Post-hypnotic suggestion improves confidence and speed of memory access with long-lasting effects

• Published in: Acta psychologica Vol. 245; p. 104240
• Main Authors: Schmidt, Barbara, Böhmer, Justin, Schnuerch, Martin, Koch, Tobias, Michelmann, Sebastian
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier B.V 01-05-2024; Elsevier
• Subjects: Humans; Hypnosis; Learning; Long-term effect; Memory; Mental Recall; Recognition; Suggestion; Suggestion; Hypnosis; Long-term effect; Memory; Recognition
• ISSN: 0001-6918; 1873-6297
• DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2024.104240

In our study, we use the post-hypnotic suggestion of easy remembering to improve memory with long-lasting effects. We tested 24 highly suggestible participants in an online study. Participants learned word lists and recalled them later in a recognition memory task. At the beginning of the study, participants were hypnotized and the post-hypnotic suggestion to remember easily was associated with a cue that participants used during the recognition memory task. In a control condition, the same participants used a neutral cue. One week later, participants repeated both conditions with new word lists.
Participants were significantly faster and more confident in their recognition ratings in the easy-remembering condition compared to the control condition, and this effect persisted over one week. Crucially, the increased speed and confidence in the easy-remembering condition did not affect memory accuracy. That makes our hypnosis intervention promising for patients experiencing subjective memory impairments.
2343 (Learning and Memory), 2380 (Consciousness States), 3351 (Clinical Hypnosis)
•We tied the feeling of remembering easily to a post-hypnotic anchor•Participants remembered faster and more confident in the easy remembering condition•The post-hypnotic anchor still worked one week after the hypnosis session