HYPNOSIS
What?
A social interaction in which the subject responds to another person’s
(the hypnotist’s) suggestions regarding certain perceptions, feelings,
thoughts, and/or behaviors (a heightened state of suggestibility)
HYPNOSIS
How?
A hypnotic induction can proceed in various ways and may involve the
soft-spoken, repetitive, suggestion that the subject is relaxing, feeling
tired or drowsy, breathing is deep, and the eyelids/limbs are growing
heavy
HYPNOSIS
Who?
People vary in their hypnotic susceptibility, which can be measured using
standardized susceptibility scales, but about 10-20% are highly
hypnotizable and the same %s are not
CAN HYPNOSIS RELIEVE PAIN?
Yes! Hypnosis is used effectively by physicians and dentists as an
alternative for anesthesia (10% of hypnotizable people can have surgery
w/o any anesthetic drugs)
→ typical explanations for reduced pain such as relaxation,
placebos and endorphins appear to play no part
CAN HYPNOSIS ENHANCE
MEMORY RECALL?
Hypnotically recalled memories generally combine fact and fiction
(remember, not all memories are permanently encoded);
pseudomemories can be ‘planted’ by the hypnotist
→ hypnosis-induced evidence is not allowed in court
CAN HYPNOSIS LEAD PEOPLE TO
DO THINGS AGAINST THEIR
WILL/BECOME DISINHIBITED?
Hypnotized people have indeed been coerced into doing
dangerous/otherwise unacceptable things (throwing ‘acid’ into the
hypnotist’s face)
→ unhypnotized control groups in lab settings have perform the
same acts as the hypnotized experimental group
CAN POSTHYPNOTIC
SUGGESTIONS WORK?
Subjects told that they will forget that they were hypnotized –
posthypnotic amnesia – admit to remembering
→ posthypnotic suggestions have been successful in treating
headaches, stress-related skin disorders, and obesity, but causal
relationships haven’t been established
IS HYPNOSIS ALTERED
CONSCIOUSNESS?: TWO
THEORIES
NO says the social influence/role-playing theory: there is no measurable
change in brain-wave activity involved with hypnosis
→ subjects play their roles like actors according to social
expectations as long as they like and trust the hypnotist
→ this is supported by nonhypnotized subjects performing
similar acts
IS HYPNOSIS ALTERED
CONSCIOUSNESS?: TWO
THEORIES
YES says the divided-consciousness theory: certain distinctive brain
activities may accompany hypnosis
→ hypnotized subjects sometimes carry out suggested
behaviors when they think noone is watching…and then there is that bit
about pain…
IS HYPNOSIS ALTERED
CONSCIOUSNESS?: TWO
THEORIES
→ Ernest Hilgard proposed the idea of disassociation, a split in
consciousness allowing different layers to occur simultaneously, to
explain pain-tolerance specifically and hypnosis in general
MEDITATION
Meditation involves a deliberate effort to alter consciousness using a
variety of techniques that may or may not have religious significance
→ open monitoring meditation involves remaining open and
attentive to whatever arises in your consciousness from moment to
moment w/o latching on to it
MEDITATION
→ focused attention meditation involves concentrating on
something specific (your breath, a mantra, etc.) in order to remove the
‘clutter’ in the mind
MEDITATION
Meditation does involve changes in brain wave activity as well as both
short-term (decreased state of arousal) and long-term (reduced stress,
blood pressure, etc.; increased self-esteem, awareness, etc.) benefits
→ the verdict is out if these results are meditation-specific or
common to any type of relaxation technique
DRUGS
People want to alter their consciousness and imbibing the chemical
substances in psychoactive drugs are a commonly used and abused
method
→ drug use and effect are based on a multitude of factors that
vary from person to person, situation to situation, and culture to culture
DRUGS
Drug effect are based on both multifactorial causation and subjectivity of
experience: age, mood, experience, body weight, dosage, potency,
environment, expectations all contribute to the impact of drug use
→ different drugs also vary in the rate in which tolerance –
diminishing effect of a drug, thus requiring larger doses – is produced
DRUGS
In general, psychoactive drugs work by manipulating specific
neurotransmitter action in the synaptic clefts in the brain
→ the increased release of dopamine in the mesolimbic
dopamine pathway - the so-called “reward pathway” – is consistent with
most drug use and abuse
DRUG DEPENDENCE AND RISK
People can and do become addicted to drugS physically – avoid
withdrawal symptoms - and/or psychologically to satisfy cravings
→ like most aspects of drug use, withdrawal symptoms from
physical and psychological addiction vary, but for both they can be
intense and powerful
DRUG DEPENDENCE AND RISK
Drug use comes with the risks of long-term physiological effects, indirect
behavior-related problems, and the potential for overdose
→ overdose risk is greatest among sedatives, narcotics and
alcohol; in particular, combinations of these and/or other drugs