1979
Beers, Thomas M.; Karoly, Paul (1979). Cognitive strategies, expectancy, and coping style in the control of pain. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 47, 179-180.
Measures of tolerance, self-reported pain threshold, and overall discomfort of cold-pressor pain were obtained from 114 male subjects in a pretest-training-posttest experiment. Training consisted of brief practice in one of four cognitive strategies: rational thinking, compatible imagery, incompatible imagery, and task-irrelevant cognition. Analyses of covariance indicated (a) that cognitive-imaginal strategies facilitated endurance of pain and raised self-reported threshold, (b) that rational thinking and compatible imagery were generally the most effective treatments, (c) that expectancy alone was not a significant pain-attenuating factor, (d) that treatments did not affect discomfort ratings, and (e) that individual differences in imaginal ability and coping style did not correlation with changes in any of the dependent measures.
Carr-Kaffashan, Lucille; Woolfolk, Robert L. (1979). Active and placebo effects in treatment of moderate and severe insomnia. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 47 (6), 1072-1080.
This study examines the efficacy of relaxation training and a highly credible placebo in the treatment of both severe and moderate sleep onset insomnia. The placebo treatment was designed to elicit an expectation for improvement comparable with that of relaxation training. Expectancy of improvement was further controlled by informing subjects to expect improvement only after the third week of therapy, thus allowing comparisons of the treatments to be made during the counterdemand period (first 3 weeks) and the positive demand period (fourth week and beyond). Responses of severe and moderate insomniacs were similar across treatment conditions, over weeks, and in response to the counterdemand/positive demand manipulation. Only subjects trained in relaxation techniques improved significantly during the counterdemand period. The active treatment was significantly more effective than the placebo in reducing sleep onset latency during the counterdemand period. After the introduction of positive expectancy of therapy outcome, relaxation was no longer superior to placebo. Findings are discussed in terms of the methodological difficulties inherent in controlling for subject expectancy of therapeutic effects in treatment studies of insomnia.
Johnson, Lynn S. (1979). Self-hypnosis: Behavioral and phenomenological comparisons with heterohypnosis. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 27, 240-264.
In a study of behavioral and phenomenological differences between auto- and heterohypnosis, standard autohypnotic and hetero-hypnotic experiences were administered to 48 college students (25 males, 23 females). Total scores of behavioral and phenomenological responses were compared for each experience. The phenomenological scores were also factor analyzed for each type of hypnosis. Behavioral total scores were comparable. Inexperienced Ss were as able to hypnotize themselves as to be hypnotized by another. Scores on “challenge” items were also comparable, whereas items suggesting positive actions showed greater variability. Factor analyses showed that the subjective experiences were generally similar. Heterohypnosis evoked more feelings of unawareness, passivity, and loss of control. Self-hypnosis elicited more feelings of time distortion, disorientation, active direction, and trance variability. The relationship between hypnotic mode and order effects was discussed in terms of Ruch’s (1975) facilitatory/inhibitory effects. Conclusions are drawn that self-hypnosis and heterohypnosis are sufficiently similar to be conceptualized undr the same label. Data is offered on expectations of self-hypnosis and their effect on later responsiveness.
1978
Hearn, Greg (1978, November). Susceptibility and the process of social interaction in the hypnotic context. [Unpublished manuscript] (Submitted as a partial requirement for the B. S. degree with honours in psychology at the Univ of Queensland)
The hypothesis was tested that the process of social interaction between hypnotist and subject is dependent upon the susceptibility level of subjects. Using Interaction Process Analysis (Bales, 1950), the interaction patterns of 16 high susceptibles and 16 low susceptibles were analyzed. Susceptibility level had been pretested with the HGSHS:A. The hypnotist was then instructed on how to control for differences in the process of interaction which were isolated and the initial hypnotic session was repeated on a new sample. This time the performance and interaction patterns of six high susceptibles and six low susceptibles were compared. Results suggested that trait differences give rise spontaneously to differences in the process of interaction and some combination of these effect the subjects final hypnotic performance. Hence it is argued that an interactionist framework would aid the understanding hypnotic responsivity.
