Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, Rod Plotnik
Module 8: Hypnosis
Module 8
Hypnosis and Drugs
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, Rod Plotnik
Module 8: Hypnosis
HYPNOSIS
• Hypnosis definition
– procedure in which a researcher, clinician, or
hypnotists suggests that a person will experience
changes in sensation, perceptions, thoughts,
feelings, or behaviors
• Who can be hypnotized?
– not correlated with introversion, extraversion,
social position, intelligence, willpower, sex,
compliance, gullibility, being highly motivated, or
being a placebo responder
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, Rod Plotnik
Module 8: Hypnosis
HYPNOSIS (CONT.)
• Who is susceptible?
– individuals with the remarkable ability to respond
to imaginative suggestions
– best known test: Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility
Scale
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, Rod Plotnik
Module 8: Hypnosis
HYPNOSIS (CONT.)
• Theories of hypnosis
– Altered States Theory of Hypnosis
• holds that hypnosis puts a person into an
altered state of consciousness, during which
the person is disconnected from reality, which
results in being able to experience and
respond to various suggestions
– Sociocognitive Theory of hypnosis
• behaviors observed during hypnosis result not
from being hypnotized, but rather from having
the special ability of responding to imaginative
suggestions and social pressures
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, Rod Plotnik
Module 8: Hypnosis
HYPNOSIS (CONT.)
• Behaviors
– Hypnotic analgesia
• Reduces pain and anxiety (dental tx)
– Posthypnotic suggestion
– Age regression
– Posthypnotic amnesia
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, Rod Plotnik
Module 8: Hypnosis
DRUGS: OVERVIEW
• Reasons for use
– include obtaining pleasure, joy, and euphoria;
meeting social expectations; giving in to peer
pressure; dealing with or escaping stress, anxiety,
and tension; avoiding pain; and achieving altered
state of consciousness
• Psychoactive drugs
– affect nervous system
– may alter consciousness and awareness,
influence how we sense and perceive things, and
modify our moods, feelings, emotions, and
thoughts
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, Rod Plotnik
Module 8: Hypnosis
DRUGS: OVERVIEW (CONT.)
Addiction
• 3 C’s of addiction
– Compulsion
– Control
– Consequences
1957 AMA declared alcoholism a disease
3 criteria
known etiology
known progression of symptoms
known outcome
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, Rod Plotnik
Module 8: Hypnosis
DRUGS: OVERVIEW (CONT.)
Tolerance
• after a person uses a drug repeatedly over a period of
time, the original dose of the drug no longer produces
the desired effect so that a person must take
increasingly larger doses of the drug to achieve the
same behavioral effect
Dependency
• refers to a change in the nervous system so that a
person now needs to take the drug to prevent the
occurrence of painful withdrawal symptoms
Withdrawal symptoms
• painful physical and psychological symptoms that occur
after a drug-dependent person stops using the drug
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, Rod Plotnik
Module 8: Hypnosis
DRUGS: OVERVIEW (CONT.)
• Effects on nervous system
– drugs affect neurotransmitters
– Neurotransmitters
• chemical keys that search for and then either
open or close chemical locks to either excite or
inhibit neighboring neurons, organs, or
muscles
– Mimicking
• some drugs produce their effects by mimicking
the way the neurotransmitters work
– Reuptake
• some drugs block reuptake
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, Rod Plotnik
Module 8: Hypnosis
DRUGS: OVERVIEW (CONT.)
• Effects on nervous system
– some drugs directly activate the brain’s
reward/pleasure center
– also activated when one eats food, has sex, and
does other pleasurable activities
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, Rod Plotnik
Module 8: Hypnosis
STIMULANTS
• Definition
– stimulants, including cocaine, amphetamines,
caffeine, and nicotine, increase activity of the
central nervous system and result in heightened
alertness, arousal, euphoria, and decreased
appetite and fatigue
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, Rod Plotnik
Module 8: Hypnosis
STIMULANTS (CONT.)
• Caffeine
– drug
– mild stimulant, produces moderate physiological
and psychological arousal, including decreased
fatigue and drowsiness, feelings of alertness and
improved reaction times
– Nervous system
• caffeine belongs to the chemical class called
xanthines
• blocks certain receptors (adenosine receptors)
in the brain
• mild physiological and psychological arousal
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, Rod Plotnik
Module 8: Hypnosis
STIMULANTS (CONT.)
• Caffeine
– Dangers
• mild to heavy doses of caffeine can result in
addiction and dependency similar to those
produced by alcohol, nicotine, and cocaine
(two cups of coffee)
• higher doses result in depression, tension, and
anxiety
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, Rod Plotnik
Module 8: Hypnosis
STIMULANTS (CONT.)
