Empirical evidence for a theory of hypnotic behavior: Effects on suggestibility of five variables typically included in hypnotic induction procedures.

3 experiments were conducted to ascertain the relative effects on suggestibility of the following 5 components that are typically included in present-day hypnotic induction procedures: 1—defining the situation to S as "hypnosis"; 2—instructing S to close his eyes; 3—administering suggestions of relaxation, drowsiness, and sleep; 4—administering motivational instructions; and 5—suggesting that it is easy to respond to further suggestions. Component 1, by itself, tended to facilitate response to test suggestions of arm levitation, thirst hallucination, body immobility, selective amnesia, etc. Component 1 in combination with Component 3 produced a higher level of suggestibility than Component 1 alone. Components 4 and 5 in combination were as effective as Components 1 and 3 in combination in facilitating response to test suggestions. Component 2 did not exert a noticeable effect on response. (25 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Toward a theory of "hypnotic" behavior: Experimental analyses of suggested amnesia.

Suggestions of amnesia were given to 144 Ss in a 2 X 2 X 4 factorial experiment. The independent variables were: (1) spoken vs. recorded presentation of suggestions, (2) presence vs. absence of hypnotic induction, and (3) 3 types of suggestions for amnesia—authoritative ("You will not rememberp"), permissive ("Try to forget"), suggestions to simulate, and no suggestions. Variable 1 did not produce important differences in amnesic performance. Variable 2 significantly affected 1 of the 5 tests for amnesia, with the presence of hypnotic induction resulting in less amnesia. Variable 3 exerted the most powerful effect. Irrespective of the presence or absence of hypnotic induction, Ss differed on the tests for amnesia depending on which suggestion they were given. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of experimenter modeling, demands for honesty, and initial level of suggestibility on response to "hypnotic" suggestions.

Pretested 180 college students on behavioral (objective) and experiential (subjective) responses to the test suggestions of the Barber Suggestibility Scale. After being exposed to 1 of 3 treatments--E modeling, hypnotic induction, or control--each S was retested on the same scale. Strong demands to give honest experiential reports were administered to 1/2 of the Ss under each treatment. Ss who were exposed to E modeling manifested a greater enhancement in objective responsiveness to test suggestions than control Ss and as much enhancement as Ss who were exposed to hypnotic induction. E modeling was as effective as hypnotic induction in enhancing sujective responsiveness to test suggestions with and without demands for honest reports. Under both the E modeling and hypnotic induction treatments, Ss who had initially manifested a high level of suggestibility (pretest) showed as much enhancement in subjective responsiveness to test suggestions as medium- or low-suggestible Ss. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The predictive utility of hypnotizability: The change in suggestibility produced by hypnosis.

Objective: The predictive utility of hypnotizability, conceptualized as the change in suggestibility produced by a hypnotic induction, was investigated in the suggested reduction of experimental pain. Method: One hundred and seventy-three participants were assessed for nonhypnotic imaginative suggestibility. Thereafter, participants experienced hypnotic and nonhypnotic imaginative analgesia suggestions, counterbalanced for order. Hypnotic suggestibility was then assessed. Results: Hypnotizability, operationalized as hypnotic suggestibility with imaginative suggestibility statistically controlled (Braffman & Kirsch, 1999), predicted intraindividual differences in responding to the hypnotic and imaginative analgesia suggestions. Higher hypnotizability was associated with relatively greater response to the hypnotic analgesia suggestion than to the imaginative analgesia suggestion. Conclusions: Operationalized in this way, hypnotizability may be a useful predictor of the effect of adding a hypnotic induction to a specific imaginative suggestion. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Toward a theory of hynotic behavior: Effects on suggestibility of task motivating instructions and attitudes toward hypnosis.

Attitudes toward hypnosis were assessed in 75 college students. 3 weeks later the students were required to participate in an experiment in which they were tested individually on the Barber Suggestibility Scale. The scale was administered under 3 experimental treatments with 25 Ss, ? with positive attitudes toward hypnosis and ? with nonpositive attitudes, assigned randomly to each treatment. The treatments were: Task Motivating Instructions, Hypnotic Induction Procedure, Direct Suggestions (Control). The findings confirmed Hypotheses 1 and 2 which stated: (a) Ss given either brief task motivating instructions or a procedure of the type traditionally termed a hypnotic induction show greater response to suggestions than Ss given neither task motivating insructions nor a hypnotic induction; and (b) brief task motivating instructions and an extended hypnotic induction procedure both elicit high levels of suggestibility. (46 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mediation and moderation of psychological pain treatments: Response expectancies and hypnotic suggestibility.