Karlin, Robert; Mann, David; Carracher, John (1978, September). Placebo considerations in clinical hypnosis. [Paper] Presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, Toronto, Canada. (Reprinted in part in American Psychological Association Division of Psychological Hypnosis Newsletter, April, 1979)
While the last 20 years have seen great progress in understanding factors underlying hypnotic phenomena in the laboratory, underlying process in clinical settings is much less clear. It is suggested that hypnosis, like most other psychotherapeutic techniques, derives most of its efficacy from its value as a placebo. Its assumed efficacy legitimizes high levels of therapist demand for change and increases the patient’s efficacy expectations and perceived control. Conceptual distinctions are made between syndromes that should respond well to hypnotic treatment and those that should not. A rationale for the differing views of clinical and experimental workers in hypnosis is suggested. Finally, the central importance of the patient-therapist relationship is noted.
1977
MacMillan, M. B. (1977). The cathartic method and the expectancies of Breuer and Anna O.. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 25, 106-118.
Expectancies about the consequences of the suppression of behavior and about the effects of expressing emotions are proposed as sources of the “talking cure” which developed during Breuer’s treatment of Anna O. and which later became known as the cathartic method. Although the argument is similar to one proposed by Ellenberger (1970, 1972) it sets out a more rational alternative to his explanation that the method was partly a creation of the mytho-poetic unconscious. The analysis of the interaction between Breuer and Anna O. makes explicit the expectancies underlying each of the steps through which the cathartic method developed and traces these expectancies to the general beliefs and the specific theoretical interests shared by them.
1976
Coe, William C. (1976). Effects of hypnotist susceptibility and sex on the administration of standard hypnotic susceptibility scales. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 24, 281-286.
Hypnotists’ susceptibility and sex were examined for their effects on the administration of the Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale, Form C (Weitzenhoffer & Hilgard, 1962). Neither resulted in different hypnotic responsiveness from Ss. Comparatively inexperienced hypnotists obtained data similar to the normative sample for the Stanford scale. The results suggest that inexperienced hypnotists are capable of administering standardized scales validly, and that characteristics of the hypnotist are relatively ineffective in distorting Ss’ responses to these scales.
Connors, J.; Sheehan, P. W. (1976). Analysis of the cue characteristics of task motivational instructions. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 24, 287-299.
This study investigated the assumption of Barber’s model of hypnosis that its set of task motivational instructions is thoroughly “nonhypnotic” in character. If this assumption is correct, then the cues associated naturally with task motivational instructions should be more compatible with a suggestibility test situation explicitly defined as nonhypnotic than with one defined as hypnotic, and this affinity should be reflected in both Ss’ objective and subjective suggestibility test scores. Barber’s (1965) Suggestibility Scale data collected from 90 Ss did not confirm the main prediction under test, but results failed to provide unequivocal support for the model; subjective evidence, in particular, supported least well the assumptions of the paradigm.
Gatchel, Robert J.; Proctor, Janet D. (1976). Effectiveness of voluntary heart rate control in reducing speech anxiety. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 381-389.
The effects of learned control of heart rate deceleration and therapeutic expectancy set in reducing speech anxiety were investigated in a factorial design employing 36 speech-anxious subjects. Heart rate control training and no heart rate control training were each paired with high-therapeutic-expectancy and neutral- expectancy instructions, in order to assess the individual and combined effects of the two factors. Results demonstrated that learning to control heart rate deceleration led to a significant reduction in self-report, physiological (heart rate and skin conductance level), and overt signs of anxiety, relative to the no-heart-rate control condition. High- therapeutic-expectancy instructions also contributed to a reduction in self-reported anxiety. These results demonstrate that learned heart rate control is an effective therapeutic technique for reducing anxiety.
Hemme, Robert; Boor, Myron (1976). Role of expectancy set in the systematic desensitization of speech anxiety: An extension of prior research. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 32 (2), 398-404.
