On the mechanisms of posthypnotic amnesia

Abstract

Experimental and clinical evidence about posthypnotic amnesia are reviewed. Rather than postulate any single mechanism which might account for the phenomenon, two interpretations are contrasted which seem sharply opposed. First, posthypnotic amnesia may be seen as essentially like any other hypnotically suggested experience. It can be considered as an explicitly or implicitly administered posthypnotic suggestion. On the other hand amnesia can be viewed as a form of dissociation. One possible mechanism of such dissociation may be a basic difference of the structure of thought processes involved in hypnosis compared to those of normal waking experience. In this sense amnesia should occur independently of suggestion and be different in kind from most other hypnotic phenomena. The former mechanism may occur more frequently in experimental situations and the latter in clinical contexts.