1963
Moss, C. Scott; Stachowiak, J. G. (1963). The ability of hypnotic subjects to interpret symbols. Journal of Projective Techniques, 27, 92-97.
15 college students participated in the investigation, having been selected as hypnotizable on the basis of the Friedlander-Sarbin Scale of Hypnotic Suggestibility. 3 test items–a fairy tale, a brief Rorschach protocol, and a dream–were used to evaluate the ability of the Ss to interpret the meaning of symbolic productions. Each S was used as his own control, since the test items were first presented in the waking and then in the hypnotic state. The results did not demonstrate that hypnosis can facilitate the latent capacity of the Ss for the understanding of symbolic language. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2002 APA, all rights reserved)
1962
Raginsky, Bernard B. (1962). Sensory hypnoplasty with case illustration. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 10, 205-219. (In Index Medicus 63: March, S-543)
Sensory hypnoplasty is a technique in hypnoanalysis in which the hypnotized patient models clay to which various sensory stimuli (e.g., temperature, texture, color, smell) have been added to stimulate basic primitive memories, associations, sensations, and conflicts. This allows the patient to give plastic expression to repressed and suppressed material which is then followed by verbalization of the conflicts. The therapeutic process is reputed to be greatly accelerated. This technique has been used in the successful treatment of diverse pathological conditions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2002 APA, all rights reserved)
Webster, Raymond B. (1962). The effects of hypnosis on performance on the H-T-P and MPS. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 10 (3), 151-153.
Impressionistic analysis supported the view that hypnosis Ss provide richer protocols in the House-Tree-Person projective technique than in the waking state. A quantitative analysis of subtest and total scores on the Minnesota Personality Scale in the 2 states was insignificant. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2002 APA, all rights reserved)
1961
Raginsky, Bernard B. (1961). The sensory use of plasticine in hypnoanalysis (sensory hypnoplasty). International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 9 (4), 233-247. (Abstracted in Psychological Abstracts, 62: 4 II 33R)
Modelling with plasticine under hypnosis (hypnoplasty) allows the patient to give plastic expression to suppressed or repressed material. The author claims that this approach finds the patient quite unprepared to use his usual defenses, resulting in a very rapid and remarkable ventilation of unconscious material. Several clinical cases demonstrating the use of sensory hypnoplasty are presented. From Psyc Abstracts 36:04:4II33R. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2002 APA, all rights reserved)
CULTURE
2003
Sapp, Marty; Hitchcock, Kim (2003). Creative imagination, absorption, and dissociation with African American college students. Sleep and Hypnosis, 5 (2), 95-104.
The purpose of this study was to assess creative imagination, absorption, and dissociation with African American college students. Two hundred thirty-six undergraduate African American students ranging between the ages of 18 to 22 participated in this study. Students were assigned to the following experimental manipulation: (a) Creative Imagination Scale (CIS), a cognitive-behavioral measure of hypnotizability; and (b) Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES), General Dissociation Scale (GDS), and Tellegen Absorption Scale (TAS) embedded within the CIS. Results indicated that dissociation and absorption were affected by the CIS. Finally, this sample was compared with the European American sample obtained by Barber and Wilson (1978) and Wilson and Barber (1978), and clearly the two samples differed on creative imagination, t=(405)=7.00, p<.005. The African American sample had a signficantly lower mean CIS score than the European American sample. Sapp, Marty; Hitchcock, Kim (2003, March). Measuring dissociation and hypnotizability with African American college students: A new dissociation scale-The General Dissociation Scale. Australian Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, 24 (1), 23-34. Two hundred and two undergraduate African American college students participated in this study. Students completed the Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility, Form A: (HGSHS:A), the Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES), General Dissociation Scale (GDS) and the Inner Subjective Experiences scoring for the HGSHS:A, a measure of nonvolitional hypnotic responding. The GDS produced items had a reliability of .87 and it correlated .505, p<.01, with the DES. The items of HGSHS:A behavioral scoring method produced a reliability index of .29 with African American college students. Clearly, the Inner Subjective Experiences method for scoring the HGSHS:A is more appropriate for African American college students than the behaviorally scored items of the HGSHS:A, and the items of this scale had a reliability of .88. And the GDS produced items that were reliable for African American college students and European American students. Finally, this study provided confidence intervals for the reliability of items that measured hypnotizability, dissociation and nonvolitional responding. 