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April 5, 1985, Vol 253, No. 13 >
ARTICLE | April 5, 1985

Scientific Status of Refreshing Recollection by the Use of Hypnosis FREE

[+] Author Affiliations

Resolution 5 (A-82), adopted unanimously by the House of Delegates on Dec 5, 1984, and referred by the Board of Trustees to the Council on Scientific Affairs, called upon the American Medical Association to "study the subject of refreshing recollection by the use of hypnosis of witnesses and victims of crime, and prepare a report on the present scientific status of this matter."

This report is not intended to be construed or to serve as a standard of medical care. Standards of medical care are determined on the basis of all of the facts and circumstances involved in an individual case and are subject to change as scientific knowledge and technology advance and patterns of practice evolve. This report reflects the views of scientific experts and reports in the scientific literature as of December 1984.

Reprint requests to Council on Scientific Affairs, American Medical Association, 535 N Dearborn St, Chicago, IL 60610 (John C. Ballin, PhD).


JAMA. 1985;253(13):1918-1923. doi:10.1001/jama.1985.03350370114035
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References

The Council finds that recollections obtained during hypnosis can involve confabulations and pseudomemories and not only fail to be more accurate, but actually appear to be less reliable than nonhypnotic recall. The use of hypnosis with witnesses and victims may have serious consequences for the legal process when testimony is based on material that is elicited from a witness who has been hypnotized for the purposes of refreshing recollection.

(JAMA 1985;253:1918-1923)

REFERENCES

1 +
American Medical Association:  Medical use of hypnosis . JAMA 1958;;168:186-189.
2 +
People v Leyra, 302 NJ 353, 98 NE2d 553 (1951).
3 +
People v Boyd, Ind No. 81-C-6190 (Cir Ct Ill Feb 28, 1983).
4 +
State v Forney, No. 25A-83 (App Div NC Jan 19, 1983).
5 +
People v Shelly, Ind No. 1340/73 (Sup Ct NY 1973).
6 +
People r Ritchie, No. C-36932 (Sup Ct Cal April 7, 1977, unrep).
7 +
State v Papp, No. 78-02-00229 (CP Summit Co, Ohio, Lorain Co No. 16862 March 23, 1978, unrep), appealed, US Sup Ct No. 79-5091, cert denied Oct 1, 1979.
8 +
Landry v Garrett Chevrolet Inc, 430 So2d 1051 (La App 4th Cir), writs granted, 434 So2d 1103 (La 1983), 433 So2d 1105 (La 1983), 433 So2d 1139 (La App 4th Cir Feb 10, 1984), writs denied (not yet rep).
9 +
Diamond BL:  Inherent problems in the use of pretrial hypnosis on a prospective witness . Calif Law Rev 1980;;68:313-349.
10 +
State v McQueen, 295 NC 96, 244 SE2d 414 (1978).
11 +
United States v Adams et al, 581 F2d 193 (9th Cir 1978), cert denied, —US—, 99 S Ct 621 (1978).
12 +
People v Shirley, 31 Cal 3d 18, 641 P2d 775, 181 Cal Rptr 243(1982).
13 +
State v Collins, 296 Md 670 (1983).
14 +
State v Hurd, 173 NJ Sup Ct 333, 414 A2d 291, aff'd, 86 NJ 525, 432 A2d 86 (1981).
15 +
State v Beachum, 97 NM 682, 643 P2d 246 (Ct App 1981).
16 +
Hilgard ER: Hypnotic Susceptibility . New York, Harcourt Brace & World, 1965;.
17 +
