Theories of Hypnosis

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Theories of Hypnosis
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Two Views of Hypnosis

• Altered State of Consciousness
• Charcot
• Hilgard
• Neodissociation or trance theory
• Social-Psychological Process
• Bernheim
• Spanos
• motivation to be good hypnotic subject
• use of cognitive strategies

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Bernheim and Suggestion

• Hypnosis as Suggestibility
• Criticized the methods and the interpretations of
  Charcot

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Ernest Hilgard Neodissocation

• Developed Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale
  (SHSS)
• Neo-dissociation theory
• Hidden observer

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Social Cognitive View

• Hypnosis as a sociocognitive process
• hypnotic behavior is purposeful, goal-directed
  action that can be understood in terms of how the
  subjects interpret their situation and how they
  attempt to present themselves through their
  actions. . . good hypnotic subjects frequently
  behave as if they have lost control over their
  behavior

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Types of Suggestions

• Ideomotor suggestions
• Ideas about movements
• Response-inhibition suggestions
• Ideas about inability to move
• Cognitive suggestions
• Changes in perception, memory, thought
• Posthypnotic suggestions
• Suggestions acted upon after waking

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Cognitive Suggestions

• Positive hallucination
• Negative hallucination
• Age regression
• Hypnotic dreams
• Posthypnotic amnesia

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Trance Logic

• Ability to hold incompatible beliefs in thought
  without experience of incongruity

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Carleton Skills Training Program

• Disinhibitory information
• correct misinformation about hypnosis, produce
  positive attitude
• General facilitatory information
• importance of absorption, concentration
• Specific instruction on how to interpret
  suggestions

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Testing Hypnotic Effects

• High-Low Hypnotizables
• Compare the performances of people who are highly
  hypnotizable to those who are low hypnotizable
• Real-simulator design
• Compare hypnotized subjects to subjects asked to
  pretend to be hypnotized

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Hypnotic Analgesia

• Use of hypnosis for pain management
• Experimental tests
• cold pressor test
• put arm in a bucket of ice water
• leave for as long as possible
• hypnosis results in longer times, less pain
  reported

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Hilgards Hidden Observer

• Hypnotized subjects, asked if any part of them is
  aware of what is happening, will sometimes
  indicate a different experience than their report
  or hypnotic behavior shows. The hidden
  observer is given a special cue for responding

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Analgesia Hidden Observer

• Cold-pressor test
• Hypnotized subject makes verbal report of pain
• Hidden observer given a key to press for pain
  report
• Hidden observer reports more pain than verbal
  report