2002 Green, Joseph P.; Rasekhy, Rouhangiz; Johnson, Lissa; Bernhardt, Sarah E. (2002). Cultural views, attitudes, and beliefs about hypnosis. [Paper] Presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, Chicago. The present investigation surveyed attitudes and beliefs about hypnosis across four samples of students attending university at the University of New South Wales, Australia; Dortman University, Germany; The Ohio State University, United States; and Shaheed Behesti University of Medical Sciences, Iran. A total of 280 undergraduate students, ranging in age from 18 to 25 years old, completed three different questionnaires assessing their opinions and beliefs about hypnosis. Our findings show that myths and misconceptions about hypnosis abound and that such beliefs are not culture specific" (Bulletin of Division 30, Psychological Hypnosis, Fall 2002, Vol. 11, No. 3, p. 14). 1999 Rodriguez Sanchez, Rodriguez Rodriguez, Santana Mariqo, Piqueras Hernandez, Alvarez Ramirez (1999). Current tendencies and future directions of hypnosis in Cuba. Newsletter of the Erickson Foundation, Vol 2, 6. Reviews the history of hypnosis in Cuba and the main tendencies and trends. There were no influences from Ericksonian hypnosis till recently when the first group of Ericksonians came to teach for the first time in Manzanillo, Granma Medicine University. The main approach is still the so called traditional hypnosis in which there is a development mainly in surgery and in some medical conditions. There are some strong places: Santiago de Cuba, where HipnoSantiago Hypnosis Workshop is held regularly, Manzanillo, where there is a Hypnosis Research group with publications in the country and abroad and experience in teaching hypnosis. The Hypnosis Society is located in Habana. The group from Manzanillo is working in a Clinic Project with such themes as hypnoanesthesia in major surgery, models of groups learning under hypnosis, and some other therapies. NOTES List of Manzanillo's Research group main papers: Learning under very deep hypnosis. In Neurology Magazine, Spain Current tendencies of Hypnosis in Cuba. In Newsletter of Erickson Foundation USA Breaking hypnosis myths. Communication at the University Forum. Main Philosophical, Physiological and Methodological Problems in Hypnosis Research. In University Forum States of consciousness and hypnosis. In Multimed Magazine, Cuba. Memory tests and hypnosis. Psychology Thesis. Autonomic System and Hypnosis. Psychology Thesis (Master degree) Hypnosis as the only anaesthetic procedure in major surgery. (Thesis) 1998 Court, John (1998). Not the state, but the territory. Australian Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 26 (2), 104-112. With the current growth of interest in spirituality, the interface between hypnosis and religious practices takes on new significance. Cautions have traditionally been expressed about the hypnotic state, with fears about control and willpower. While developments in the ethical use of hypnosis make such concerns less pressing, there remain significant paradigm issues which are being explored in the literature. These include pursuit of the age-old question, "Who are the legitimate healers in a society?" The territory of the church and the territory of the clinic are not entirely separate, so issues arise regarding the relative authority of practitioners to intervene in people's lives, and what such interventions should look like. Many Christians who might benefit from hypnosis have been warned to be totally against it. Evidence will be brought forward to challenge this and make it safer to look to therapeutic hypnosis without compromising beliefs. 1997 Jana, Hrishikesh (1997). The development of hypnosis in India. [Unpublished manuscript] NOTES Yoga (specially Meditative Yoga or Savasana) and Transcendental Meditation are integral parts of the cultural heritage of Indians. These and the state of hypnosis possess some of the characteristics in common and all these have been grouped under the heading 'Altered States of Consciousness' by the modern psycho-physiological and biological researchers. Hindu saints used to clothe sparsely even in the midst of extreme environmental conditions and the lying down of some yogis on the nail-bed are examples of their super-human tolerance to cold, pain, etc." (p. 2). Author cites the pioneering work of Dr. James Esdaile using hypnosis for surgical anaesthesia at Hooghly Hospital (1845-1850). Despite India's culture and the record of Dr. Esdaile, hypnosis often was regarded with suspicion in India. In the early and mid-20th century, physicians (e.g. Dr. N.V. Mody, an obstetrician) had difficulty having their work accepted, but since the early 1970s Dr. Jana and others have contributed to a renaissance in the use of medical, dental, and psychological hypnosis. This paper chronicles the history of hypnosis in the late 20th century in India. 