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So, with that one news story floating around, I want to quickly talk about hypnosis, memory and why testimony gathered through hypnosis is not legal in many places.
Obviously, due to Twitter's format, this will be a really quick overview. But here we go!
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Obviously, due to Twitter's format, this will be a really quick overview. But here we go!
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Let's start with memory.
See, memory isn't a fixed thing. Every time we remember a memory, our brain is basically remaking it. And thus, over time details got lost.
Think of like a game of telephone. Each time it gets passed along, the details get fuzzier.
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See, memory isn't a fixed thing. Every time we remember a memory, our brain is basically remaking it. And thus, over time details got lost.
Think of like a game of telephone. Each time it gets passed along, the details get fuzzier.
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This means it's very easy to remember things that are just not true.
Most of the time, this doesn't matter as specific details of our memories are not important.
But those details matter if you're giving testimony.
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Most of the time, this doesn't matter as specific details of our memories are not important.
But those details matter if you're giving testimony.
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It's also very easy to develop a false memory.
Famously there was an experiment where half the test group had to break a pencil.
While the other half just had to imagine breaking a pencil.
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Famously there was an experiment where half the test group had to break a pencil.
While the other half just had to imagine breaking a pencil.
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Over the next few weeks, both groups came back and talked about breaking the pencil and re-imagined the event.
Eventually, a lot of people who didn't break the pencil were convinced they had. They remembered doing so!
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Eventually, a lot of people who didn't break the pencil were convinced they had. They remembered doing so!
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Basically, if we imagine something hard enough and over a long enough period, we can make a memory of it. Even if it isn't true.
When in a hypnotic state, the brain is more open to "going along" with things asked of it, making this process quicker.
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When in a hypnotic state, the brain is more open to "going along" with things asked of it, making this process quicker.
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This was basically what happened with the Satanic Panic.
A lot of hypnotists put people under, and asked them to recall "memories".
Except, they guided the recall using leading questions, which made their patients make up totally new memories to fit the questions.
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A lot of hypnotists put people under, and asked them to recall "memories".
Except, they guided the recall using leading questions, which made their patients make up totally new memories to fit the questions.
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For instance, when they had a patient under, they would ask:
"Do you remember what evil symbols the person was wearing?"
Which, due to the implication that there were "evil symbol" present, makes the brain make them up to fill in the gaps.
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"Do you remember what evil symbols the person was wearing?"
Which, due to the implication that there were "evil symbol" present, makes the brain make them up to fill in the gaps.
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This means, by the end, the brain was basically telling the hypnotist what they wanted to hear.
This is only made worse due to the power dynamic.
The patient trusts the therapist, so their brain is likely to believe them if they suggest something was there.
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This is only made worse due to the power dynamic.
The patient trusts the therapist, so their brain is likely to believe them if they suggest something was there.
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Add in the fact that victims of crime are stressed and trying to make sense of what happened to them. And that adrenaline really messes up our memory.
You have a recipe for disaster. Where a few errant and leading questions can totally change our recall of the event.
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You have a recipe for disaster. Where a few errant and leading questions can totally change our recall of the event.
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This is why testimony gathered via hypnosis isn't legal in a lot of places.
Because it is so easy to create false memories, even if you're not aiming to do so.
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Because it is so easy to create false memories, even if you're not aiming to do so.
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On a personal note:
Fuck that dude. I'm sooo fucking tired of idiots ruining the reputation of hypnotherapy because they're terrible at it.
Stories like this put the field and its research back 20 years every time they happen.
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Fuck that dude. I'm sooo fucking tired of idiots ruining the reputation of hypnotherapy because they're terrible at it.
Stories like this put the field and its research back 20 years every time they happen.
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Summary:
1. Memory is very flexible.
2. That hypnotist deserves to be condemned by every professional in the psych field.
3. All their cases need to be re-tried or thrown out.
4. ACAB
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1. Memory is very flexible.
2. That hypnotist deserves to be condemned by every professional in the psych field.
3. All their cases need to be re-tried or thrown out.
4. ACAB
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