SUMMARY
The influence of expectancy set with regard to therapy outcome on the effectiveness of systematic desensitization (SD) for reducing public speaking anxiety was investigated. The 7 Ss given a high expectancy set for favorable therapy outcome were informed about psychological research that indicates that SD is effective to reduce public speaking fears. SD was administered with the standard instructions to the 11 Ss given a neutral expectancy set. This expectancy manipulation did not require deception and perhaps could be used with actual SD therapy clients. As in previous research by Woy and Efran, the expectancy set manipulation significantly modified Ss’ self-report of subjective perceptions of anxiety from pretratment to posttreatment speeches, but did not affect overt behavioral or physiological indices of anxiety. Since subjective perceptions of anxiety responses are psychologically significant behaviors, these data suggest the importance of conveying a high expectation of improvement to SD and perhaps also to other types of therapy clients. SD sessions administered to small groups of clients on consecutive days, as in this study, appeared to be as effective to reduce speech anxiety as SD sessions administered to each client individually at 1-week intervals, as in the Woy and Efran study” (pp. 403-404).
1975
Aletky, Patricia J.; Carlin, Albert S. (1975). Sex differences and placebo effects: Motivation as an intervening variable. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 43 (2), 278.
NOTES 1:
” … the present findings would suggest that future studies of placebo effects should take into account the nature of the dependent variable and the pertinent differential sex-role expectations” (p. 278). The performance measure was a dynamometer pull task. The placebo was a jelly applied to the forearm “and alleged to relieve muscular fatigue” (p. 278). The motivational instructions were telling Subjects that “individuals in good health and with normal muscle tonus would be expected to show improved performance on the posttreatment trial” (p. 278).
Barber, Theodore Xenophon (1975). Responding to ‘hypnotic’ suggestions: An introspective report. American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, 18 (1), 6-22.
The author first presents an introspective report which describes some of his attitudes, motivations, and expectancies and ongoing thought processes while he is responding to ‘hypnotic’ suggestions. The introspective report indicates that (a) suggested effects are experienced when a person thinks with and imaginatively focuses on those things that are suggested and (b) a person imaginatively focuses on the suggestions when he sees the test situation as useful and worthwhile and when he wants to and expects to experience those things that are suggested. It is then argued that the responsive subject in a hypnotic situation differs in every important respect from the sleepwalker and closely resembles the person who is involved in reading an interesting novel or in observing an interesting motion picture. Finally, the author outlines a course, now being developed, that aims to teach individuals how to respond to suggestions.
Lick, John R. (1975). Expectancy, false galvanic skin response feedback, and systematic desensitization in the modification of phobic behavior. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 43 (4), 557-567.
This study compared systematic desensitization and two pseudotherapy manipulations with and without false galvanic skin response feedback after every session suggesting improvement in the modification of intense snake and spider fear. The results indicated no consistent differences between the three treatment groups, although all treatments were significantly more effective than no treatment in modifying physiological, behavioral, and self-report measures of fear. A 4-month follow-up showed stability in fear reduction on self-report measures for the three treatment groups. Overall, the results of this experiment were interpreted as contradicting a traditional conditioning explanation of systematic desensitization. An alternate explanation for the operation of systematic desensitization emphasizing the motivational as opposed to conditioning aspects of the procedure is discussed.
1974
Chaves, John F.; Barber, Theodore Xenophon (1974). Cognitive strategies, experimenter modeling, and expectation in attenuation of pain. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 83 (4), 356-363.
Verbal reports of pain were obtained from 120 subjects during a base-level pretest and also during a posttest conducted under one of several experimental treatments. The pain stimulus was a heavy weight applied to a finger for two minutes. During the posttest, subjects who had been asked to utilize cognitive strategies for reducing pain (to imagine pleasant events or to imagine the finger as insensitive) showed a reduction in pain as compared to uninstructed control subjects. Subjects led to expect a reduction in pain, but not provided with cognitive strategies, also showed reduced pain during the posttest as compared to control subjects, but the reduction was smaller than for subjects using cognitive strategies. An experimenter modeling procedure, used with one half of the subjects under each experimental treatment, was effective in reducing verbal reports of pain only for subjects with high pretest levels who were asked to imagine pleasant events.
Brown, H. Alan (1973). Role of expectancy manipulation in systematic desensitization. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 41 (3), 405-411.
Expectancy, relaxation, and hierarchy content were manipulated in a 2X2 factorial design with two additional control groups. It was hypothesized that a major portion of therapeutic change following desensitization could be accounted for by the subjects’ responses to positive feedback inherent in the paradigm. Spider-phobic subjects saw either photographs of spiders or blank slides that they believed to be tachistoscopically presented pictures of spiders. In the factorial part of the design, half of the subjects believed their progress through the hierarchy to be contingent on autonomic responses; the others believed rate of progress to be random. Findings did not support the hypothesis that expectancy was the only factor in desensitization, but they did serve to clarify the role of expectancy vis-a-vis the counterconditioning elements typically discussed in the literature.
