Hypnosis
Hypnosis
●an induced state of awareness, usually
characterized by heightened suggestibility,
deep relaxation, and highly focused
attention
●What do you think about hypnosis? Let’s
see…
History of Hypnosis
●Hypnotic techniques have been used
throughout history…but Austrian
physician, Anton Mesmer reintroduced
it in the late 1700s
o Benjamin Franklin chaired a commission to
investigate his mesmerizing cures…attributed the
“cures” to “mere imagination” – making hypnosis
(mesmerism as it was then called) not accepted
as real medicine
evolution of Mesmer's ideas and practices led
James Braid to develop hypnosis in 1842
Can Anyone Experience
Hypnosis?
●It depends on the subject’s level of
suggestibility
oAbout 20 % of people are highly suggestible
 Usually these individuals have rich fantasy lives
and easily become absorbed in the imaginary
events of a novel or a movie
oAbout 40% of the population have a low level
of suggestibility…meaning that they would not
be very susceptible to hypnosis
●How suggestible are you???
Can hypnosis make you do things against
your will or remember long forgotten
events?
●Answer to both of these questions is…NO
oResearchers have found that “hypnotically
refreshed” memories combine fact with fiction
 Due to the person’s heightened state of
suggestibility, the way the hypnotist asks
questions can alter the person’s answers
 So most courts in the United States do not allow
evidence if it is gained when someone is under
hypnosis
Can hypnosis make you do things against
your will or remember long forgotten events?
●Research has shown that the observable
behaviors of hypnotic subjects are usually well
within the normal limits of behavior
o People who are hypnotized are not any more
likely than someone who is not hypnotized to
perform a specific action
Is hypnosis an altered state of
consciousness?
●Experts cannot agree
osome believe that it is a distinct state of
consciousness, separate from sleep or our
normal waking state
 resulting in a dissociation from normal
consciousness – proven by brain scans of an
individual under hypnosis “seeing” something
(and activating the visual centers of the brain)
that is just a suggestion and not really there
Is hypnosis an altered state of
consciousness?
●other believe that hypnosis is simply
heightened motivation
o subjects are not entranced, but merely motivated
to focus their attention and channel more energy
into suggested activities
still others believe that hypnosis is a social
process and subjects are just unknowingly acting
out the role of a “good subject” to please the
hypnotist
What are the therapeutic benefits
of hypnosis?
●Can be used in psychological &
physiological treatments
oOften in these arenas, posthypnotic
suggestions are utilized (suggestion made
under hypnosis to be carried out when the
person is no longer hypnotized)
 Used psychologically to help individuals overcome
phobias and stress
 Physically…can be used to help someone alleviate
or control pain