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Hartman DT, Wang Y, Wu Y, Goldfarb D, Vidales D, Qin J, Eisen ML, Goodman GS. Childhood Sexual Abuse: A Longitudinal Study of Disclosures and Denials. Child Maltreat 2023; 28:462-475. [PMID: 36988427 DOI: 10.1177/10775595231165335] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
In legal cases regarding child sexual abuse (CSA), children have various options, such as to disclose or deny maltreatment. When interviewed in adulthood, their accounts may be consistent with their childhood responses. Alternatively, denial in childhood could be followed in adulthood by disclosure ("deferred disclosure"), confirming previous suspicions. Or the adults could possibly recant. We conducted a longitudinal study of CSA disclosures and denials (N = 99; Time 1 [T1], 3- to 16-year-olds). T1 CSA disclosures and denials at a forensic unit were compared to the individuals' responses 20 years later (Time 2 [T2]. 22- to 37-years-old). We found that consistent disclosure was associated with being older at T1 and female. Deferred disclosure was significantly associated with greater T2 trauma-related symptoms. Corroboration and higher CSA severity predicted T2 recantation. Consistent denial was related to less severe CSA. Our findings add to knowledge about CSA disclosures, which affect legal pathways available to child victims.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dana T Hartman
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Yan Wang
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Yuerui Wu
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Deborah Goldfarb
- Department of Psychology, Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA
| | - Daisy Vidales
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Jianjian Qin
- Department of Psychology, California State University, Sacramento, CA, USA
| | - Mitchell L Eisen
- Department of Psychology, California State University, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Gail S Goodman
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
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Wu Y, Goodman GS, Goldfarb D, Wang Y, Vidales D, Brown L, Eisen ML, Qin J. Memory Accuracy After 20 Years for Interviews About Child Maltreatment. Child Maltreat 2023; 28:85-96. [PMID: 34879739 DOI: 10.1177/10775595211055184] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
When adults allege childhood victimization, their long-term memory comes under scrutiny. This scrutiny can extend to the adults' memory of childhood interviews. The concerns raise important theoretical and applied issues regarding memory for long-past discussions of child maltreatment and trauma. In this longitudinal study, 104 adults, who as children (ages 3-15 years) were interviewed in child maltreatment investigations (Time 1), were questioned 20 years later (Time 2) about the Time 1 interviews. Verbatim documentation from Time 1 permitted scoring of memory accuracy. A subset of the participants (36%) reported no memory for the Time 1 interviews. Of the 64% who remembered being interviewed at Time 1, those who had been adolescents at Time 1 remembered the forensic interview discussion about abuse incidents better than discussion about general psychological issues. Adult trauma symptoms were associated with more accurate memory for interview content that directly concerned abuse experiences but not for non-abuse-specific information. Findings indicate that the veracity of adults' long-term memory for clinical/forensic conversations about childhood maltreatment depends on age at interview, interview content, and traumatization factors. Implications are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuerui Wu
- 8789University of California, Davis, CA, USA
| | | | | | - Yan Wang
- 8789University of California, Davis, CA, USA
| | | | - Lily Brown
- 8789University of California, Davis, CA, USA
| | | | - Jianjian Qin
- 10695California State University, Sacramento, CA, USA
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Eisen ML, Williams T, Jones J, Ying R. Variations in the Encoding Conditions Can Affect Eyewitnesses’ Vulnerability to Suggestive Influence. Applied Cognitive Psychology 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/acp.4000] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
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Eisen ML, Ying RC, Chui C, Swaby MA. Comparing witness performance in the field versus the lab: How real-world conditions affect eyewitness decision-making. Law Hum Behav 2022; 46:175-188. [PMID: 35604705 DOI: 10.1037/lhb0000485] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE This field-simulation experiment was designed to compare eyewitness performance when conducting show ups and lineups under field versus laboratory conditions. HYPOTHESES We expected to replicate the findings from previous field-simulation experiments showing overconfidence in show up identifications made under field but not lab conditions, and further predicted that under field conditions, high-confidence identifications are more likely to be correct when using lineups compared with show ups. It was also expected that field conditions would lead witnesses to lower their criterion for choosing with show ups, but we did not know how field conditions would affect lineup decision-making. METHOD Participants (N = 719) witnessed the theft of a laptop computer and were asked to identify a suspect from a live show up, a photographic show up, or a photographic lineup administered under either field or lab conditions. In the field condition, uniformed officers functioned as experimenters and participants were immersed in what they were led to believe was an actual police investigation. In the lab condition, participants were debriefed before the identification procedure that the theft was staged for research purposes and that their identifications were being made as part of a study on eyewitness memory. RESULTS As predicted, witnesses were overconfident in their show up identifications made under field but not lab conditions, and high-confidence identifications were more likely to be correct when using lineups compared with show ups. Also as expected, field conditions led witnesses to lower their criterion for choosing with show ups regardless of culprit presence. However, the opposite was true for lineups, such that field conditions resulted in witnesses raising their criterion for choosing. CONCLUSIONS Field conditions had a very different effect on witness performance when conducting show ups compared with lineups. When witnesses were led to believe that their identification would result in the arrest and prosecution of the suspect, they became more liberal in their decision-making when show ups were used but more conservative when lineups were employed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).
