1991
von Kirchenheim, Clement; Persinger, Michael A. (1991). Time distortion: A comparison of hypnotic induction and progressive relaxation procedures. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 39 (2), 63-66.
Hypnotic experiences are frequently associated with alteration in temporal perception. 24 male and 24 female Ss were asked to estimate the interval associated with hypnotic, relaxation, or control procedures. Only the group that received the hypnotic condition displayed significant distortions in time estimations. These were primarily underestimations (temporal constriction or “time loss”) compared to the more normal distributions of estimations for the other 2 groups of Ss. The hypnotic treatment explained about 35% of the variance in the absolute distortion of time estimates. The present study demonstrates that subjective distortions of time experience during a hypnotic procedure are more than an artifact of deep relaxation or instruction.
1990
Wallace, Benjamin (1990). Imagery vividness, hypnotic susceptibility, and the perception of fragmented stimuli. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 58, 354-359.
Two experiments were conducted to determine the role of hypnotic susceptibility level (high or low) and imaging ability (vivid or poor) in the performance of gestalt closure tasks. In Experiment 1, subjects were required to identify fragmented stimuli in the Closure Speed Test and in the Street Test. In Experiment 2, subjects reported on fragmented stimuli that were projected to the right eye and subsequently produced an afterimage. Individuals were asked to identify the composite if possible and to report on the duration of the afterimage. In both experiments, hypnotic susceptibility level and imaging ability affected reports of gestalt closure. The greatest number of correct closures was reported by those who were both high in hypnotic susceptibility and vivid in imaging ability. In addition, in the second experiment, this group also reported the longest enduring afterimage. These results are discussed in terms of the processes required to perform in a gestalt closure task.
1989
Heap, Michael (1989). Antecedent imagery in a case of Gilles de la Tourette syndrome. British Journal of Experimental and Clinical Hypnosis, 6 (1), 55-56
NOTES 1:
Author presents a male teenager diagnosed with Gilles de la Tourette syndrome, who was treated without noticeable success using a variety of techniques (relaxation, suggestion, hypnoanalysis, video-feedback, paradoxical injunction).
Kunzendorf, Robert G. (1989-90). Posthypnotic amnesia: Dissociation of self-concept or self-consciousness?. Imagination, Cognition and Personality, 9, 321-334.
Two studies of posthypnotic amnesia tested predictions derived from the ‘source’ monitoring theory of self-consciousness. Experiment 1 tested the prediction that posthypnotic source amnesia is irreversible, because hypnosis attenuates self- consciousness of whether one’s sensations have an imaginal source or a perceptual source. In this initial study, recall amnesia was reversed by posthypnotic cueing with a prearranged signal, but source amnesia was not reversed by such cueing. Experiment 2 examined whether the cued reversal of recall amnesia is attributable, in part, to the hypnotic attenuation of self-conscious ‘source monitoring’ and, in part, to the reversal of recall criteria: from a criterion rejecting ‘seemingly imaginary’ or ‘sourceless’ memories, to a criterion accepting ‘sourceless but familiar’ memories. In this latter study, posthypnotic recall amnesia was breached when subjects were instructed to trust their seemingly imaginary memories, but not when they were instructed to try harder to remember [emphasis removed from quoted text].
1988
Jones, Lynette A. (1988). Motor illusions: What do they reveal about proprioception. Psychological Bulletin, 103 (1), 72-86.
Five illusions involving distortions in the perception of limb position, movement, and weight are described in the context of their contribution to understanding the sensory processes involved in proprioception. In particular, these illusions demonstrate that the position sense representation of the body and the awareness of limb movement results from the cross-calibration of visual and proprioceptive signals. Studies of the vibration illusion and phantom-limb phenomenon indicate that the perception of limb movement and position are encoded independently and can be dissociated. Postural aftereffects and the illusions of movement induced by vibration highlight the remarkable lability of this sense of limb position, which is a necessary feature for congruence between the spatial senses. Finally, I discuss the role of corollary discharges in the central processing of afferent information with respect to the size-weight and vibration illusions.
Wallace, Benjamin (1988). Hypnotic susceptibility, visual distraction, and reports of Necker cube apparent reversals. Journal of General Psychology, 115, 389-396.