Brown, H. Alan (1973). Role of expectancy manipulation in systematic desensitization. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 41 (3), 405-411.
Expectancy, relaxation, and hierarchy content were manipulated in a 2X2 factorial design with two additional control groups. It was hypothesized that a major portion of therapeutic change following desensitization could be accounted for by the subjects’ responses to positive feedback inherent in the paradigm. Spider-phobic subjects saw either photographs of spiders or blank slides that they believed to be tachistoscopically presented pictures of spiders. In the factorial part of the design, half of the subjects believed their progress through the hierarchy to be contingent on autonomic responses; the others believed rate of progress to be random. Findings did not support the hypothesis that expectancy was the only factor in desensitization, but they did serve to clarify the role of expectancy vis-a-vis the counterconditioning elements typically discussed in the literature.
McReynolds, William T.; Barnes, AllanR.; Brooks, Samuel; Rehagen, Nicholas (1973). The role of attention-placebo influences in the efficacy of systematic desensitization. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 41 (1), 86-92.
Systematic desensitization was compared with two attention- placebo control treatments – one taken from Paul and one currently devised as an elaborate, highly impressive “therapeutic” experience – and no treatment. It was hypothesized that (a) fear reductions following desensitization would be no greater than those associated with an equally compelling placebo treatment and (b) fear and control measure changes following the previously used attention-placebo treatment would be less than those following desensitization and the present placebo control manipulations. Both hypotheses were supported, although support for the first was more consistent than for the second.
1972
Barber, Theodore Xenophon; de Moor, Wilfried (1972). A theory of hypnotic induction procedures. American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, 15 (2), 112-135.
The first part of the paper delineates nine variables in hypnotic induction procedures that give rise to heightened responsiveness to test-suggestions: (a) defining the situation as hypnosis; (b) removing fears and misconceptions; (c) securing cooperation; (d) asking the subject to keep his eyes closed; (e) suggesting relaxation, sleep, and hypnosis; (f) maximizing the phrasing and vocal characteristics of suggestions; (g) coupling suggestions with naturally-occurring events; (h) stimulating goal-directed imagining; and (i) preventing or reinterpreting the failure of suggestions. Data are presented to support the theory that the nine variables augment responsiveness to test-suggestions by giving rise to positive attitudes, motivations, and expectancies which, in turn, tend to produce a willingness to think with and vividly imagine those things that are suggested. The second part of the paper specifies situational variables and variables involved in induction procedures that produce a trance-like appearance, changes in body feelings, and reports of having been hypnotized.
1970
Goldstein, M. S.; Sipprelle, Carl N. (1970). Hypnotically induced amnesia versus ablation of memory. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 19 (3), 211-216. (Abstracted in Current Contents, 2, 35, 21)
Divided 33 hypnotizable undergraduates, all capable of achieving the criterion of amnesia for a 7-digit number, into 3 groups: 2 hypnotized and 1 pretend. The distributions of errors for an amnesic performance of these groups were compared with the theoretical chance distribution of errors expected in an amnesic performance. Both hypnotized groups differed significantly from the pretend group and from the theoretical distribution, while the performance of the pretend group did not differ significantly from the chance distribution. The performance of the pretend group conformed to the expectancy for amnesia significantly better than did the performance of either of the hypnosis groups. (Spanish & German summaries) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2003 APA, all rights reserved)
A formulation is presented which does not invoke a special state of consciousness (“hypnosis” or “trance”) to account for the behaviors that have been historically associated with the word hypnotism. Instead, so-called hypnotic behaviors – e.g., “analgesia,” “hallucination,” “age-regression,” and “amnesia” – are conceived to be functionally related to denotable antecedent variables which are similar to those that control performance in a variety of interpersonal test-situations. The antecedent variables which determine behavior in a “hypnotic” situation include Ss’ attitudes, expectancies, and motivations with respect to the situation, and the wording and tone of instructions- suggestions and of questions used to elicit subjective reports. The formulation is exemplified by several dozen experimental studies, and prospects for further research are delineated.