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Affiliation(s)
- Mitchell L Eisen
- Department of Psychology, California State University, Los Angeles
| | - Rebecca C Ying
- Department of Psychology, California State University, Los Angeles
| | - Charmaine Chui
- Department of Psychology, California State University, Los Angeles
| | - Monique A Swaby
- Department of Psychology, California State University, Los Angeles
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Eisen ML, Goodman GS, Diep J, Lacsamana M, Ristrom LJ, Qin JJ. Disclosures of Sexual and Physical Abuse across Repeated Interviews. J Child Sex Abus 2021; 30:932-952. [PMID: 34384332 DOI: 10.1080/10538712.2021.1960457] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2020] [Revised: 03/16/2021] [Accepted: 05/13/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
This study examined the recorded interviews of 132 children between 3 and 16-years of age who were involved in a forensic investigation evaluating allegations of sexual and/or physical abuse. As part of this investigation, two interviews were conducted over a 5-day period. The interviews were analyzed to examine how frequently these children disclosed substantiated allegations of abuse when asked directly about these experiences in one or both interviews. Results revealed that 39.2% of children with substantiated sexual abuse and 55.6% of those with substantiated physical abuse denied these experiences in one or both interviews. The denial rate was highest among school aged children (6- to-10-year- olds), as over a third of the girls and more than half of the boys in this age group denied the substantiated allegations in one or both interviews. Recantations were also relatively common, as 24% of the children who disclosed sexual and/or physical abuse prior to the assessment denied the allegations in one or both interviews. The youngest children (3- to 5-year-olds) were most likely to be inconsistent in their denials/disclosures across interviews. Custody status and relation to the perpetrator also predicted denials/disclosures of sexual, but not physical abuse. Overall, the data suggest that denials of both sexual and physical abuse are quite common and higher than rates found in most archival file reviews.
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Eisen ML, Cedré GC, Williams TQ, Jones JM. Does anyone else look familiar? Influencing identification decisions by asking witnesses to re-examine the lineup. Law Hum Behav 2018; 42:306-320. [PMID: 29939064 PMCID: PMC6451644 DOI: 10.1037/lhb0000291] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Two experiments were conducted to see if asking witnesses to take another look at the lineup after they voiced their identification decisions would alter their choices, and if confirming feedback could then be used to solidify the selections they shifted to. Participants watched a simulated crime and were asked to identify the culprit from a photographic lineup. After voicing their identification decisions, participants were prompted to re-examine the lineup. Half of the participants then received confirming feedback for their decisions, regardless of whether they shifted to a new picture or not. Later on, a different experimenter escorted participants to a second room and administered the same lineup again. In Experiment 1 (N = 432), biased instructions were used to encourage choosing, and when participants were prompted to re-examine the lineup, 70% changed their identification decisions and selected a different picture. When that new selection was reinforced with feedback and participants were given a second opportunity to identify the culprit at a later time, 72% selected the picture they shifted to as the culprit. Participants who made their decisions more quickly were less likely to shift, but accuracy did not predict shifting. This general pattern of findings was replicated using unbiased instructions in Experiment 2 (N = 237). Results suggest that prompting witnesses to re-examine the lineup can often lead witnesses to change their identification decisions, and when the altered choice is reinforced, they will often stay with that influenced decision over time, asserting it with a high degree of confidence. (PsycINFO Database Record
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Affiliation(s)
- Mitchell L Eisen
- Department of Psychology, California State University, Los Angeles
| | - Gabriela C Cedré
- Department of Psychology, California State University, Los Angeles
| | | | - Jennifer M Jones
- Department of Psychology, California State University, Los Angeles
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Eisen ML, Gabbert F, Ying R, Williams J. “I Think He Had A Tattoo On His Neck”: How Co-Witness Discussions About A Perpetrator's Description Can Affect Eyewitness Identification Decisions. Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jarmac.2017.01.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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Eisen ML, Skerrit-Perta A, Jones JM, Owen J, Cedré GC. Pre-admonition Suggestion in Live Showups: When Witnesses Learn that the Cops Caught ‘the’ Guy. Appl Cognit Psychol 2017. [DOI: 10.1002/acp.3349] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Jade Owen
- California State University; Los Angeles USA