Subjects, either susceptible (n = 50) or resistant (n = 50) to hypnotic suggestion, were asked to report on frequency of apparent reversals (ARs) to the Necker cube illusion. Such reports were made in the presence or absence of various types of visual, geometric surrounds (squares, triangles, crosses, or parallelograms). In agreement with a number of previous experiments, susceptible subjects reported perceiving more ARs than did resistant subjects. This difference held whether visual surrounds were present or absent. The presence of surrounds did serve to reduce AR reports regardless of hypnotic susceptibility level. The results are examined in terms of the ability of subjects to selectively attend when confronted with potential visual distractors.
1986
Wallace, Benjamin (1986). Latency and frequency reports to the Necker cube illusion: Effects of hypnotic susceptibility and mental arithmetic. Journal of General Psychology, 113 (2), 187-194.
An experiment (N = 32) was conducted to assess latency of first apparent reversal (AR) and AR frequency while observing the Necker cube illusion. Subjects who were either high in hypnotic susceptibility (susceptibles) or low in hypnotic susceptibility (resistant subjects) observed the cube either while performing or not performing mental addition problems. Susceptibles reported perceiving the first AR more quickly and a greater frequency of ARs than did resistant subjects. Also, latency of the first AR was negatively correlated with AR frequency. These results were interpreted in terms of the ability of susceptibles to allocate concentrative or selective attention in a manner that was conducive to faster performance when faced with competing tasks.
1983
Nash, John (1983). Negative visual hallucination and concomitant changes in cortical event-related potentials (Dissertation, University of California, Santa Barbara). Dissertation Abstracts International, 45 (2), 716-B. (Order No. DA 8411224)
“The purpose of this investigation was to examine the effects of negative visual hallucination (NVH) on cortical event-related potentials (ERPs), and to compare these effects with those of selectively attending to and ignoring stimuli. Five highly hypnotically susceptible subjects, four female and one male, were trained to block from subjective experience, i.e., negatively hallucinate, a ring of strobe-illuminated circles surrounding a central, independently strobe-illuminated circle. This stimulus array was modeled after part of the Titchener-Ebbinghaus circle illusion, since previous research had shown that subjects could attenuate the effects of the optical illusion via NVH of the outer, illusion-producing circles. “Analysis of the ERP data revealed amplitude and latency changes in various ERP components across the three experimental conditions (Attend, Ignore, NVH) for the four female subjects, a negative result which is explained in motivational terms. “The most noteworthy finding was the selection of the P3 amplitude variable at C2 by stepwise discriminant analysis for the four females, and the fact that this amplitude systematically decreased across conditions from largest in Attend to smallest in NVH. A variety of individual patterns were observed in terms of other ERP components which allowed discrimination (successful classification) among the three conditions. The results suggest that both Ignoring and NVH of a stimulus result in a decrease in the subjective certainty of perception of the stimulus. Individual differences in patterns of ERP changes are interpreted in terms of differing strategies for execution of the experimental instructions. The results support the view that NVH instructions produce distinctive ERP effects and that NVH generally can be viewed as an extreme level of ignoring” (p. 716).
1981
Blum, Gerald S.; Nash, John; Jansen, Robert D.; Barbour, John S. (1981, June). Posthypnotic attenuation of a visual illusion as reflected in perceptual reports and cortical event-related potentials. Academic Psychology Bulletin, 3, 251-271.
Highly selected and trained hypnotic subjects, capable of ablating portions of visual stimuli from conscious awareness, showed varying degrees of ability to attenuate the Titchener-Ebbinghaus circles illusion post-hypnotically under a negative visual hallucination instruction. The presence or absence of such inhibitory skill, inferred from perceptual reports, was differentially reflected in changes in cortical event-related potentials not typically associated with shifts in selective attention. These findings point to the cognitive operation of a distinctive mechanism of selective inattention.
NOTES
Blum et al. postulate an inhibitory mechanism of the central nervous system with stages of amplification and attenuation. They suggest that individual differences in inhibitory skill may be improved with practice even for very skilled Subjects. They studied this type of inhibition using a visual illusion (the Titchener-Ebbinghaus circles) because the neural locus of such illusions is thought to be more central in the nervous system rather than at the level of the retina.
