Hypnosis

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Hypnosis
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What is Hypnosis?
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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.

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Hypnosis

• 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

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Is Hypnosis a Special State of Consciousness?

• State view Hypnosis is a special or altered
  state of consciousness (see Hilgards
  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.

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Social Influence Theory

• Powerful social influences produce a state of
  hypnosis.
• This theory notes that a persons physiological
  state does not change under hypnosis.
• Social factors influence people to believe
  hypnosis will work.

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Divided Consciousness Theory

• During hypnosis our consciousness splits so that
  one aspect of consciousness is not aware of the
  role that other parts are playing.
• 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
  hypnotists suggestions. A second dissociated
  stream known as the hidden observer is processing
  info that is unavailable to the consciousness of
  the hypnotized subject.

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A woman doesnt notice the smell of ammonia.
How can this be explained?
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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.

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Hypnotic Techniques
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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

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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.

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Hypnotizability
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Hypnotic TechniquesHypnotic Suggestions
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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.

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Hypnotic TechniquesPosthypnotic Suggestions
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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.

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Hypnosis and Memory
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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

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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.

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Hypnosis and Pain Control
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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)

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Hypnosis

• Play Hypnotic Dissociation and Pain Relief
  (303) 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.

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Other Hypnotic Claims
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Placebo Effect

• Improvement due only to the power of positive
  expectations
• People think they will get better so they do

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Feats of Strength

• Many feats of strength done under hypnosis can be
  accomplished without hypnosis.

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Feats of Strength
The "amazing" hypnotized "human plank" Actually,
unhypnotized people can also perform this feat.
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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.

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MEDITATION
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Meditation

• Aim to control or retrain attention. Two general
  categories.
• Concentration Techniques focusing on a visual
  image, your breathing, a word or phrase. Often a
  mantra is repeated mentally.
• 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.

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Effects of Meditation

• Most use 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
  over an over in their mind allowing distracting
  thoughts to fall away.
• People experience a lowering of psychological
  arousal by lowering heart rate, blood pressure,
  and changes in 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.