Posthypnotic amnesia as disrupted retrieval.

Investigated the process of remembering during posthypnotic amnesia by exploring the organization of recalled material in Ss displaying only partial amnesia. During 3 standardized hypnosis scales (Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility and Forms B and C of the Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale) suggestions of posthypnotic amnesia were administered to 112 male undergraduates. Hypnotizable Ss tended to recall the scale items in random chronological order, compared to the relatively sequential recall of insusceptible Ss. The difference in temporal sequencing of recall during amnesia indicates that, for the hypnotizable S, posthypnotic amnesia is characterized primarily by a disruption or disorganization of part of the recall process, leaving other aspects of memory processing relatively unimpaired. Results suggest a resolution of the apparent paradox between the subjective reports of amnesic Ss and the objective evidence that the apparently forgotten memories remain available for other cognitive operations. (26 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)