1996 Cardena, Etzel (1996). "Just floating on the sky:" A comparison of hypnotic and shamanic phenomena. In Quekelberghe, R. V.; Eigner, D. (Ed.), Yearbook of cross-cultural medicine and psychotherapy 1994 (pp. 85-98). Despite the vastly different cultural contexts of hypnosis and shamanism, a comparison of the phenomenology of the two is warranted. The author proposes that the two types of very hypnotizable individuals, one exhibiting vivid imagery and the other showing diminished memory and control, corresponds to the classical distinction between soul journey and spirit possession . Other cognitive traits, developmental histories and alternate experiences of hypnotic virtuosos and shamans imply other similarities. The resemblance between hypnotic and shamanic phenomenology strongly suggests a universal disposition that is independent of culture. Western culture should acknowledge, respect and study the potentials and risks of this ability. Desmangles, Leslie G.; Cardena, Etzel (1996). Yearbook of Cross-Cultural Medicine and Psychotherapy, 1994. Berlin: Verlag fur Wissenschaft und Bildung. (Theme Issue: Trance, possession, healing rituals, and psychotherapy) In this paper, we analyze trance possession in its cross-cultural, psychological and religious contexts, and describe its role specifically within Haitian Vodou and society. In contrast with the earlier analysis of spirit possession as a form of psychopathology, more recent scholarships (sic) has emphasized its import as a common and meaningful religious practice. Vodou is a synchretic religion that, for historical reasons, fused African traditions with Catholicism. In Haiti, the possessed individual plays a liminal function that bridges the sacred and the secular, and temporarily transcends the limitations imposed provided by social or economic status. NOTES The article lists the following as Contents. 1. Possession in context 2. Possession and psychotherapy 3. Vodou and Haiti 4. Vodou rituals (A brief history - The many faces of the Lwas) 5. Deutsche Zusammenfassung 6. Literature Zachariae, Robert; Sommerlund, Bo; Molay, Francine (1996). Danish norms for the Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility, Form A. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 44 (2), 140-152. Norms for a Danish adaptation of the Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility, Form A (HGSHS:A) are presented. Four samples tested from 1988 to 1991 (n = 166, n = 54, n = 95, and n = 61) were pooled, resulting in an aggregate sample of 376 participants. The normative data were generally congruent with earlier normative studies with regard to score distribution, item difficulty levels, and reliability. Studies using the Danish adaptation of the HGSHS:A as a screening instrument have shown the predictive value of the instrument in a Danish context. Data for a comparable American sample of volunteers (n = 170) tested by the same hypnotist were included in the analysis. A comparison revealed a marked difference for the posthypnotic suggestion item, hinting that cultural differences between the Danish and American samples with regard to expectancies and attitudes toward hypnosis may play a role. Further studies comparing attitudes toward hypnosis across different cultural contexts are needed to clarify this issue. - Journal Abstract 1995 Holroyd, Jean (1995). Handbook of clinical hypnosis, by Judith W. Rhue, Steven Jay Lynn, & Irving Kirsch (Eds.) [Review]. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 43 (4), 401-403. NOTES "This is a book for the thinking clinician" (p. 401). "The editors are to be congratulated for making this volume much more coherent than most edited books" (p. 402). "My impression is that the book is best suited for an intermediate or advanced course on hypnotherapy, or for people who are already using hypnosis in treatment. Although there is some material on the basics of hypnotic inductions and a few introductory sample scripts for inductions, a beginners'' course should probably use a different book, or this book could be accompanied by an inductions manual. ... I recommend it very highly" (p. 403). 1994 Cardena, Etzel (1994, October). Dissociative trance disorder, amnesia, and fugue: New proposals. [Paper] Presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, San Francisco. NOTES Dissociative trance disorder was proposed but not accepted for the newest revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual; it is being considered for DSM IV. It is needed because the current dissociative diagnoses don't cover many of the patients. People are using the NOS characterization for those patients. Trance is a frequent type of pathology in other cultures. [Notes were not recorded for most of this paper.] Cardena, Etzel (1994, August). Spirit possession in Haiti. [Paper] Presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, Los Angeles. NOTES: THREE DIMENSIONS OF POSSESSION: 1. Shift from one