The mediator role of response expectancies and the moderator role of hypnotic suggestibility were evaluated in the analogue treatment of pain. Approximately 1,000 participants were assessed for hypnotic suggestibility. Later, as part of a seemingly unrelated experiment, 188 of these individuals were randomly assigned to distraction, cognitive-behavioral package, hypnotic cognitive-behavioral package, hypnotic analgesia suggestion, placebo control, or no-treatment control conditions. Response expectancies partially mediated the effects of treatment on pain. Hypnotic suggestibility moderated treatment and was associated with the relief produced only by the hypnotic interventions. The results suggest that response expectancies are an important mechanism of hypnotic and cognitive-behavioral pain treatments and that hypnotic suggestibility is a trait variable that predicts hypnotic responding across situations, including hypnosis-based pain interventions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Expect the unexpected: Ability, attitude, and responsiveness to hypnosis.

Participants' expectancies and hypnotic performance throughout the course of a standardized, individually administered hypnotic protocol were analyzed with a structural equation model that integrated underlying ability, expectancy, and hypnotic response. The model examined expectancies and ability as simultaneous predictors of hypnotic responses as well as hypnotic responses as an influence on subsequent expectancies. Results of the proposed model, which fit very well, supported each of the 4 major hypothesized effects: Expectancies showed significant stability across the course of the hypnosis protocol; expectancies influenced subsequent hypnotic responses, controlling for latent ability; hypnotic responses, in turn, affected subsequent expectancies; and a latent trait underlay hypnotic responses, controlling for expectancies. Although expectancies had a significant effect on hypnotic responsiveness, there was an abundance of variance in hypnotic performance unexplained by the direct or indirect influence of expectation and compatible with the presence of an underlying cognitive ability. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Types of hypnotic dreams and their relation to hypnotic depth.

Several types of experiences in response to suggestions to have a dream are described, namely: (1) simply thinking about something; (2) daydreaming; (3) vivid hallucinations, like watching a film; and (4) feeling "bodily located in" a "dream world." In 2 experiments, only a minority of Ss rated their experiences as dreamlike, even when hypnotized. Significant positive relationships were found between the extent to which the experiences were rated as vivid and dreamlike, and 2 measures of hypnotic depth. The variable of whether or not Ss had gone through a hypnotic-induction procedure did not discriminate among types of response. These results illustrate the danger of pseudo-operational definitions of hypnosis that ignore Ss' subjective responses. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Experimental analyses of "hypnotic" behavior: A review of recent empirical findings.

Experiments are reviewed that were designed to delineate the instrumental variables in eliciting objective and subjective responses to test suggestions of body immobility, analgesia, hallucination, deafness, selective amnesia, and so on, that is, in eliciting behaviors of the type traditionally termed "hypnotic." The question at the forefront of discussion is: In producing "hypnotic-like" behavior, what are the relative effects of (a) S's personality characteristics, and of instructional-situational variables, such as (b) defining the situation to S as "hypnosis" or "control," (c) administering task-motivational instructions, (d) administering suggestions of relaxation, drowsiness, and sleep, and (e) suggesting to S that he can now easily respond to test suggestions? (4 p. ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of discrete emotions on young children's suggestibility.

Two experiments investigated the effects of sadness, anger, and happiness on 4- to 6-year-old children's memory and suggestibility concerning story events. In Experiment 1, children were presented with 3 interactive stories on a video monitor. The stories included protagonists who wanted to give the child a prize. After each story, the child completed a task to try to win the prize. The outcome of the child's effort was manipulated in order to elicit sadness, anger, or happiness. Children's emotions did not affect story recall, but children were more vulnerable to misleading questions about the stories when sad than when angry or happy. In Experiment 2, a story was presented and emotions were elicited using an autobiographical recall task. Children responded to misleading questions and then recalled the story for a different interviewer. Again, children's emotions did not affect the amount of story information recalled correctly, but sad children incorporated more information from misleading questions during recall than did angry or happy children. Sad children's greater suggestibility is discussed in terms of the differing problem-solving strategies associated with discrete emotions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects on recall of hypnotic induction, motivational suggestions, and suggested regression: A methodological and experimental analysis.

90 Ss were assessed for recall of syllables (learned 2 mo. previously) under 1 of 9 experimental conditions in a 3 X 3 factorial design. The 3 levels of the 1st independent variable were: hypnotic induction, eyes closed; no induction, eyes closed; and no induction, eyes open. The 3 levels of the 2nd independent variable were: recall without suggestions; recall with motivational suggestions; and recall with suggestions to regress to the time of original learning. Recall was not affected by the independent variables or their interaction. A comparable number of Ss in each of the 9 experimental groups testified postexperimentally that, during the experiment, they had imagined, felt, and believed they were back in the original learning situation. (30 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Imagery and suggestibility: a test of the Arnold hypothesis.

