Willner P
Learning Disability Services, Bro Morgannwg NHS Trust, Neath, UK.
J Intellect Disabil Res. 2008 Apr;52(Pt 4):318-26. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2788.2007.01022.x.
The Gudjonsson Suggestibility Scale (GSS) assesses suggestibility by asking respondents to recall a short story, followed by exposure to leading questions and pressure to change their responses. Suggestibility, as assessed by the GSS, appears to be elevated in people with intellectual disabilities (ID). This has been shown to reflect to some extent the fact that people with ID have poor recall of the story; however, there are discrepancies in this relationship. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether a closer match between memory and suggestibility would be found using a measure of recognition memory rather than free recall.
Three modifications to the procedure were presented to users of a learning disabilities day service. In all three experiments, a measure of forced-choice recognition memory was built into the suggestibility test. In experiments 1 and 2, the GSS was presented using either divided presentation (splitting the story into two halves, with memory and suggestibility tests after each half) or multiple presentation (the story was presented three times before presentation of the memory and suggestibility tests). Participants were tested twice, once with the standard version of the test and once with one of the modified versions. In experiment 3, an alternative suggestibility scale (ASS3) was created, based on real events in a learning disabilities day service. The ASS3 was presented to one group of participants who had been present at the events, and a second group who attended a different day service, to whom the events were unfamiliar.
As observed previously, suggestibility was not closely related to free recall performance: recall was increased equally by all three manipulations, but they produced, respectively, no effect, a modest effect and a large effect on suggestibility. However, the effects on suggestibility were closely related to performance on the forced-choice recognition memory task: divided presentation of the GSS2 had no effect on either of these measures; multiple presentation of the GSS2 produced a modest increase in recognition memory and a modest decrease in suggestibility; and replacing the GSS with the ASS3 produced a large increase in recognition memory and a large decrease in suggestibility.
The results support earlier findings that the GSS is likely to overestimate how suggestible a person will be in relation to a personally significant event. This reflects poor recognition memory for the material being tested, rather than increased suggestibility per se. People with ID may in fact be relatively non-suggestible for well-remembered events, which would include personally significant events, particularly those witnessed recently.
古德扬松易受暗示性量表（GSS）通过要求受访者回忆一个短篇故事来评估易受暗示性，随后呈现引导性问题并施加改变其回答的压力。经GSS评估，智障人士的易受暗示性似乎有所提高。这在一定程度上反映了智障人士对故事的回忆较差这一事实；然而，这种关系存在差异。本研究的目的是调查使用再认记忆测量而非自由回忆是否能发现记忆与易受暗示性之间更紧密的匹配。
对一家学习障碍日间服务机构的使用者提出了对该程序的三种修改。在所有三个实验中，易受暗示性测试中纳入了强制选择再认记忆测量。在实验1和2中，GSS采用分块呈现（将故事分成两半，每半之后进行记忆和易受暗示性测试）或多次呈现（在进行记忆和易受暗示性测试之前将故事呈现三次）。参与者接受两次测试，一次使用标准版本的测试，一次使用其中一种修改版本。在实验3中，基于一家学习障碍日间服务机构的真实事件创建了另一种易受暗示性量表（ASS3）。将ASS3呈现给一组亲身经历过这些事件的参与者，以及另一组参加不同日间服务且对这些事件不熟悉的参与者。
如先前观察到的，易受暗示性与自由回忆表现没有密切关系：所有三种操作对回忆的提高程度相同，但它们对易受暗示性分别没有影响、有适度影响和有较大影响。然而，对易受暗示性的影响与强制选择再认记忆任务的表现密切相关：GSS2的分块呈现对这两种测量均无影响；GSS2的多次呈现使再认记忆有适度提高，易受暗示性有适度降低；用ASS3取代GSS使再认记忆大幅提高，易受暗示性大幅降低。
结果支持了早期的研究发现，即GSS可能高估了一个人在涉及个人重要事件时的易受暗示程度。这反映了对被测试材料的再认记忆较差，而非易受暗示性本身增加。事实上，智障人士对于记忆良好的事件（包括个人重要事件，尤其是最近目睹的那些事件）可能相对不易受暗示。