identity into another (e.g. substituting the everyday identity for that of a spirit) 2. Transitional (you are not having one type of identity substituted for another); involves a transition between states of consciousness (e.g. confusion, dizziness) 3.Transcendent possession - you have a human identity that is not quite there, but another identity has not taken over, like the oracle. He disagrees with Eliade and Roger Walsh who imply that shamanism is a higher form than possession because possession is "out of control." Flight of mind - you are able to remember and bring back the information, mostly visual/imaginal. vs Possession - involves an embodied alteration of consciousness and, frequently, amnesia. For further information, consult Cardena, E. (1989). The varieties of possession experience. Association for the Anthropological Study of Consciousness Quarterly, 5 (2- 3), 1-17. Spanos, Nicholas P. (1994). Multiple identity enactments and multiple personality disorder: A sociocognitive perspective. Psychological Bulletin, 116, 143-165. People who enact multiple identities behave as if they possess 2 or more selves, each with its own characteristic moods, memories, and behavioral repertoire. Under different names, this phenomenon occurs in many cultures; in North American culture, it is frequently labeled multiple personality disorder (MPD). This article reviews experimental, cross-cultural, historical, and clinical findings concerning multiplicity and examines the implications of these findings for an understanding of MPD. Multiplicity is viewed from a sociocognitive perspective, and it is concluded that MPD, like other forms of multiplicity, is socially constructed. It is context bounded, goal-directed, social behavior geared to the expectations of significant others, and its characteristics have changed over time to meet changing expectations. Spanos, Nicholas P.; Burgess, Cheryl A.; Burgess, Melissa Faith (1994). Past-life identities, UFO abductions, and satanic ritual abuse: The social construction of memories. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 42 (4), 433-446. People sometimes fantasize entire complex scenarios and later define these experiences as memories of actual events rather than as imaginings. This article examines research associated with three such phenomena: past-life experiences, UFO alien contact and abduction, and memory reports of childhood ritual satanic abuse. In each case, elicitation of the fantasy events is frequently associated with hypnotic procedures and structured interviews which provide strong and repeated demands for the requisite experiences, and which then legitimate the experiences as "real memories." Research associated with these phenomena supports the hypothesis that recall is reconstructive and organized in terms of current expectations and beliefs. 1993 Cardena, Etzel (1993, October). Trance and possession as dissociative disorders: How exotic are they?. [Paper] Presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, Arlington Heights, IL. NOTES: Joke: "What happened to the possessed patient who didn't pay his exorcist?" Answer: "He got repossessed." Began with a quotation of Lagerkvist's book describing possession of a Sybil in Greek temple. Possession is part of religious experience worldwide, that he is not discussing here. The revised diagnostic manual, ICD-10, has included "dissociative trance disorders." To diagnose this one must have either trance (narrowing awareness or focusing and stereotyped movements, behaviors) or possession trance (replacement of sense of personal identity by a new identity, with stereotyped culturally-determined behaviors or movements that are experienced as being controlled by the possessing agent), *and* full or partial amnesia for the event. Cardena emphasizes it doesn't need to be full amnesia. To be diagnosed as dissociative trance disorder, the trance or possession state observed cannot be a normal part of a broadly accepted cultural or religious practice, and it must produce distress or maladjustment. These are the most common type of dissociative disorders in non-Western cultures, e.g. 90% in India. So this diagnosis in India is not "atypical." "Non-Western" applies to 80% of the World and 1/3 of the USA population. DSM is trying to expand cultural relevance. Also, even in the Western culture Allison and others have published cases of dissociative trance disorder, and others have described trance disorders: Spiegel & Spiegel's Grade 5 personality is vulnerable to dissociative disorder. Hartman's chronic nightmare patients have "boundary thinness" (i.e. they are not clear if they are awake or asleep, lack separation from themselves and others). Lynn & Rhue's fantasy prone individuals, 22% of people, are vulnerable to maladjustment. Cardena's recommended change in diagnosis of dissociation is critiqued in Transcultural Psychiatric Research Review (1992). Criticisms of the new diagnosis, published int that journal, are: 1. Culture-bound syndromes cut across Western diagnostic boundaries. 