Memory 247the person is under hypnosis (Frenda et al., 2014; Hochman, 1994; Laney & Loftus, 2013;
Roediger & McDermott, 1995).
For example, research has shown that, although hypnosis may make it easier to
recall some real memories, it also makes it easier to create false memories. Hypnosis
also has been found to increase the confidence people have in their memories, regard-
less of whether those memories are real or false (Bowman, 1996). False memories have
been accidentally created by therapists’ suggestions during hypnotic therapy sessions.
to Learning Objective 4.9. For more information on false-memory syndrome,
visit the Web site at http://www.fmsfonline.org.
Research suggests that false memories are created in the brain in much the same
way as real memories are formed, especially when visual images are involved ( Gonsalves
et al., 2004). Researchers, using fMRI scans, looked at brain activity of individuals who
were looking at real visual images and then were asked to imagine looking at visual
images. They found that these same individuals were often unable to later distinguish
between the images they had really seen and the imagined images when asked to
remember which images were real or imagined. This might explain why asking people
if they saw a particular person at a crime scene (causing them to imagine the image of
that person) might affect the memories those people have of the crime when questioned
sometime later—the person they were asked to think about may be falsely remembered
as having been present. Other evidence suggests that false memories have much in com-
mon with the confabulations (stories that are made up but not intended to deceive) of
people with dementia-related memory problems and that both forms of false memories
involve a lower-than-normal level of activity in the part of the frontal lobe associated
with doubt and skepticism (Mendez & Fras, 2011). Clearly, memories obtained through
hypnosis should not be considered accurate without solid evidence from other sources.
But I’ve heard about people who under hypnosis remember
being abused as children. Aren’t those memories sometimes real?The fact that some people recover false memories under certain conditions does not
mean that child molestation does not really happen; nor does it mean that a person who
was molested might not push that unwanted memory away from conscious thought.
Molestation is a sad fact, with one conservative estimate stating that nearly 20 percent
of all females and 7 percent of all males have experienced molestation during childhood
(Abel & Osborn, 1992). There are also many therapists and psychological professionals
who are quite skilled at helping clients remember events of the past without suggest-
ing possible false memories, and they find that clients do remember information and
events that were true and able to be verified but were previously unavailable to the client
(Dalenberg, 1996). False-memory syndrome is not only harmful to the persons directly
involved but also makes it much more difficult for genuine victims of molestation to be
believed when they do recover their memories of the painful traumas of childhood.
So can we trust any of our memories at all? There is evidence to suggest that false
memories cannot be created for just any kind of memory content. The memories must
at least be plausible, according to the research of cognitive psychologist and memory
expert Kathy Pezdek, who with her colleagues has done several studies demonstrating
the resistance of children to the creation of implausible false memories (Hyman et al.,
1998; Pezdek et al., 1997; Pezdek & Hodge, 1999).
In the 1999 study, Pezdek and Hodge asked children to read five different summaries
of childhood events. Two of these events were false, but only one of the two false events was
plausible (e.g., getting lost). Although the children all were told that all of the events hap-
pened to them as small children, the results indicated that the plausible false events were
significantly more likely to be “remembered” as false memories than were the implausible
As this young woman observes the activity
outside the window, she is storing some
of the things she sees in memory while
ignoring others. If she were to witness a
crime, how would investigators know if her
memories of the events were accurate?
Would hypnotizing her to help her remember
be effective? Why or why not?