Two hypotheses were tested: (1) Sway test scores secured when S is asked to imagine falling should show a higher correlation with scores of hypnotizability then sway test scores obtained with the standard Hull "falling" instructions; and (2) there should be a positive correlation between imagery ability and susceptibility to hypnosis. Evidence is presented to contradict the first hypothesis and to support the second hypothesis. 21 references. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Inconsistencies and anomalies of response as a defining characteristic of hypnosis.

Investigated the hypothesis that a major defining characteristic of hypnosis can be observed in inconsistencies and in gross anomalies in the hypnotized person's behavior, as has been suggested by M. T. Orne (1974). This hypothesis was evaluated using hypnotic age regression to index inconsistencies and anomalies. 44 undergraduates were selected for high, medium, and low hypnotic susceptibility, and the insusceptible Ss were given Orne's simulation instructions. All Ss were hypnotically age regressed to age 5 yrs and presented with 15 standard questions previously sampled from a group of 20 kindergarten children. Immediately afterwards, the Ss were regressed to age 1 yr and presented with 3 further questions. The central hypothesis of the study was supported partially in that the highly susceptible Ss showed significantly greater inconsistency in their response, as defined in terms of 3 different criterion measures. There was no evidence of significantly more gross anomaly in their responses. Results indicate that hypnotized, highly susceptible Ss in hypnosis differ from less susceptible Ss in terms of qualitative differences in their cognitive functioning and in their subjective experience of hypnosis. (8 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The hypnotic dream: Methodological problems and a review of the literature.

Investigations of the hypnotic dream have been confounded by a variety of unrecognized methodological problems, such as inadequate specification of demand characteristics, trance depth, and nature of the E-S relationship. Failure to recognize that Ss have a variety of experiences in response to dream suggestions has further obscured the literature. The literature on hypnotic dreams is reviewed. (84 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relationship between coping and avoiding behavior and response to fear-arousing propaganda.

"Avoiders are unable to recognize tension-producing stimuli and relate them to themselves, while copers show the capacity to recognize such stimuli and relate them to themselves… . The results support the hypothesis that a strong fear appeal receives greater acceptance among copers than among avoiders… . The obtained pattern of acceptance is largely due to the marked differential effectiveness of the two appeals on the avoider group, and not as was originally predicted, to any differential acceptance by copers." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Literalism as a marker of hypnotic "trance": Disconfirming evidence.

The responses given by highly hypnotizable, hypnotic subjects and those of unhypnotizable subjects who simulated hypnosis to questions of the type, "Do you mind telling me your name?" and "Do you mind standing up?" were contrasted. The purpose was to examine M. H. Erickson's (1980) assertion that literalism (answering "yes" or "no" verbally or nonverbally without any cognitive elaboration) is a marker of hypnotic "trance." Simulators exhibited a greater rate of literalism than hypnotic "virtuosos" (i.e., extreme scorers on both group and individual hypnotizability measures). Hypnotized subjects and nonhypnotized subjects approached in the campus library responded comparably. Because less than a third of hypnotic virtuosos responded literally, our results strongly refuted Erickson's assertion that literalism is a cognitive feature of hypnosis. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Object relations theory and family systems: Toward a reconceptualization of the hypnotic relationship.

The problem of delineating the specific variables comprising the hypnotic relationship between the therapist and patient is given further foundation from the recent formulations within psychoanalytic theory. Developmental object relations theory, American ego psychology, and family systems theory are reviewed and synthesized in an attempt to provide a more comprehensive diagnostic and treatment framework for understanding the relational aspects of hypnotic regression. (45 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Influence of instructions on hypnotic and nonhypnotic performance.

This study examined the performance of high- and low-susceptible Ss under hypnotic and waking conditions when exhortative, analgesic, and other instructions were separately controlled and not confounded. 50 female Ss, assigned to 1 of 3 experimental or 2 control groups, performed 2 maximum effort tasks (Hand Dynamometer and Weight Endurance) and 1 skilled task (Tremor) in a Base Rate and a Special Instruction session. Except for 1 control group that always performed awake, all Ss performed both hypnotized and awake in both sessions. Special instructions facilitated performance in the hypnotic but not the waking state, and exhortative were more effective than analgesic instructions. (16 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Some effects of perceived status on responses to innovative behavior.

The degree of perceived status of an individual and its effect on the consequent evaluation of that person's behavior was studied. Persons perceived with a greater degree of status are more acceptable as authority figures and their idiosyncratic behavior receives greater acceptance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Hypnotic behavior: The differentiation of trance and demand characteristic variables.

Hypnotic Ss received posthypnotic suggestions: (1) to begin all sentences to the ostensible experimental (Taffel) task with "he" and "they," and (2) to be unaware of and amnesic for this fact. Waking simulator Ss received identical suggestions preceded by instructions to behave later as though they had been hypnotized when they received the suggestions. During a postexperimental inquiry with a different E, 8 of 14 hypnotic Ss were amnesic for their experimental behavior; none of the 13 simulating Ss were amnesic (p