1969
Barber, Theodore Xenophon; Calverley, David S.; Forgione, Albert; McPeake, John D.; Chaves, John F.; Bowen, Barbara (1969). Five attempts to replicate the experimenter bias effect. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 33, 1-6.
NOTES
Failed to cross-validate the Rosenthal & Fode, 1963, work on experimenter bias effect in five separate investigations. Concludes that the effect is more difficult to demonstrate than was implied in several recent reviews and that it is not known what preconditions are necessary to obtain it.
1968
Barber, Theodore Xenophon; Calverley, David S. (1968). Toward a theory of ‘hypnotic’ behavior: Replication and extension of experiments by Barber and co-workers (1962-65) and Hilgard and Tart (1966). International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 16, 179-195.
RESPONSES TO TEST SUGGESTIONS (E.G., HALLUCINATION AND AMNESIA) WERE ASSESSED UNDER THE FOLLOWING TREATMENTS: MOTIVATIONAL INSTRUCTIONS ALONE, HYPNOTIC PROCEDURE WITH MOTIVATIONAL INSTRUCTIONS, AND IMAGINATION-CONTROL. COMPARISONS WERE MADE ACROSS INDEPENDENT GROUPS, EACH TESTED UNDER 1 TREATMENT, AND ALSO WITHIN THE SAME SS TESTED TWICE UNDER VARIOUS COMBINATIONS OF THE TREATMENTS. ALTHOUGH SS WERE SUGGESTIBLE UNDER THE IMAGINATION-CONTROL TREATMENT, BOTH THE MOTIVATIONAL INSTRUCTIONS ALONE AND THE HYPNOTIC PROCEDURE GIVEN TOGETHER WITH THE MOTIVATIONAL INSTRUCTIONS RAISED SUGGESTIBILITY ABOVE THE CONTROL LEVEL. THE HYPNOTIC-MOTIVATIONAL TREATMENT TENDED TO PRODUCE AN INCREMENT IN SUGGESTIBILITY WHICH WENT SLIGHTLY BEYOND THAT ATTRIBUTABLE TO THE MOTIVATIONAL INSTRUCTIONS. THE LATTER INCREMENT IS INTERPRETED AS DUE TO THE SLIGHTLY GREATER EFFECTIVENESS OF THE HYPNOTIC PROCEDURE IN DEFINING THE SITUATION AS ONE IN WHICH UNUSUAL MANIFESTATIONS, SUCH AS HALLUCINATION AND AMNESIA, ARE WITHIN SS” CAPABILITIES AND DEFINITELY EXPECTED BY E. (SPANISH + GERMAN SUMMARIES) (23 REF.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2002 APA, all rights reserved)
Orne, Martin T.; Wender, Paul H. (1968). Anticipatory socialization for psychotherapy: Method and rationale. Official Journal of the American Psychiatric Association, 124 (9), 1202-1209.
There is a strong positive relationship between a patient’s perception of psychotherapy and its ultimate success. Some patients who appear to lack motivation for treatment may be capable of profiting from psychotherapy if they are taught what to expect–if they understand the “rules of the game.” A clinical procedure for introducing such patients to psychotherapy is outlined by the authors, who also present excerpts from a hypothetical socialization interview.
1966
Orne, Martin T.; Evans, Frederick J. (1966). Inadvertent termination of hypnosis with hypnotized and simulating subjects. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 14, 61-78.
6 highly hypnotizable Ss and 6 unhypnotizable Ss, instructed to simulate hypnosis, were given hypnotic instructions by means of a tape-recording. Continuous measures of subjective hypnotic depth and GSP were recorded to allow E to take the role of technician. After Ss had been hypnotized by the tape-recorder, a light went out, the tape-recorder stopped, and E rushed from the room–apparently in search of a fuse box. The Ss were observed for 30 min. through the 1-way screen. During this time the hypnotic suggestions appeared to lose their effectiveness and the hypnotized Ss gradually awoke. However, 5 of 6 simulating Ss behaved as though they were in hypnosis throughout. 5 of 6 deeply hypnotized Ss assumed that the fuse really had blown, whereas 5 of 6 simulating Ss perceived the “accident” to be part of the experiment. It was concluded that it is necessary to construct a situation in which both groups perceive the power failure to be genuine. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2002 APA, all rights reserved)
1965
Levitt, Eugene E.; Overley, T. M. (1965). Experience of the hypnotist as a factor in hypnotic behavior. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 12 (1), 34-38.
