Hypnosis, Will and Memory

HYPNOSIS, WILL, AND MEMORY, in providing a comprehensive history of hypnosis, illuminates current debates concerning its use in legal and investigative proceedings. Jean-Roch Laurence and Perry Campbell show how powerful certain beliefs and expectations that have always pervaded hypnosis remain in contemporary thought. Does the hypnotized subject give up all control to the hypnotist? Can a subject be made to do something against his or her will? Is a subject's recall more accurate under hypnosis? Or does hypnosis obscure remembered events by implicitly asking the subject to fill in the blanks'? The authors explore more than just these practical problems: An implicit theme is the plausibility of scientifically generating facts' about what a subject is experiencing, and how theoretical stances can color interpretations of subjective phenomena.