Conference Poster – Hypnosis is useful for retrieving forgotten memories

PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO THE INSTRUCTIONS!!! ALSO MY SCHOOL HAS A PLAGIARISM DETECTOR THAT IF YOU PLAGIARISM IT SEES NOT JUST FROM ARTICLES ONLINE BUT ANY ASSIGNMENT EVER SUBMITTED TO ANY HIGH SCHOOL COLLEGE OR MIDDLE SCHOOL SO MUST USE YOUR OWN WORDS!!!!

I ATTACHED MY WRITINNG ASSIGNMENT THAT IS ALSO ON THIS TOPIC THAT YOU MUST REFERENCE THIS FROM!!!

• To create an APA-style Conference Poster to showcase your research.
• A poster is NOT a research paper cut and pasted onto page.
• It is a clear and concise summary of your research, so that anyone that sees it can follow along and understand your research.

Instructions:

• You must submit poster as ONE Powerpoint/Google/Ect. Slide. by the due date saved as a pdf. document.
• If you use CANVA – Make sure it shows landscape orientation when in presentation mode!!
• Due date: 11/26/23 at 11:59pm

Your poster should include:

• HeadingYour NameDateTitle of your presentation
• BackgroundResearch and write about the background of the myth:where did it come from? do people still believe it today? why? etc?
• ResultsCondense the findings from your 4 articles in a coherent, logical manner.
• Discussion SectionSynthesize the findings? what do the results of your research mean or imply?
• Conclusion:Wrap up your presentation poster.
• Aesthetic:Include one or more Image(s): Must be relevant to your research, enhance your presentation, or showcase data.Use color to separate sections and make the text easier to distinguish.Font Size no smaller than 20pt. Do not make it too wordy. Writing should be succinct; you can expand on concepts in your oral presentation!

No References needed on poster.