A group of student nurse volunteers were found to obtain scores on the Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale which did not differ when they were hypnotized by experienced or by inexperienced hypnotists. Neither did scores vary from 1st to 2nd occasion regardless of the experience of the hypnotist. The results are interpreted to mean that the factor of hypnotist experience is likely to be irrelevant to subject performance in the standardized, research situation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2002 APA, all rights reserved)
1964
Anderson, Milton L.; Sarbin, T. R. (1964). Base rate expectations and motoric alterations in hypnosis. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 12 (3), 147-158.
Degree of responsiveness to “suggestion” in an experiment which did not utilize hypnotic induction (the Berkeley Sample) was comparable to that obtained in an experiment which did utilize hypnotic induction (the Stanford Sample). Procedural differences between the 2 experiments–self-scoring vs. objective-scoring, and group vs. individual testing–were regarded as not crucial in making a comparison of the 2 experiments. The distribution of responses in the Berkeley Sample may be taken as the base rate. The slightly higher degree of responsiveness over the base rate in the Stanford Sample (on some tests) may be attributed to the “degree of volunteering” that characterized the sample. The importance for experiments in the future to create equal levels of motivation and expectation to perform well under both the hypnotic and the nonhypnotic conditions is stressed, and brief mention is made of a new metaphor to be used in the conceptualization of the problems of hypnosis. (25 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2002 APA, all rights reserved)
Brady, J. P.; Levitt, E. E. (1964). Hypnotically-induced ‘anosmia’ to ammonia. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 12, 18-20.
The procedure to demonstrate anosmia by the inhalation of ammonia is discussed. Deeply hypnotized Ss who are not knowledgeable of the relevant facts of physiology may fail to respond to ammonia fumes when it is suggested that they have no sense of smell (anosmia). However, persons who, in fact, are anosmic do respond to ammonia fumes because they are a powerful stimulus to the pain fibers in the nasal mucosa. This procedure illustrates that the crucial factor in the response of the hypnotized S is not the actual facts of anatomy and physiology, but the S””s concept of them. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2002 APA, all rights reserved)
Levitt, Eugene E.; Brady, J. P. (1964). Expectation and performance in hypnotic phenomena. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 69, 572-574.
Expectations concerning the occurrence of 7 phenomena through hypnotic suggestion were solicited from 12 female Ss, all of whom scored high on the Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale. Attempts were then made to induce these phenomena in the Ss. The results indicate that performance and expectation were discordant about as often as they were in accord. There appeared to be an interaction between task and expectation-performance accord. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2002 APA, all rights reserved) NOTES 1:
NOTES: When Ss were not manipulated into their expectations, the relationship between expectancy and hypnotic behavior was minimal.
Melei, Janet P.; Hilgard, Ernest R. (1964). Attitudes toward hypnosis, self-predictions, and hypnotic susceptibility. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 12, 99-108.
Correlation of questionnaire results from a sample of 1326 students with hypnotic susceptibility scores of 340 of these later hypnotized showed (a) that those volunteering for hypnosis were more favorable in attitude than those who did not volunteer; (b) attitudes toward hypnosis were predictive of susceptibility for females, not for males; and (c) self-predictions yielded significant low positive correlations with actual susceptibility for both sexes. Other findings concern differences between those having prior experience with hypnosis and those without such experience. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2002 APA, all rights reserved)
O’Connell, D. N. (1964). An experimental comparison of hypnotic depth measured by self-ratings and by an objective scale. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 12, 34-46.
The behavioral items of an individually-administered test of hypnotic susceptibility were scored by the Ss themselves (N = 88) and by E. Susceptibility scores derived from these self-ratings and observer-ratings were in excellent agreement (r = .90) and did not differ significantly in distribution. Marked item scoring biases were found as a function of hypnotizability: poor hypnotic Ss tending to underevaluate their performance and good ones to overevaluate it. Moderate correlations were found between magnitude estimates made by Ss of their subjective hypnotic depth and both observer-rating (r = .55) and self-rating (r = .54) susceptibility scores. The interrelation and potential usefulness of these types of scoring procedures are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2002 APA, all rights reserved)
1963
Hoskovec, J.; Svorad, D.; Lanc, O (1963). The comparative effectiveness of spoken and tape-recorded suggestions of body sway. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 11, 163-166.
