Temporal sequencing during posthypnotic amnesia: a methodological critique.

In a series of studies using the susceptibility-scale paradigm, high susceptible subjects were less likely than low susceptibles to recall the events of the hypnotic session in temporal sequence (i.e., temporal disorganization effect) following an amnesia suggestion. The primary measure of recall order was the rank-order correlation (rho scores) between the presentation order and the recall order of hypnotic experiences computed for each subject. Following a suggestion for posthypnotic amnesia, high susceptibles usually obtained lower rho scores than low susceptibles. We critically examined this research noting methodological shortcomings associated with the susceptibility-scale paradigm, inconsistent findings, and failures to replicate. We also presented two studies that found no relationship between susceptibility level and rho scores. These null results held true for subjects who recalled new information after cancellation of the amnesia suggestion (reversers) as well as for those who did not recall new information (nonreversers). Nevertheless, we did replicate previous work on differential recall of the first item. Suggestions for the development of a more adequate paradigm to assess recall order during amnesia using the susceptibility-scale paradigm are discussed.