EXAMPLESHERI

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The Value of Hypnosis in Retrieving Memories of Forgotten Events
Maya Milstein
Cream College of Health and Behavioral Sciences, Chapman University
PSY-201-02, Critical Thinking
Dr.Rhona Slaughter
October 22,2024
Every person creates a model of the world around them via their experiences and memories of
these experiences. Due to this, forgetting something, from a certain point of view, is similar to as
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if that thing never happened at all. Over the last decade, scientists have made remarkable strides
in understanding the mysteries surrounding memory formation and recall by studying rats and
mice (Ryan & Frankland, 2022). Findings from these studies suggest that naturally occurring
forgetfulness might not be attributed to literal loss of memory (Ryan & Frankland, 2022). As
such, these memories still exist, but accessing them might be challenging (Ryan & Frankland,
2022). Hypnosis has been touted as a way to retrieve memories of forgotten events. The
American Psychological Association (APA) defines hypnosis as a procedure performed by a
clinician or researcher. While some proponents of hypnosis argue that it can aid with memory
recall, expert opinions and empirical studies cast doubt on the reliability and effectiveness of
hypnosis.
Understanding what hypnosis entails before examining its clinical application as a
memory recall tool is vital. This information will provide valuable background knowledge on the
procedure. Experiencing a “trance” state is part of being human (Williamson, 2019). For
example, a person might get lost in a good novel or drive down a familiar stretch of road without
having a conscious recollection of doing so. These examples illustrate that a person’s conscious
awareness of their surroundings and their inner awareness operate on the same continuum
(Williamson, 2019). When a person enters one of these “trance” states, their primary focus is
internal, although they do not necessarily lose all outer awareness. (Williamson, 2019). In line
with this, hypnosis allows people to enter into a meditative state where they can learn to access
memories deliberately and consciously for a therapeutic goal (Williamson, 2019). Furthermore, a
clinician will then give suggestions to an individual using imagery or verbally to attain the
desired therapeutic outcome (Williamson, 2019). A key point is that hypnosis in isolation is not
therapy. Rather, it can be used as a tool to facilitate the delivery of therapy, akin to how syringes
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are used to administer medications (Williamson, 2019). As such, hypnosis cannot make the
impossible possible, but it can help individuals believe and experience what might be possible
for them to attain. Even though hypnotic states have been used as healing tools, numerous myths
and misconceptions still surround this procedure. This phenomenon can be attributed to its
misuse for entertainment coupled with its portrayal in the media as a magical and mysterious
thing (Lynn et al., 2020). However, advances in neuroscience are allowing people to start
comprehending what occurs when a person enters a hypnotic state (Lynn et al., 2020).
Furthermore, empirical evidence supporting its use in clinical settings has built up over the last
decade or so (Lynn et al., 2020).
Besides these clinical applications, hypnosis has also been leveraged in forensic settings
to provide evidence during trials (Rohatgi & Gupta, 2022). By allowing the examination of a
crime scene, the MO used by a suspect, the time and place of the crime, and the interviewing of
witnesses (if present), forensic hypnosis provides law enforcement personnel with valuable data
they can use to trace and narrow down their suspect lists (Rohatgi & Gupta, 2022). Trained law
enforcement professionals often use forensic hypnosis to help victims or witnesses recall the
details of a crime, environment, as well as other stored details and memories they might have
forgotten (Rohatgi & Gupta, 2022). However, the effectiveness of this procedure and hypnosis as
a whole on memory recall has come under intense scrutiny, with empirical evidence and
healthcare experts contradicting its value in helping retrieve accurate and reliable forgotten
memories. According to Epstein (2022), hypnosis aimed at memory enhancement does not
improve the accuracy or extent of recall. Furthermore, hypnotized witnesses in criminal cases
often demonstrate a tendency to try harder to recall observations and are overly responsive to
leading questions, suggestions, and biases of the questioner (Epstein, 2022).
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The effectiveness of hypnosis as a memory enhancement and recall tool for
individuals affected by trauma has been widely studied. One such study was done by Friesen et
al. (2023). He used two subsamples of 211 participants who went through fear conditioning by
watching a traumatic clip and then extinction training the next evening. After that, participants in
the experimental group were exposed to sleep-directed hypnosis, and those in the control group
listened to a control text. Friesen et al. (2023) assessed the participants’ extinction recall and
generalization as well as their film-related rumination and intrusions. The findings revealed that
the participants’ sleep quality reduced after they were exposed to the traumatic clip (Friesen et
al., 2023). After being exposed to hypnosis, participants in the experimental group recorded
improved sleep quality, and those in the control group did not experience worse sleep quality
(Friesen et al., 2023). The findings also revealed that hypnosis did not have an impact on the
experimental group participants’ extinction retention and generalizations, as well as their analog
intrusions and rumination (Friesen et al., 2023). Based on these findings, Friesen et al. (2023)
concluded that although hypnosis can help improve sleep quality after a traumatic experience, it
is not an effective tool for enhancing memory recall and extinction.
Hypnosis has numerous applications not only in clinical settings but also in forensic and
research settings. However, its efficacy as a memory recall tool is still riddled with controversy.
Its proponents advance arguments supporting its use and applicability and opponents critiquing
hypnosis as a practice. Although with a risk of leading to inaccurate findings, especially when it
comes to retrieving memories of forgotten events.
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References
1. APA. (n.d.). Hypnosis Today: Looking Beyond the Media Portrayal. Retrieved from
https://www.apa.org/topics/psychotherapy/hypnosis#:~:text=Definition,%2C%20percepti
ons%2C%20thoughts%20or%20behavior.
2. Epstein, J. (2022). ” Forensic” Hypnosis: Does a Name Make It Scientific? Criminal
Justice, 37(1), 58-60.
3. Friesen, E., Sopp, M. R., Cordi, M. J., Rasch, B., & Michael, T. (2023). Sleep-Directed
Hypnosis Improves Subjective Sleep Quality but not Extinction Memory After Exposure
to Analog Trauma. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 47(2), 255-268.
4. Lynn, S. J., Kirsch, I., Terhune, D. B., & Green, J. P. (2020). Myths and misconceptions
about hypnosis and suggestion: Separating fact and fiction. Applied Cognitive
Psychology, 34(6), 1253-1264.
5. Rohatgi, S., & Gupta, A. (2022). Psychological Evaluations: An Indoor Game of
Criminal Minds. In Crime Scene Management within Forensic Science: Forensic
Techniques for Criminal Investigations (pp. 323-356). Singapore: Springer Singapore.
6. Ryan, T. J., & Frankland, P. W. (2022). Forgetting as a form of adaptive engram cell
plasticity. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 23(3), 173-186.
7. Williamson A. (2019). What is hypnosis, and how might it work? Palliative care, 12,
1178224219826581. https://doi.org/10.1177/1178224219826581