The relative effectiveness of tape-recorded vs. spoken suggestions of body sway was measured. Both types of suggestion produced increased body sway. Spoken suggestions following recorded suggestions were the most effective. The expectation by Ss of a greater effectiveness of live presentation may have produced this result. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2002 APA, all rights reserved)
1961
Glass, Louis B.; Barber, Theodore X. (1961). A note on hypnotic behavior, the definition of the situation and the placebo effect. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 132, 539-541.
Subjects were tested for responses to hypnotizability tests under three conditions: after 20 minute induction, after being told they would not be hypnotized but would take tests of imagination (with motivating instructions to do well), after taking a placebo pill that “would make them deeply hypnotized.” Of 12 Ss who dropped in score between Session 1 and Session 2, 11 attained higher scores following placebo than during the control session; mean scores under placebo and control (5.8 and 3.7) differed significantly, p <.01. Scores were as high in the third as the first session (5.8 and 6.3 respectively). 1959 Kroger, William S.; Schneider, Sidney A. (1959). An electronic aid for hypnotic induction: A preliminary report. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 7, 93-98. NOTES The BWS or brain wave synchronizer is "an instrument specifically designed to induce various levels of hypnosis by subliminal and photic stimulation of the brain waves" (p. 93). It was developed after noticing that radar operators on ships sometimes fell into deep hypnotic states while watching signals on a radar screen. It has been used with 2500 subjects, 200 of whom were receiving pre-natal training for childbirth under hypnosis. "For the first five minutes there is a gradual increase in the number of subjects who enter deep hypnosis. At this level, a figure of 50% reach the deep state" (p. 95). The instructions given were, "Concentrate on the center of the instrument. When your eyes become tired and heavy, as they will, just let them close and feel yourself going deeper and deeper into a relaxed state." It is acknowledged that this procedure worked when Ss expected to experience hypnosis; the rate of deep hypnosis increased as the expectancy of hypnosis increased. "Deep hypnosis in individual inductions reached 80% under the following conditions: A. Synchronizer on 5 minutes B. Expectation Level of 50 [on a scale in which 100 represented having seen demonstrations of conventional hypnosis and an explanation of what the instrument would do]" (p. 97). 1958 Barber, Theodore Xenophon (1958). Hypnosis as perceptual-cognitive restructuring: II. "Post"-hypnotic behavior. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 6 (1), 10-20. NOTES The author presents "experimental evidence indicating that there is no essential difference between 'hypnotic' behavior and 'post-hypnotic' behavior" (p. 11). "Summary and Conclusions "When 'somnambulistic' subjects were told to 'wake up' after they were given a 'post-hypnotic suggestion' and 'amnesia for the suggestion' they behaved as follows: 1. They opened their eyes and became relatively more aware of their surroundings. 2. They were aware that the signal for the 'post-hypnotic- behavior had special significance for them. 3. They were 'set' to 'obey the hypnotist's suggestions' from the moment they were told to 'wake up,' until they were convinced that their interpersonal relationship with the operator was no longer that of subject and hypnotist. 4. When the 'post-hypnotic suggestion' was uncomplicated and fitted into the normal pattern of behavior, the subjects carried it out without 'going deeper into trance,' i.e., without becoming relatively more 'detached' from their surroundings. However, when the 'post-hypnotic suggestion' was of such a nature that it was necessary for the subjects to 'go deeper into trance' to properly carry it out, the subjects _did_ 'go deeper into trance.' "Whether the subjects did or did not have amnesia for the 'post-hypnotic suggestion' was not important. 'Amnesic' and 'non-amnesic' subjects carried out the 'post-hypnotic' behavior in essentially the same way. "These experiments indicate that: 1. If the operator properly manipulates the situation, the 'good' hypnotic subject is 'set' to carry out the operator's commands in the 'post-hypnotic' period in the same way as during 'hypnosis.' 2. If, in order to properly carry out the 'post-hypnotic suggestions,' it is necessary for the subject to 'go deeper into trance' -- i.e., to become relatively inattentive to stimuli not emanating from the operator -- the good subject will do so. 3. There is no _essential- difference between the subject's behavior in the 'hypnotic' period and in the 'post-hypnotic' period. 