Experiment 1. Three Ss trained in using hypnosis viewed stimuli in waking and posthypnotic negative visual hallucination (NVH) conditions. All three had previously passed a negative hallucination item (not seeing a playing card of three such cards placed on a table). Training included practice sessions applying NVH to the experimental stimuli. S1 reported immediate success; S2 experienced some initial difficulty (“I have a feeling something’s there”) but then reported success; S3 required a couple of long practice sessions.
The classic Titchener-Ebbinghaus illusion stimuli were used. Stimuli were ten slides with drawings of a standard 17-mm-diameter black circle on the left and a comparison black circle on the right. The black circle on the right was either 14, 15, 16, 17, or 18 mm in diameter, skewed intentionally around 17, to compensate for the proportion of smaller and larger judgments applied to the comparison figure in relation to the standard. One black comparison figure was surrounded by seven 15-mm diameter white circles; the other by seven 10 mm diameter white circles. The key drawings were both black circles of 17 mm. The second set of five drawings, used as a control, contained the same black circles but lacked outer rings of white circles.
The Subject was to state whether the black circle on the right appeared larger, smaller, or the same as the standard black circle on the left. Slides were shown for 4 seconds each, with 6 seconds in between slides.
Alternating blocks of trials were given under baseline (B) condition and a posthypnotically programmed negative hallucination condition (NVH). In the NVH condition, “the rings of white circles surrounding the standard and comparison black inner circles were ‘ablated’ from consciousness. The observers were amnesic in the waking state for their prior hypnotic instructions and were cued in advance of a block of trials simply by the phrases ‘This will be a mixed series’ (referring to B, in which the stimuli appeared as they really were, some with outer rings of white circles present and others not), or ‘This will be a black only series’ (referring to NVH, in which all stimuli appeared to the observer as black circles only, whether the outer rings were physically present or not)” (pp. 254- 255). Sessions were spread out over 8-12 months for each observer, interspersed with a variety of other experiments.
In one session the Experimenters used a selective attention instruction, with Ss given posthypnotic suggestions to regulate their cognitive arousal to a peak of mental alertness and concentration (+AA) and focus on the inner black circles but not to negatively hallucinate the outer white circles.
Although all three Ss showed the illusion effect, they varied in ability to attenuate the illusion when negative visual hallucination suggestions were given. “S1 showed a very greatly reduced frequency of reports in the illusory direction under the NVH condition, a less marked reduction under +AA concentration, and no reduction at all under a waking instruction to ignore the outer circles; S2 revealed a moderate but significant reduction under NVH but not under +AA; S3 gave no evidence of attenuation in either condition” (p. 258). The response times for the two more successful Ss (1 and 2) with the 17 mm stimuli under NVH conditions were not different when the outer circles were either present or absent.
Experiment 2. The next year S1 and S2 returned but S3 was no longer available as a Subject; S4 and S5 were added and trained in hypnosis skills. EEG evoked response potentials (ERPs) were recorded while Ss made size judgments as in Experiment 1. Averaged ERPs for each block of 100 stimulus presentations were obtained for the first 500 milliseconds following stimulus onset. Judges blind to the experimental conditions evaluated the ERP records.
All Subjects experienced the Titchener-Ebbinghaus illusion, but again there were individual differences in ability to attenuate the illusion: S1 was the most successful; S2 gave significantly fewer responses in the larger category under NVH than B conditions; and both S1 and S2 improved attenuation performance over the previous year. S4 fell between S1 and S2 in ability; S5 was unable to attenuate the illusion in the NVH condition.
Results. “All three observers whose perceptual reports indicated some attenuation of the visual illusion during the NVH condition also showed a consistent reduction of the P2-N2 amplitude during NVH” (p. 262) at the Occipital sites. Median amplitude reduction was 36%, 40%, and 36% for S1, S2, and S4; only 7% for S5. There were no similar reductions for the other electrode sites, though “enhancement of P2-N2 amplitudes occurred in the lateral prefrontal and frontal areas in the two most successful individuals, S1 and S4” (p. 263). There was also a lag in N2 peak latencies for the three best subjects. The Experimenters noted that the N2 peak occurred 50 msec later in the frontal and prefrontal areas than in the occipital area.
