Hypnosis

Qualities of Hypnosis May or may not feel sleepy Usually feel more relaxed Increased susceptibility to suggestions Enhanced imagery and imagination Loss of Initiative

Qualities of Hypnosis (continued) Availability of visual memories from the past, though possibly distorted Lack of desire to make and carry out plans Retains ability to initiate or terminate actions

Qualities of Hypnosis (continued) Reduction in Reality Testing Change in personality Accept falsified memories Modify the rate which they process time Experience the presence of an object that isn’t there or visa versa

Standardized Tests for Hypnotic Susceptibility Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale Three forms: A and B: Emphasize compliance with motor related suggestions Are parallel, permitting test-retest reliability C: Emphasizes Cognitive components of hypnotic susceptibility

Standardized Tests for Hypnotic Susceptibility Barber Suggestibility Scale: Like the Stanford test, performed on an individual basis, rated by the examiner Consists of Only 8 Tasks

Standardized Tests for Hypnotic Susceptibility Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility Administered in a group setting Subjects score themselves Less accurate

Different Hypnotic Susceptibility Tests Eye ClosurePostural Sway Hand Lowering Finger LockArm Rigidity Verbal Inhibition Posthypnotic Suggestion Extreme Thirst Suggestion Selective Amnesia Arm Immobilization Fly Hallucination Eye Roll Test

Physiological Changes Greater advantage of left body parts Tendency to go towards the right Increased Respiration Rates Decreased Heart Rate Changes in Cortical ERPs

Hypnotherapy: Habit Control Obesity Direct Suggestion Ego - Enhancing Suggestions Mental Imagery Self Hypnosis Audiotapes

Hypnotherapy: Habit Control Smoking: Concentrate on three ideas: Cigarettes are poison to the body Life is not possible without the body Life is possible only if one respects and protect’s one’s body Success Rates: One Treatment: 20% Five Treatment: 63%

Hypnotherapy: Phobias Used along with systematic sensitization Uses imagery of being around a snake Very successful in reducing phobias both in and outside of laboratory settings

Hypnosis and Pain Control Analgesia: The removal of existing pain Anesthesia: The prevention of the pain that is not currently present Today, primarily used in conjunction with chemical anesthesia

Hypnosis and Memory Amnesia: The loss of memory Hyperamnesia: Improving an individual’s memory for events experienced in the past Reports of witnesses providing new evidence while hypnotized Many reports of inaccurate recollection or confabulation

Hypnosis and Memory Hypnotic Age Regression: Taking subjects back n time to recall events that happened to them In the news recently about hypnosis being used to recall childhood sexual abuse. Is this accurate?

Hypnosis and Perception Hypnotic suggestions lead to improvement in visual acuity in myopic (nearsighted) subjects Hypnotic Deafness can affect auditory sensitivity on Visual Choice Reaction Time Increased performance on the Stroop Test

Contemporary Theories of Hypnosis Trance Theory: Hypnosis involves a trance during which the subject is in a heightened state of susceptibility to suggestion Hidden Observer: When asked to write down information, will often reveal info against what he/she has already said Changes in cognition

Contemporary Theories of Hypnosis Sociological Role Theory: Hypnotized individuals behave as they do because they are striving to enact the role of a hypnotized subject as it is defined by the hypnotist and society in general There is no significant cognitive change

Contemporary Theories of Hypnosis Task-Motivation Theory: Hypnosis is not an altered state of consciousness, rather it is a predisposition in a normal state of awareness to attend to commands and suggestions from a hypnotist.