4. If we are to continue speaking of 'suggestions' to be carried out in the post-hypnotic period we should term them 'post'-hypnotic 'suggestions'" (pp. 19-20). Dittborn, Julio M. (1958). Expectation as a factor of sleep suggestibility. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 6 (4), 164-170. (Abstracted in Psychological Abstracts 61: 2390) NOTES Authors studied expectation ("the attitude of waiting attentively for something usually to a certain extent defined, however vaguely," as defined by Drever) as a factor of sleep suggestibility. They tested young soldiers in the Chilean army using the posteral sway test of suggestibility, repeated twice, to yield 12 Subjects. Afer a third postural sway test the Subjects were required to respond to a series of visual, then later oral, stimuli. [Experimental instruments are not clearly described in this article.] The Subjects returned a week later and were asked to respond to the stimuli by using the word "sueno" (dream) for two Ss and "dormir" (sleep) for another two. The word "sleep" was used in the third experiment, following suggestions like "As you read more and more or as you hear yourself repeating the word 'sleep or dream' over and over again you will become more and more sleepy" (p. 166). Apparently the outcome measure was the number of stimuli to which the Subject responded before lack of response indicated a trance. [Description is unclear.] Barber, Theodore Xenophon (1957). Hypnosis as perceptual-cognitive restructuring: I. Analysis of concepts. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 5 (4), 147-166. Summary 1. 'Trance' involves a selective and relative inattention to internal and external stimulation. 2. Hypnosis involves one type of 'trance' behavior but hypnosis differs from other types of 'trance' in that it is an interpersonal relationship in which one person, the operator, restructures the 'perceptions' and conceptions of the other person, the subject. 3. The operator _can_ restructure the thoughts and 'perceptions' of the 'good' hypnotic subject because (a) the subject is relatively detached and inattentive to his self and his surroundings and (b) the subject is 'set' -- he is ready and willing -- to accept the operator's words as true statements and to 'literally think as the operator wants him to think.' 4. 'Perceptual-cognitive restructuring' and not 'suggestion' is the essential element in hypnosis. 5. We can begin to understand hypnosis and the phenomena of hypnosis by one general principle: the hypnotic subject behaves differently because he 'perceives' and conceives differently. The behavior of the hypnotic subject is in strict accordance with his altered conceptions of his self and his surroundings" (p. 162). EXPERIMENTAL HYPNOSIS 1992 Coe, William C. (1992). Hypnosis: Wherefore art thou?. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 40 (4), 219-237. The present paper focuses on the influences of social-political needs of various groups with interests in hypnosis (i.e., stage hypnotists, lay hypnotists, licensed practitioners, and researchers). While hypnosis is a specific topic of interest to groups with varying needs, it also serves as an example for other topics in psychology that may overlap the needs of other groups -- especially practitioners and researchers. The identity given to hypnosis varies depending upon which particular group of persons is offering the identity, and the nature of the identity reflects each group's biases and needs. These various identities, however, are not always acceptable, in part or in whole, by the other groups, as the needs of one or more may be in conflict with those of others. 1969 Blatt, Sidney J.; Goodman, John T.; Wallington, Sue Ann (1969). Is the hypnotist also being hypnotized?. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 17, 160-166. Noted that 2 hypnotists had cognitive and affective experiences similar to those expected in the S as a function of the hypnotic manipulation when they were conducting hypnotic inductions. Though the hypnotists may have been responding to the mood tone of the Ss or responding on the basis of their expectations about the effect of the hypnotic manipulation, it seemed equally possible that the hypnotists may have experienced mild forms of the trance state they had induced in their Ss. These observations seemed consistent with prior notes of such a phenomenon. This phenomenon has important implications for the clinical and experimental use of hypnosis and for concepts such as transference and countertransference, empathy, demand characteristics, and E bias. Suggestions are made for the systematic evaluation and study of this phenomenon. (Spanish & German summaries) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2002 APA, all rights reserved) 1964 Evans, Frederick J.; Schmeidler, D. (1964). Reliability of two observers scoring the Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale, Form C. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 12 (4), 239-251.