A process model of posthypnotic amnesia

Abstract

The existing empirical evidence on the locus of the “posthypnotic amnesia” effect within the human information processing system is reviewed. Two new experiments are introduced to clarify the locus and the mechanism producing the effect. On the basis of the review and these experiments, an information-processing model is constructed that emphasizes the inhibition of verbal output as the central process. According to this model, hypnotically susceptible subjects fail to report “forbidden” material because it has been tagged as “forbidden” in response to the hypnotic suggestion for forgetting. This material is retrieved by these subjects and can play an active role in information processing, but it cannot be reported. The implications of this theory for related hypnotic effects on memory are discussed.