• Nicotine
– drug
– stimulant that triggers the brain’s reward/pleasure
center to produce good feelings
– low doses improve attention, concentration, and
short term memory
– regular use causes addiction and dependency
– leads to withdrawal
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, Rod Plotnik
Module 8: Hypnosis
STIMULANTS (CONT.)
• Nicotine
– nervous system
• stimulates the production of dopamine
• also stops other controlling cells from turning
off the pleasure areas
– Dangers
• very addicting
• causes sexual problems including impotency
• withdrawal symptoms range in severity and
include nervousness, irritability, difficulty in
concentrating, sleep disturbances, and strong
craving
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, Rod Plotnik
Module 8: Hypnosis
Smoking and Drinking
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, Rod Plotnik
Module 8: Hypnosis
ALCOHOL
• History and use
– first brewery appeared in Egypt in about 3700
B.C.
– national and CA legal definition of being drunk is
0.08 (after possibly 3-4 drinks)
– effects the nervous system and results in
behavioral and emotional changes
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, Rod Plotnik
Module 8: Hypnosis
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, Rod Plotnik
Module 8: Hypnosis
ALCOHOL (CONT.)
– drug
– ethyl alcohol is a psychoactive drug classified as
a depressant
– depresses activity of the central nervous system
– alcohol seems like a stimulant but later depresses
physiological and psychological responses
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, Rod Plotnik
Module 8: Hypnosis
ALCOHOL (CONT.)
• Nervous system
– affects many parts of the nervous system
– stimulates GABA neural receptors, leads to
feeling less anxious and less inhibited
– also impairs the anterior cingulate cortex,
monitors the control of motor actions
– drinkers fail to recognize their impaired motor
performance (driving)
– high doses: depresses vital breathing reflexes in
the medulla (brain stem)
– may lead to death
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, Rod Plotnik
Module 8: Hypnosis
ALCOHOL (CONT.)
• Dangers
– hangover
– includes upset stomach, dizziness, fatigue,
headache, and depression
– repeated and heavy drinking can result in
tolerance, addiction, and dependency
– withdrawal symptoms
– shaking, nausea, anxiety, diarrhea, hallucinations,
and disorientation
– another serious problem, blackout
– occur after heavy and repeated drinking
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, Rod Plotnik
Module 8: Hypnosis
ALCOHOL (CONT.)
• Dangers (cont.)
– blackouts
– person seems to behave normally but does not
remember what happened when sober
– repeated and heavy drinking can also result in
liver damage, alcoholism, and brain damage
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, Rod Plotnik
Module 8: Hypnosis
ALCOHOL (CONT.)
• Risk factors
– genetic risk factors
– refer to inherited biases for predispositions that
increase the potential for alcoholism
– genetic factors contribute 50 to 60% to the
reasons a person becomes an alcoholic
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, Rod Plotnik
Module 8: Hypnosis
Beer and Ball: Student Binge Drinking
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, Rod Plotnik
Module 8: Hypnosis
MARIJUANA
• Use and effects
– Most widely used illegal drug
– medical marijuana
– can be effective in treating nausea and vomiting
associated with chemotherapy, appetite loss in
AIDS patients, eye disease (glaucoma), muscle
spasticity in patients with multiple sclerosis, and
some forms of pain
– gateway effect
– says that using marijuana leads young people to
try harder drugs
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, Rod Plotnik
Module 8: Hypnosis
MARIJUANA (CONT.)
– psychoactive drug whose primary active
ingredient is THC (tetrahydrocannabinol)
– depending on the user’s state of mind, marijuana
can either heighten or distort pleasant or
unpleasant experiences, moods, or feelings
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, Rod Plotnik
Module 8: Hypnosis
MARIJUANA (CONT.)
– THC receptors are located throughout the brain,
including the hippocampus, cerebral cortex, limbic
system, cerebellum, and basal ganglia
– the brain itself makes a chemical similar to THC
(anandamide) currently under study
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, Rod Plotnik
Module 8: Hypnosis
MARIJUANA (CONT.)
• Dangers
– can cause temporary changes in cognitive
functioning
– can temporarily decrease secretion of various
hormones and effectiveness of the immune
system
– respiratory problems like bronchitis and asthma
– high doses: may cause toxic psychoses, including
delusions, paranoia, and feelings of terror
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, Rod Plotnik
Module 8: Hypnosis
Drugs, Brain, & Behavior
• Brain structures that may correspond with
behaviors:
– Thalamus: hallucinations, impaired decisionmaking
– Hypothalamus: nausea, decreased appetite
– Amygdala: Intense emotions, anxiety relief
– Hippocampus: impaired decision-making
– Pons: slowing of time, relaxed euphoria,
drowsiness, alertness/wakefulness
– Cerebellum: relaxation of body muscles, tremors
– Medulla: increased heart beat, coma, death