Frankel FH, Apfel RJ, Kelly SF, et al:  The use of hypnotizability scales in the clinic: A review after six years . Int J Clin Exp Hypn 1979;;27:63-73.
18 +
Spiegel H, Spiegel D: Trance and Treatment: Clinical Uses of Hypnosis . New York, Basic Books Inc, 1978;.
19 +
Freud S: A Case of Hysteria, Three Essays on Sexuality, and Other Works . London, Hogarth Press, 1953;, p 274.
20 +
O'Connell DN, Shor RE, Orne MT:  Hypnotic age regression: An empirical and methodological analysis . J Abnorm Psychol 1970;;76(monogr 3):1-32.
21 +
Spiegel H, Shor G, Fischman S:  An hypnotic ablation technique for the study of personality development . Psychosom Med 1945;;7:272-278.
22 +
Reiser M: Handbook of Investigative Hypnosis . Los Angeles, LEHI Publishing Co, 1980;.
23 +
Reiser M:  Hypnosis as a tool in criminal investigation . Police Chief 1976;;46:36,39-40.
24 +
Sloane MC: A Comparison of Hypnosis vs. Waking State and Visual vs. Non-Visual Recall Instructions for Witness/Victim Memory Retrieval in Actual Major Crimes, doctoral dissertation. Florida State University, Tallahassee, 1981.
25 +
Stalnaker JM, Riddle EE:  The effect of hypnosis on long-delayed recall . J Gen Psychol 1932;;6:429-440.
26 +
Reiser M, Nielson M:  Investigative hypnosis: A developing specialty . Am J Clin Hypn 1980;;23:75-84.
27 +
Smith MC:  Hypnotic memory enhancement of witnesses: Does it work? Psychol Bull 1983;;94:387-407.
28 +
Putnam WH:  Hypnosis and distortions in eyewitness memory . Int J Clin Exp Hypn 1979;; 27:437-448.
29 +
Zelig M, Beidleman WB:  The investigative use of hypnosis: A word of caution . Int J Clin Exp Hypn 1981;;29:401-412.
30 +
Sheehan PW, Tilden J:  Effects of suggestibility and hypnosis on accurate and distorted retrieval from memory . J Exp Psychol Learn Mem Cogn 1983;;9:283-293.
31 +
Dywan J: Hypermnesia, Hypnosis and Memory: Implications for Forensic Investigation, doctoral dissertation. University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, 1983
32 +
Timm HW:  A Theoretical and Empirical Examination of the Effects of Forensic Hypnosis on Eyewitness Recall . Presented at the Ninth International Congress of Hypnosis and Psychosomatic Medicine, Glasgow, Scotland, Aug 22-27, 1982 .
33 +
Udolf R: Handbook of Hypnosis for Professionals . New York, Van Nostrand Reinhold Co, 1980;, p 243.
34 +
Spiegel H:  Hypnosis and evidence: Help or hindrance? Ann NY Acad Sci 1980;;347:73-85.
35 +
Kleinhauz M:  Hypnosis in Criminal Investigation—Ethical and Practical Implications . Presented at the Ninth International Congress of Hypnosis and Psychosomatic Medicine, Glasgow, Scotland, Aug 22-27, 1982 .
36 +
Orne MT:  The use and misuse of hypnosis in court . Int J Clin Exp Hypn 1979;;27:311-341.
37 +
Mutter C:  The Use of Hypnosis With Defendants . Presented at the 26th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis, Dallas, Nov 14-19, 1983 .
38 +
State v Staggers, No. 74-243 (Cir Ct Fla April 23, 1974).
39 +
Dywan J, Bowers KS:  The use of hypnosis to enhance recall . Science 1983;;222:184-185.
40 +
Erdelyi MH, Kleinbard J:  Has Ebbinghaus decayed with time? The growth of recall (hypermnesia) over days . J Exp Psychol Hum Learn Mem 1978;;4:275-289.

