Hypnosis
Hypnosis
• A social interaction in which one person
(the hypnotist) makes suggestions about
perceptions, feelings, thoughts, or
behaviors, and another person (the
subject) follows those suggestions
• Hypnotist serves as a coach or tutor
showing you the way.
Hypnosis
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State of awareness
Highly focused attention
Increased responsiveness to suggestion
Vivid imagery
Willingness to accept distortions of logic
People do NOT lose control of their behavior.
Instead, they remain aware of where they are, who
they are, and what is transpiring.
• Alteration of sensation and perception
Is Hypnosis a Special State of
Consciousness?
• State view – Hypnosis is a special or altered
state of consciousness (see Hilgard’s
neodissociation).
• Non-State view – Hypnosis is not a special state
and similar effects can be produced when
people are properly instructed and motivated.
• Social-cognitive view – subject responds to
social demands of the situation. Play the role of
what is expected from a good hypnotic subject.
Social Influence Theory
• Powerful social influences produce a
state of hypnosis.
• This theory notes that a person’s
physiological state does not change
under hypnosis.
• Social factors influence people to
believe hypnosis will work.
Divided Consciousness Theory
• Promoted by Ernest Hilgard (1904-2001)
• People experience dissociation – the splitting of
consciousness into two or more simultaneous streams of
mental activity.
• Neodissociation theory of hypnosis – a hypnotized
person consciously experiences one stream of mental
activity that is responding to the hypnotist’s
suggestions. A second dissociated stream known as the
hidden observer is processing info that is unavailable to
the consciousness of the hypnotized subject.
A woman doesn’t notice the smell of ammonia.
How can this be explained?
Evidence Supporting Hypnosis
• Role-Playing hypnotics drop the act when not observed
while actually hypnotized subjects maintain the act when
not observed.
• PET Scans reveal activity increased in the left and right
hemisphere color areas when they were told they were
seeing color. Activity decreased in the left and right
hemisphere color areas when they were told to see gray
rectangles regardless of what color they were. Only the
right hemisphere color areas were activated in people not
hypnotized. This shows hypnosis is a mental state.
• Imaginative suggestibility – the degree to which a person is
able to experience an imaginary state of affairs as if it were
real. Many people are open to suggestion even when not
under hypnosis.
Hypnotic Techniques
Hypnotic Induction
• The process by which a hypnotist
creates a state of hypnosis in a subject
• Usually done by voicing a series of
suggestions
• Voice is usually calm and of a rhythmic
tone
Hypnotizability
• Differences in the ability of people to become
hypnotized
• Varies from person to person
• Varies from situation to situation
• Most adults are moderately hypnotizable.
• Children are easier to hypnotize.
• People who have positive, receptive attitudes
towards hypnosis and expectations that they
respond tend to hypnotize easier.
Hypnotizability
Hypnotic Techniques:
Hypnotic Suggestions
Limits to Hypnotic Suggestions
• Suggestions usually involve sensations,
thoughts, emotions, and a wide variety
of behaviors.
• Hypnosis does not cause behaviors.
• Hypnosis can lead people to certain
behaviors but so can ordinary
suggestions.
Hypnotic Techniques:
Posthypnotic
Suggestions
Posthypnotic Suggestions
• A suggestion, made during a hypnosis
session, that the subject will carry out
when no longer hypnotized
• Technique can be used to encourage
helpful behavior changes, such as
stopping smoking or losing weight.
• Most only last for a few hours or days.
Hypnosis and
Memory
Hypnosis and Memory
• There are isolated cases of hypnosis
helping recall.
• Cannot be sure if the memory came
back due to hypnosis
• Cannot be sure if the memory is
accurate or one that is created to please
the hypnotist
Hypnosis and Memory
• Posthypnotic Amnesia – person is unable to
recall specific info or events that occurred before or
during hypnosis. Produced by a hypnotic
suggestion.
– Effects are usually temporary and where off either
spontaneously with a posthypnotic signal.
• Hypermnesia – Enhancement of memory for past
events using hypnotic suggestion.
– Not proven to work and can lead to distortions and
inaccuracies or pseudomemories.
• Age Regression – Recall or reexperience an
earlier developmental period.
– Often distorted and not accurate.
Hypnosis and Pain
Control
Pain and Hypnosis
• Hypnosis does work as a means to
control pain.
• Hypnosis can cause temporary
blindness, deafness, or complete loss of
sensation in a part of the body. Because
of this, hypnosis can be used as a form
of pain therapy (see Time article)
Hypnosis
• Play “Hypnotic Dissociation and Pain
Relief” (3:03) Segment #2 from The
Mind: Psychology Teaching Modules
(2nd edition).
• If Time Allows.
• Watch this & read Time article on this
subject.
• Our cerebral cortex allows to filter out
certain info and focus on other info.
Other Hypnotic
Claims
Placebo Effect
• Improvement due only to the power of
positive expectations
• People think they will get better so they
do
Feats of Strength
• Many feats of strength done under
hypnosis can be accomplished without
hypnosis.
Feats of Strength
The "amazing"
hypnotized
"human plank"
Actually,
unhypnotized
people can
also perform
this feat.
Limits to Hypnosis
• You cannot be hypnotized against your
will.
• Hypnosis cannot make you perform
behaviors that are contrary to your morals
and values.
• Hypnosis cannot make you stronger or
give you new talents.
MEDITATION
Meditation
• Aim to control or retrain attention. Two general
categories.
1. Concentration Techniques – focusing on a
visual image, your breathing, a word or
phrase. Often a mantra is repeated mentally.
2. Opening-up Techniques – Present-centered
awareness of the passing moment, without
mental judgment.
• Concentrate on the here and now without
distractive thoughts.
• Zazen or “just sitting” technique of Buddhism is a
form of this.
Effects of Meditation
• Transcendental Meditation (TM) – Concentrative
meditation that does not require any lifestyle
changes and follows a simple format.
– Sit with eyes closed and say a mantra or focus on
breathing over an over allowing distracting thoughts to fall
away.
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BENEFITS: lowering of psychological arousal by…
lowering heart rate
blood pressure
change to alpha-brain-waves similar to the state of
drowsiness that precedes stage 1 sleep.
SPECT scans show increased blood flow to both
frontal lobes and decreased blood flow to the left
parietal lobe during meditation. Frontal lobes
are involved in attention focusing tasks and
parietal lobes are involved in visual-spatial
tasks, which are not needed in mediation.