Memory under Hypnosis
Journal Title: Acta Neuropsychologica - Year 2011, Vol 9, Issue 3
Abstract
The impact of hypnosis on memory has not been the object of much research, as hypnosis has primarily been used in therapy, not in experimental research. The purpose of this research was to determine whether hypnosis significantly affects the process of recalling. Sixty persons participated in the experiment. After three individual hypnotization trials,the subjects were divided into three groups: groups I and II consisted of persons unsusceptible to hypnosis, while the members of group III were susceptible. Two kinds of memory materials were used in the experiment (10 words and 10 sentences). First, the subjects individually were presented while awake with the memory material, four times. After a week’s interval, the subjects individually reproduced the memory material: in group I, while awake; in group II, in a state of relaxation; in group III, under hypnosis. The subjects examined under hypnosis significantly better reproduced the memory material. The difference between persons in a relaxation state and those reproducing material while awake was statistically insignificant. These results show that hypnosis affects memory processes in two ways: first, it selectively activates certain groups of memory traces while inhibiting others; secondly, it creates favorable conditions for recalling thanks to better concentration, disregarding distorting stimuli, and greater motivation for recalling. In this case, the impact of hypnosis would be comparable to the impact of relaxation or narcoanalysis, though it could vary as to the force of its impact.
Authors and Affiliations
Andrzej Augustynek
Keywords
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