A terrible crime is committed,and an eyewitness is unable to identify whether a suspect arrested by the police is actually the one who committed the crime.The police bring in Madame Xanadu to hypnotize the witness,and then the witness identifies the suspect the police have in custody.Of course,the Madame knew who the suspect was before she hypnotized the witness.At the trial,the defense attorney objects.The core of the objection to the judge would be that ___________.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

All of these objections are valid when it comes to using hypnosis as a method of obtaining evidence. Memories obtained under hypnosis may not be any more accurate than others but create a bias in the minds of the jury. Hypnosis may also create false memories or pseudomemories, and it is much easier for factors like the misinformation effect or constructive processing effect to come into play through the influence of the hypnotist's knowledge and suggestions. Therefore, all of these objections are reasonable when questioning the validity of evidence obtained through hypnosis.

A Terrible Crime Is Committed,and an Eyewitness Is Unable to Identify