2. The diagnosis may be insensitive to the cultural context in which phenomena occur (e.g. distress may lead a person to participate in a cult of affliction) and it may require anthropological sophistication of diagnosticians or consultation with someone who has that knowledge. 2a. It may disregard considerations such as who has the power to "authorize" the phenomenon, under what circumstances, etc. [That would be true with any diagnosis however.] 3.Dissociative Trance Disorder may assume greater within and across-culture uniformity for the conditions than is warranted. 4. It may give validity to metaphysical explanations for spirit possession. [But in psychiatry we often use terms that don't take into consideration validating metaphysical explanations, e.g. "phantom limb" pain. 5. The medical model that underlies DSM is inappropriate for ontological considerations on the nature of the self. [But those with this diagnosis give us some understanding, not what the ultimate nature of the self and consciousness are. Diagnoses are pragmatic ways of dealing with problems.} At the present time, the diagnosis of Dissociative Trance Disorder is included in the Appendix of DSM-IV. For further elaboration of this material, see Cardena, E. (1992). Trance and possession as dissociative disorders. Transcultural Psychiatric Research Review, 29, 283- 297. 1992 Morse, Donald R.; Martin, John; Moshonov, Joshua (1992). Stress induced sudden cardiac death: Can it be prevented?. Stress Medicine, 8, 35-46. Previously, psychosomatically induced death relative to stress, hypnosis, mind control, and voodoo was discussed. In this article, emphasis is on one aspect of that - stress induced sudden cardiac death (SCD). A brief review is presented of the sympathetic aspects of the acute stress response and stress induced SCD. Findings from previous studies are presented to highlight sympathetic aspects of the acute stress response. This is followed by a presentation of various strategies to prevent of decrease the possibilities for stress induced SCD. These include long-term measures (e.g. diet control, smoking control, hypertension control, stress management strategies) and immediate measures (e.g. calm, controlled approach, elicitation of the relaxation response, selected use of drugs, and heart rate variability monitoring). Relative to prevention strategies, findings are presented both from previous studies and new investigations. 1991 Brown, Peter (1991). The hypnotic brain: Hypnotherapy and social communication. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. NOTES Notes are taken from a review of this book: Diamond, Michael (1993). Book review. Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic, 57 (Winter), 120-121. Brown "posits that because the fundamental matrix of the human brain is metaphoric, hypnosis results from skillful matching of metaphorical communication with the brain's biological, rhythmic alterations. The most significant feature of trance experience is thereby located in the hypnotist-subject interaction" (p. 120). "The middle section [of the book is comprised largely of] literature reviews in support of Rossi's (1986) ultradian rhythm theory of hypnosis and Lakoff and Johnson's (Johnson, 1987; Lakoff & Johnson, 1980) experientialist theory of conceptual thought" (p. 120). The final section includes "research evidence on medical uses of hypnosis, a theory of dissociation and multiple personality disorders, and an uncritical discussion of Milton Erickson's naturalistic hypnotherapeutic approach ... [and also] a brief discussion of the social-cultural functions of possession states among the Mayotte culture" (p. 120). Daglish, Mark R. C.; Wright, Peter (1991). Opinions about hypnosis among medical and psychology students. Contemporary Hypnosis, 8, 51-55. A survey was undertaken of opinions about hypnosis among first year medical and psychology students at the University of Edinburgh. Data are presented on the effects of self-estimated hypnotizability and sex, on opinions about hypnosis. The results are compared with those from similar studies conducted in Australia and the USA. Overall, the surveyed population showed a similar level of knowledge about hypnosis to that found among the general public. Morse, Donald R.; Martin, John; Moshonov, Joshua (1991). Psychosomatically induced death: Relative to stress, hypnosis, mind control, and voodoo: Review and possible mechanisms. Stress Medicine, 7, 213-232. A common denominator in psychosomatically induced death is stress. Death can occur slowly, as from the preponderance of chronic stressor, or it can come on suddenly, as from an acute stressor. Sudden death is more likely in an individual with preexistent serious medical conditions, which were outlined. Seven types of individuals more prone to sudden death were outlined. Most cases of sudden death are related to the presence of a severely stressful situation in which there appears to be no means of control or escape. With mind control, hypnosis, and voodoo curses, circumstances can be manipulated to achieve severe stress and uncontrollability. 