The effects of hypnosis, context reinstatement, and anxiety on eyewitness memory

The effects of hypnosis, context reinstatement, and motivational instructions on accuracy of recall for factual information and facial recognition accuracy following a stressful event were assessed. None of the three techniques had a significant effect on factual memory or susceptibility to suggestion as assessed by true-false and multiple-choice tests. However, participants high in hypnotic susceptibility showed somewhat better memory on the true-false test, and hypnosis affected performance on the two photograph line-ups. In addition, hypnosis appeared to enhance facial recognition accuracy for participants who were low in anxiety, but not for those high in anxiety. Finally, there was evidence of a curvilinear relationship between self-reported anxiety at time of retrieval and facial recognition accuracy.