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Eisen ML, Gomes DM, Wandry L, Drachman D, Clemente A, Groskopf C. Examining the Prejudicial Effects of Gang Evidence on Jurors. Journal of Forensic Psychology Practice 2013. [DOI: 10.1080/15228932.2012.713831] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
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Eisen ML, Gomes DM, Lorber WG, Perez CI, Uchishiba H. Using an Individual Differences Approach to Examine Two Distinct Types of Suggestibility Effects. Appl Cognit Psychol 2012. [DOI: 10.1002/acp.2864] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
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Abstract
OBJECTIVE Our goal was to examine children's expressed emotions when they disclose maltreatment. Little scientific research exists on this topic, and yet children's emotional expressions at disclosure may inform psychological theory and play a crucial role in legal determinations. METHOD One hundred and twenty-four videotaped forensic interviews were coded for children's emotional displays. In addition, children's trauma-related symptoms (depression, dissociation, and PTSD) and global adaptive functioning were assessed, and abuse type and frequency were documented. RESULTS Most children in the sample evinced neutral emotion during disclosure. However, stronger negative reactions were linked to indices of psychopathology. Number of abuse experiences was inversely related to negative emotional displays. CONCLUSION Fact finders may profit from knowing that maltreated children do not necessarily cry or display strong emotion when disclosing maltreatment experiences. Nevertheless, predictors of greater negative affect at disclosure can be identified: fewer abuse experiences; higher global adaptive functioning; and for sexually abused children, greater dissociative tendencies. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS Although further research is needed, practitioners should consider that children who disclose abuse may display relatively neutral affect despite having experienced maltreatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liat Sayfan
- Department of Psychology, University of California, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA
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Eisen ML, Oustinovskaya M, Kistorian R, Morgan DY, Mickes L. The effect of question format on resistance to misleading postevent information and self-reports of events occurring during hypnosis. Int J Clin Exp Hypn 2008; 56:198-213. [PMID: 18307129 DOI: 10.1080/00207140701672946] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
Participants were administered a standard tape-recorded version of the Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility, Form A (HGSHS:A) and then a modified version of the HGSHS:A response booklet that asked each participant to report which suggested behaviors they performed during the procedures. These response booklets were altered to include 3 additional suggestions not offered during the hypnotic procedures. Half the participants were administered the questions in the response booklet in the standard format ("I performed the suggested behavior" versus "I did not perform the suggested behavior"). The remaining participants were offered a third alternative to each question ("I do not remember this occurring"). As predicted, participants offered the 3rd alternative were significantly less likely to report performing actions that were never suggested during the procedures. Further, these participants reported performing fewer suggested behaviors (i.e., reported passing fewer of the true Harvard items) than participants in the standard 2-alternative condition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mitchell L Eisen
- Department of Psychology, California State University, Los Angeles, California 90032, USA.
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Lorber W, Morgan DY, Eisen ML, Barak T, Perez C, Crosbie-Burnett M. Patterns of cohesion in the families of offspring of addicted parents: examining a nonclinical sample of college students. Psychol Rep 2008; 101:881-95. [PMID: 18232445 DOI: 10.2466/pr0.101.3.881-895] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
This study was designed to examine patterns of family functioning among college students who are offspring of addicted parents. 218 undergraduate psychology students were administered a series of measures assessing family functioning, dissociation, parental addiction, and a history of child abuse. As predicted, offspring of addicted parents reported significantly lower Cohesion in their families of origin (F1,161 = 10.16, p =.002), and described significantly greater dissatisfaction with the cohesion they experienced in their families of origin, when compared to their college peers (F1,135 = 10.24, p= .002). However, these groups reported comparable Adaptability in their families of origin (F1,161 = 1.74, ns). These data show that, although offspring of addicted parents college students appear to share commonalities with their student peers in terms of the adaptability in their families of origin, they still share some key characteristics with clinical populations of offspring of addicted parents, which distinguish them as a group.