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1 +
American Medical Association:  Medical use of hypnosis . JAMA 1958;;168:186-189.
2 +
People v Leyra, 302 NJ 353, 98 NE2d 553 (1951).
3 +
People v Boyd, Ind No. 81-C-6190 (Cir Ct Ill Feb 28, 1983).
4 +
State v Forney, No. 25A-83 (App Div NC Jan 19, 1983).
5 +
People v Shelly, Ind No. 1340/73 (Sup Ct NY 1973).
6 +
People r Ritchie, No. C-36932 (Sup Ct Cal April 7, 1977, unrep).
7 +
State v Papp, No. 78-02-00229 (CP Summit Co, Ohio, Lorain Co No. 16862 March 23, 1978, unrep), appealed, US Sup Ct No. 79-5091, cert denied Oct 1, 1979.
8 +
Landry v Garrett Chevrolet Inc, 430 So2d 1051 (La App 4th Cir), writs granted, 434 So2d 1103 (La 1983), 433 So2d 1105 (La 1983), 433 So2d 1139 (La App 4th Cir Feb 10, 1984), writs denied (not yet rep).
9 +
Diamond BL:  Inherent problems in the use of pretrial hypnosis on a prospective witness . Calif Law Rev 1980;;68:313-349.
10 +
State v McQueen, 295 NC 96, 244 SE2d 414 (1978).
11 +
United States v Adams et al, 581 F2d 193 (9th Cir 1978), cert denied, —US—, 99 S Ct 621 (1978).
12 +
People v Shirley, 31 Cal 3d 18, 641 P2d 775, 181 Cal Rptr 243(1982).
13 +
State v Collins, 296 Md 670 (1983).
14 +
State v Hurd, 173 NJ Sup Ct 333, 414 A2d 291, aff'd, 86 NJ 525, 432 A2d 86 (1981).
15 +
State v Beachum, 97 NM 682, 643 P2d 246 (Ct App 1981).
16 +
Hilgard ER: Hypnotic Susceptibility . New York, Harcourt Brace & World, 1965;.
17 +
Frankel FH, Apfel RJ, Kelly SF, et al:  The use of hypnotizability scales in the clinic: A review after six years . Int J Clin Exp Hypn 1979;;27:63-73.
18 +
Spiegel H, Spiegel D: Trance and Treatment: Clinical Uses of Hypnosis . New York, Basic Books Inc, 1978;.
19 +
Freud S: A Case of Hysteria, Three Essays on Sexuality, and Other Works . London, Hogarth Press, 1953;, p 274.
20 +
O'Connell DN, Shor RE, Orne MT:  Hypnotic age regression: An empirical and methodological analysis . J Abnorm Psychol 1970;;76(monogr 3):1-32.
21 +
Spiegel H, Shor G, Fischman S:  An hypnotic ablation technique for the study of personality development . Psychosom Med 1945;;7:272-278.
22 +
Reiser M: Handbook of Investigative Hypnosis . Los Angeles, LEHI Publishing Co, 1980;.
23 +
Reiser M:  Hypnosis as a tool in criminal investigation . Police Chief 1976;;46:36,39-40.
24 +
Sloane MC: A Comparison of Hypnosis vs. Waking State and Visual vs. Non-Visual Recall Instructions for Witness/Victim Memory Retrieval in Actual Major Crimes, doctoral dissertation. Florida State University, Tallahassee, 1981.
25 +
Stalnaker JM, Riddle EE:  The effect of hypnosis on long-delayed recall . J Gen Psychol 1932;;6:429-440.
26 +
Reiser M, Nielson M:  Investigative hypnosis: A developing specialty . Am J Clin Hypn 1980;;23:75-84.
27 +
Smith MC:  Hypnotic memory enhancement of witnesses: Does it work? Psychol Bull 1983;;94:387-407.
28 +
Putnam WH:  Hypnosis and distortions in eyewitness memory . Int J Clin Exp Hypn 1979;; 27:437-448.
29 +
Zelig M, Beidleman WB:  The investigative use of hypnosis: A word of caution . Int J Clin Exp Hypn 1981;;29:401-412.
30 +
Sheehan PW, Tilden J:  Effects of suggestibility and hypnosis on accurate and distorted retrieval from memory . J Exp Psychol Learn Mem Cogn 1983;;9:283-293.
31 +
Dywan J: Hypermnesia, Hypnosis and Memory: Implications for Forensic Investigation, doctoral dissertation. University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, 1983
32 +
Timm HW:  A Theoretical and Empirical Examination of the Effects of Forensic Hypnosis on Eyewitness Recall . Presented at the Ninth International Congress of Hypnosis and Psychosomatic Medicine, Glasgow, Scotland, Aug 22-27, 1982 .
33 +
Udolf R: Handbook of Hypnosis for Professionals . New York, Van Nostrand Reinhold Co, 1980;, p 243.
34 +
Spiegel H:  Hypnosis and evidence: Help or hindrance? Ann NY Acad Sci 1980;;347:73-85.
35 +
Kleinhauz M:  Hypnosis in Criminal Investigation—Ethical and Practical Implications . Presented at the Ninth International Congress of Hypnosis and Psychosomatic Medicine, Glasgow, Scotland, Aug 22-27, 1982 .
36 +
Orne MT:  The use and misuse of hypnosis in court . Int J Clin Exp Hypn 1979;;27:311-341.
37 +
Mutter C:  The Use of Hypnosis With Defendants . Presented at the 26th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis, Dallas, Nov 14-19, 1983 .
38 +
State v Staggers, No. 74-243 (Cir Ct Fla April 23, 1974).
39 +
Dywan J, Bowers KS:  The use of hypnosis to enhance recall . Science 1983;;222:184-185.
40 +
Erdelyi MH, Kleinbard J:  Has Ebbinghaus decayed with time? The growth of recall (hypermnesia) over days . J Exp Psychol Hum Learn Mem 1978;;4:275-289.

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