1990 Downs, John M.; Dahmer, Sharon K.; Battle, Allen O. (1990). Multiple personality disorder in India. American Journal of Psychiatry, 147 (9), 1260. Comments on the article by Adityanjee et al (see PA, Vol 77:12344) on multiple personality vs possession syndrome in India. The history of the trends of these disorders is presented, and the differences between multiple personality and possession are described. The only fundamental difference between the 2 disorders may be in the voluntary type. 1987 Dobkin de Rios, Marlene; Friedmann, Joyce K. (1987). Hypnotherapy with Hispanic burn patients. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 35 (2), 87-94. This paper examines a culturally sensitive hypnotherapeutic intervention for Hispanic burn patients who suffer symptoms of the post-traumatic stress disorder and discusses the outcome of 27 patients seen by the authors (a medical anthropologist and a clinical psychologist), over a 3.5-year period. Given the difficulties of recent monolingual, Mexican migrants in responding to psychological interventions that are not culturally sensitive, the hypnotherapeutic interventions and procedurs developed by the authors provide a plan for systematic desensitization and cultural concordance to make rehabilitation of Hispanic burn patients more effective. 1986 Spanos, Nicholas P.; Cross, Wendi P.; Lepage, Mark; Coristine, Marjorie (1986). Glossolalia as learned behavior: An experimental demonstration. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 95, 21-23. 60 Ss listened to a 60-s sample of glossolalia (defined to them as pseudolanguage) and then attempted to produce glossolalia on a 30-s baseline trial. Afterward, half of the Ss received two training sessions that included audio- and videotaped samples of glossolalia interspersed with opportunities to practice glossolalia. Also, live modeling of glossolalia, direct instruction, and encouragement were provided by an experimenter. Both the trained subjects and untreated controls attempted to produce glossolalia on a 30-s posttest trial. About 20% of subjects exhibited fluent glossolalia on the baseline trial, and training significantly enhanced fluency. Seventy percent of trained subjects spoke fluent glossolalia on the posttest. Our findings are more consistent with social learning than with altered state conceptions of glossolalia. Burnham, John C. (1984, October/1986). The fragmenting of the soul: Intellectual prerequisites for ideas of dissociation in the United States. In Quen, Jacques M. (Ed.), Split minds/split brains (pp. 63-84). New York: New York University Press. (Based on symposium in Bear Mt., N.Y., by Section on the History of Psychiatry of Cornell University Medical Center) NOTES Reductionism was a relentless pursuit of the idea that knowledge of components led to knowledge of causes. In this context, I propose to show how, in the psychological-medical realm, the initial concept was the soul, and the final intellectual product was dissociative phenomena" p. 64. 1984 Suryani, L. K. (1984). Culture and mental disorder: The case of bebainan in Bali. In Culture, medicine and psychiatry. D. Reidel Publishing Company. NOTES Bebainan is a form of dissociation which is culturally associated with Bali. Thought to be caused by sorcery, a bebainan attack lasts up to an hour and is manifested by confusion, crying, screaming, and shouting, with inability to control one's actions. However, it seems most victims maintain awareness of their own behavior and are not amnesic for it afterwards. In this study, the author interviewed 27 people, mostly female, most of whom experienced their first attack between 16-30 years of age. The author concluded that the attacks permitted release of feelings of frustration and anger without stigma. Author concluded it is not a form of psychosis, is not organic, and is not a neurosis. Wilson, Ian (1984). Jesus--The evidence. London England: Weidenfeld and Nicolson. NOTES Miracles of Jesus are attributed to hypnosis, in a culture that had already experienced faith healers. Many of those healed had diseases that today might fall into the 'hysteria' or 'psychosomatic' categories (paralysis, lameness, fever, catalepsy, haemorrhage, skin disease, mental disorder), which diseases are frequently responsive to hypnosis. Further, Jesus' reputation preceded him, and the fact that his cure rate was low in his home town is evidence of both the veridicality of the written record (Mark 6: 1-6) and the expectancy factor. "The significance of this episode is that Jesus failed precisely where as a hypnotist we would most expect him to fail, among those who knew him best, those who had seen him grow up as an ordinary child. Largely responsibble for any hypnotist's success are the awe and mystery with which he surrounds himself, and these essential factors would have been entirely lacking in Jesus' home town" (pp. 111-112). The author also assigns other miracles (his transfiguration into dazzling light before three disciples; turning water into wine) to hypnosis [which other writers might ascribe to suggestion]. 