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Eisen ML, Goodman GS, Qin J, Davis S, Crayton J. Maltreated children's memory: Accuracy, suggestibility, and psychopathology. Dev Psychol 2007; 43:1275-94. [DOI: 10.1037/0012-1649.43.6.1275] [Citation(s) in RCA: 130] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
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Abstract
The present study was designed to assess children's memory and suggestibility in the context of ongoing child maltreatment investigations. One hundred eighty-nine 3-17-year-olds involved in evaluations of alleged maltreatment were interviewed with specific and misleading questions about an anogenital examination and clinical assessment. For the anogenital examination, children's stress arousal was indexed both behaviorally and physiologically. For all children, individual-difference data were gathered on intellectual and short-term memory abilities, general psychopathology, and dissociative tendencies. Interviewers' ratings were available for a subset of children concerning the amount of detail provided in abuse disclosures. Results indicated that general psychopathology, short-term memory, and intellectual ability predicted facets of children's memory performance. Older compared to younger children evinced fewer memory errors and greater suggestibility resistance. Age was also significantly related to the amount of detail in children's abuse disclosures. Neither dissociation nor stress arousal significantly predicted children's memory. Implications for understanding maltreated children's eyewitness memory are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mitchell L Eisen
- Department of Psychology, California State University, King Hall, 5151 State University Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90032, USA
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Eisen ML, Morgan DY, Mickes L. Individual differences in eyewitness memory and suggestibility: examining relations between acquiescence, dissociation and resistance to misleading information. Personality and Individual Differences 2002. [DOI: 10.1016/s0191-8869(01)00172-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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Abstract
OBJECTIVE The goal of the present study was to investigate the consistency of children's reports of sexual and physical abuse. METHOD A group of 222 children, ages 3-16 years, participated. As part of legal investigations, the children were interviewed twice about their alleged experiences of abuse. The consistency of children's reports of sexual and physical abuse was examined in the two interviews, in relation to age, type of abuse, gender, memory, suggestibility, and cognitive capabilities. RESULTS Older children were more consistent than younger children in their reports of sexual and physical abuse. Children were more consistent when reporting sexual abuse than physical abuse. Girls were more consistent than boys in sexual abuse reports. Consistency in sexual abuse reports was predicted by measures of memory, whereas consistency in physical abuse reports was not. Cognitive abilities did not predict consistency in sexual abuse or physical abuse reports. CONCLUSIONS Implications for understanding children's allegations of abuse are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simona Ghetti
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis 95616, USA
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Abstract
In this review we examine factors hypothesized to affect children's memory for traumatic events. Theoretical ideas on the processing and remembering of trauma are presented and critiqued. We review research on how psychopathology may generally influence and dissociation and posttraumatic stress disorder may specifically influence children's memory and suggestibility. The special case of child maltreatment is addressed as it relates to interviewing children about traumatic life experiences. Throughout we draw on current developmental, cognitive, social, and clinical theory and research. The review covers a controversial and exciting area of psychological inquiry.
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Affiliation(s)
- M L Eisen
- California State University, Los Angeles, USA
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Eisen ML, Carlson EB. Individual differences in suggestibility: examining the influence of dissociation, absorption, and a history of childhood abuse. Appl Cognit Psychol 1998. [DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1099-0720(199812)12:73.0.co;2-p] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
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Eisen ML. Christianson, Sven-Åke (Ed.). (1992). The Handbook of Emotion and Memory: Research and Theory. Hillsdale, New Jersey: Earlbaum, xix + 507 Pages, $49.95 (Cloth). American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis 1998. [DOI: 10.1080/00029157.1998.10404208] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
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Abstract
This study investigated the relationship between resistance to misleading information and performance on the Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility (HGSHS:A), and examined the impact of obtrusive observation on subjects' hypnotic responsivity, memory, and resistance to misleading information. Eighty-five college students were administered the HGSHS:A in its standard form. Three additional bogus items were added to the HGSHS:A response booklet asking subjects to report whether they responded to suggestions that were not actually offered during the procedures. The endorsement of these items was used as an index of resistance to misleading information (suggestibility) for events occurring during hypnosis. Participants were also given a series of misleading questions related to events that occurred prior to the induction. Results indicated that performance on the HGSHS:A was not related to resistance to misleading information for events occurring during hypnosis or for events that occurred prior to the induction. As predicted, resistance to misleading information was consistent for subjects across the waking and hypnotic contexts. Also as predicted, being observed during the hypnotic procedures was related to lower scoring on the HGSHS:A.
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Eisen ML. Yapko, Michael D. (1995).Essentials of Hypnosis.New York: Brunner/Mazel, 1995, pp. 192, $19.95. American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis 1996. [DOI: 10.1080/00029157.1996.10403355] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
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