Specific autobiographical memory following hypnotically induced mood state

F. Maccallum, K. M. McConkey*, R. A. Bryant, A. J. Barnier

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

25 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This study investigated the impact of hypnotically induced mood on the specificity of autobiographical memory. High (n = 24) and low (n = 21) hypnotizable participants were administered a hypnotic induction for sad, neutral, or happy mood and were asked to retrieve specific autobiographical memories in response to positive and negative cue words. Whereas high hypnotizable participants in the sad condition provided fewer specific memories in response to positive rather than negative cues, those in the neutral and happy conditions responded similarly to positive and negative cues. Findings suggest that impaired recall of specific memories may be mediated by state factors associated with sad mood. These results point to the utility of hypnotic mood induction as a means to experimentally investigate the relationship between mood and autobiographical memory.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)361-373
Number of pages13
JournalInternational Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis
Volume48
Issue number4
Publication statusPublished - 2000
Externally publishedYes

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