1982 Hong, G. K.; Skiba, A. H.; Yepes, E.; O'Brien, R. M. (1982). Effects of ethnicity of hypnotist and subject on hypnotic susceptibility. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 30 (1), 23-31. The effect of ethnic similarity of hypnotist and hypnotic S on hypnotic susceptibility was examined in a 2-part study. The first part of the study compared the performance of Anglo versus Chinese hypnotists on Anglo versus Chinese Ss. In the second half of the study, Anglo and Hispanic Ss and hypnotists were compared using the same Anglo hypnotist-S control group. In total, 112 volunteers were administered the Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale, Form A, of A. M. Weitzenhoffer and Hilgard (1959), with 16 Ss (8 males and 8 females) in each condition. A 2 x 2 ANOVA was performed on the data for each part of the study. Ethnic similarity of hypnotist and S was found not to enhance hypnotic susceptibility. The implications of these results are discussed in relation to the assumed superiority of homoethnicity in psychotherapy. Larbig, W.; Elbert, T.; Lutzenberger W.; Rockstroh, B.; Schnerr, G.; Birbaumer, N. (1982). EEG and slow brain potentials during anticipation and control of painful stimulation. Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology, 53, 298-309. Cerebral responses in anticipation of painful stimulation and while coping with it were investigated in a 'fakir' and 12 male volunteers. Experiment 1 consisted of 3 periods of 40 trials each. During period 1, subjects heard one of two acoustic warning stimuli of 6 sec duration signaling that either an aversive noise or a neutral tone would be presented at S1 offset. During period 2, subjects were asked to use any technique for coping with pain that they had ever found to be successful. During period 3, the neutral S2 was presented simultaneously with a weak electric shock and the aversive noise was presented simultaneously with a strong, painful shock, again under pain coping instructions. EEG activity within the theta band increased in anticipation of aversive events. Theta peak was most prominent in the fakir's EEG. A negative slow potential shift during the S1-S2 interval was generally more pronounced in anticipation of the aversive events than the neutral ones, even though no overt motor response was required. Negativity tended to increase across the three periods, opposite to the usually observed diminution. In Experiment 2, all subjects self-administered 21 strong shock-noise presentations. The fakir again showed more theta power and more pronounced EEG negativity after stimulus delivery compared with control subjects. Contrary to the controls, self-administration of shocks evoked a larger skin conductance response in the fakir than warned external application. NOTES A published case study by Pelletier (1977) reported EEG theta enhancement during pain control states, which were maintained by EEG feedback of alpha and theta bands. That author concluded that EEG theta was necessary for the control of pain psychologically. The authors of this article measured slow brain potentials (SBPs) and vertical eye movements (VEMs). Principal components analysis of the EEG wave forms found three components: theta (4-5.6 c/sec), alpha band (9-10 c/sec) and high frequencies (above 14.4 c/sec) plus harmonics loading in frequencies of 3.2-4.5 c/sec, 7.5-9, and above 15 c/sec. Alpha "decreased over periods in the parietal record and was virtually absent in the fakir's EEG during period 3" (p. 301). The fakir had a lot of non-sinusoidal, especially square wave, activity. "Very pronounced negativity was recorded preceding the aversive S2, greater than under neutral stimulus conditions .... This difference was most pronounced at the vertex ... The late negativity increased over periods in control subjects ... especially in anticipation of the aversive S2 ... . This contrasts with the usually observed decrease of SBP components over trials. As is shown in Figure 2, the PCA [principal components analysis] yielded two components for the 2.0 sec S2 interval, a positive deflection, which can be assigned to the P300 complex (here not reported), and a negative deflection, labeled post- imperative negative variation. ... This negative component increased over periods, being more pronounced in response to the aversive stimulation ... with increasing differentiation over period ..." (p. 302-303). The fakir undertook an elaborate self hypnosis or trance induction to achieve analgesia that he had previously demonstrated in the laboratory (thrusting 4 unsterilized metal spikes into his abdomen, tongue, and neck without bleeding). This included "long- continued fixation on a point above the eye-brows. Blank facial expression, staring eyes, and a very low rate of eye-blinks indicated a trance-like state (periods without eye-blinks more than 30 min)" (p. 299). During the experiment itself, the fakir showed few ocular movements during the second and third periods. He also demonstrated large skin conductance responses, recorded from the second phalanges of the index and middle fingers of the left hand, to the aversive S1.