Hypnosis refers to the practice of occasioning a state of relaxed concentration in which the hypnotized individual is susceptible to any suggestions that the hypnotizer makes, such as relieving a past event; a technique which has been suggested for use in court cases. It has been proposed that hypnosis could be an important tool in helping crime witnesses remember occurrences more clearly, however, this has met resistance as it is difficult to prove its efficacy (Orne, 1979). This paper is aimed at analyzing studies done to realize the efficacy of hypnosis in helping witnesses remember certain events more clearly than they normally would.
The first study to be analyzed is one conducted by John Yuille and Hope McEwan from the University of British Columbia who engaged a group of participants in a 2-week study meant to test the effect of hypnosis on recollection and influence of the hypnotizer over their subject. In the study, 72 participants who were deemed predisposed to hypnosis were selected and shown a video of a robbery (Yuille " McEwan, 1985). After a week, the participants were called in for interviews about the robbery while they were in various states; hypnotized, calm, and awake. The volunteers were further divided into two whereby, half received instructions through images while the others were guided verbally to remember (Yuille " McEwan, 1985). In answering the 43 questions all the individual groups performed similarly in their recollection of the events that transpired in the robbery video, even in the five misleading questions that were asked (Yuille " McEwan, 1985). The team, therefore, came to the conclusion that hypnosis does not have an effect on the recall ability of an individual.
However, a similar study testing the effects of hypnosis came to a contrasting conclusion after it was discovered that hypnosis had an effect on the recollections of the participants. The study which was conducted by Steven Lynn from Ohio University was investigating the effects of hypnosis on individuals with age regression both during and after the hypnotization session.
Participants in the study were grouped into two, an age-regressed group and a simulation group, and were asked to pretend they were hypnotized in the presence of a third party to assess the accuracy of their responses (Nash, Drake, " Wiley, 1986).
The results indicated that hypnosis has an effect on the recollection ability of a witness, however, this effect was not positive as the age regressed subjects in the study could not clearly identify exact transitional objects present as opposed to the simulation group (Nash, Drake, " Wiley, 1986). Hypnosis was also discovered to affect the recollection of the age regressed group as they tended to incorporate inaccurate recollections that were conveyed during the hypnosis process (Nash, Drake, " Wiley, 1986). Therefore, while hypnosis may not have any positive effects on the recollection ability of adults, it may lead to contamination of the events.
Conclusion
Both studies managed to prove beyond a doubt that hypnosis does not have an effect on the recollection ability of the participants, therefore, with no clear advantage over waking testimonies and the possibility of contamination the memories, hypnosis should be considered inaccurate. While it can be argued from the results of the first study that hypnosis does not lead to false recollections, the possibility of contamination remains high since hypnosis was not proved to be beneficial to witness recollections. Therefore, hypnosis should not be used in assisting witness recollection of crimes since the recollections may be contaminated.
References
Yuille, J. C., " McEwan, N. H. (1985). Use of hypnosis as an aid to eyewitness memory. Journal of Applied Psychology, 70(2), 389.
Nash, M. R., Drake, S. D., Wiley, S., Khalsa, S., " Lynn, S. J. (1986). Accuracy of recall by hypnotically age-regressed subjects. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 95(3), 298.
Orne, M. T. (1979). The use and misuse of hypnosis in court. The International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 27(4), 311-341.
