kl<strong>in</strong>e & Guze, 1951), a subject is given the suggestion thatit is the year 2000 <strong>and</strong> asked to describe the world around him. Such a suggestion, given to the deeplyhypnotized <strong>in</strong>dividual, will lead to a vivid <strong>and</strong> compell<strong>in</strong>g description <strong>of</strong> all k<strong>in</strong>ds <strong>of</strong> new, as yet unseen,scientific marvels. Obviously, the plausibility <strong>and</strong> the precise nature <strong>of</strong>322 MARTIN T. ORNEthe subject's description will depend upon his scientific knowledge, his read<strong>in</strong>g, <strong>and</strong> his <strong>in</strong>telligence.<strong>The</strong> same process that allows a hypnotized <strong>in</strong>dividual to halluc<strong>in</strong>ate the environment <strong>of</strong> the year 2000 canalso be <strong>in</strong>volved when he is urged to recall what happened 6 months ago, especially if he lacks the clear,wak<strong>in</strong>g memory to permit him to recall details accurately. Unfortunately, such pseudomemories can <strong>and</strong><strong>of</strong>ten do become <strong>in</strong>corporated <strong>in</strong>to the <strong>in</strong>dividual's memory store as though they had actually happened. Itis worth not<strong>in</strong>g that this can occur even with bizarre memories such as when people "recall" their pastlives <strong>and</strong> become conv<strong>in</strong>ced that these events really took place or, <strong>in</strong> other <strong>in</strong>stances, when <strong>in</strong>dividualsunder <strong>hypnosis</strong> remember encounters with fly<strong>in</strong>g saucers <strong>and</strong> become conv<strong>in</strong>ced they have actually