In their Discussion, the authors express the view that it is not likely that faking could have occurred, for several reasons: 1. The Subjects were trained to report honestly, and they often had reported failures to experience hypnotic phenomena suggested during training sessions. 2. The task elicited rapid responses, usually in less than 2 seconds, to 10 different slides in randomized blocks of 100 trials, which would make self monitoring of responses extremely difficult. 3. Subjects exhibited a consistency of responses over experimental sessions that were widely separated in time, making conscious or unconscious deception unlikely. 4. The finding of no difference in latency between 17 mm stimuli with and without outer rings of white circles supports an interpretation of reliable reporting. 5. Differences in ERP data between the B and NVH conditions were obtained only for those Ss who successfully attenuated the illusion.
The authors also state, “In terms of our conceptual model of the mind, inhibitory skill is attributable to the capacity for invoking inhibitory action earlier in the sequence as signals are processed through stages of amplification and attenuation en route to consciousness (Blum & Barbour, 1979). In the NVH condition of the present task, first- stage attenuation … [Subject 1] … occurs in time to negate the illusion as well as preventing conscious awareness of the outer white circles, second-stage attenuation takes place too late to disrupt the illusion but still in time to keep the outer circles from consciousness” (p. 265). Note that the unsuccessful Subject 5 had the highest score on the screening hypnotizability tests. The variation among very high hypnotizables casts doubt on the practice of grouping Ss who score between 9 and 12 on the SHSS. “It is perhaps not surprising that many previous hypnotic studies involving alterations in such subtle phenomena as visual illusions have yielded negative results.” p. 266.
N.B. None of the Ss was able to eliminate the illusion under a strong waking instruction to ignore the outer circles while judging the inner black ones. “These different results for AA and NVH instructions pinpoint the contrast between selective attention (+AA) and selective inattention (NVH)” (p. 266).
The ERP changes seen in occipital and frontal areas were in opposite directions. Thus “the data suggest an effect which seems to parallel both investment of attention (increases in late components over frontal cortex) and withdrawal of attention (relative decreases in late components over occipital cortex). This parallel leads us to speculate that our occipital decreases may have been due to active inhibition of information-processing in the occipital regions, and that the late component enhancement over frontal areas may have been due to the mobilization of resources in these areas necessary to accomplish the tonic inhibition of visual input. … Activity in the frontal cortex apparently ‘programs’ inhibition on the specific sensory nuclei of the thalamus, in a modality specific and topographical way, accomplishing gating of sensory information to primary sensory cortex” (p. 268).
1977
Ryan, M. L.; Sheehan, Peter W. (1977). Reality testing in hypnosis – subjective versus objective effects. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 25, 27-51.
90 unselected Ss wre assigned to a 2 x 3 (Request for Honesty x Suggestibility Instruction) factorial design to test the hypothesis that hypnotic Ss would show pronounced impairment of reality testing by expressing a degree of conviction substantially out of phase with their objective performance. Barber’s operational model of hypnosis was adopted to test the prediction on an unusually distinctive auditory comprehension task. The 2 interdependent measures, confidence and accuracy, were highly positively related indicating that, generally speaking, hypnotic Ss performed adaptively, as did task motivated and control Ss. Results for the difficult aspects of the task were most distinctive. Here, degree of confidence about behavior as expressed by Ss who performed well on the suggestibility tests was relatively greater than the confidence expressed by those who performed poorly; further, hypnotic Ss were distinctively willing to respond on the least intelligible parts of the task. The inconsistent nature of certain features of hypnotic behavior was discussed in some detail.
Schneck, Jerome M. (1977). Sleep paralysis and microsomatognosia with special reference to hypnotherapy. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 25, 72-77.
Sleep paralysis is described in connection with a patient whose episodes incorporated the experience of her entire body feeling extremely small. The psychological implications of the paralysis and her microsomatognosia are discussed. Comparisons are made with other perceptual distortions involving the sense of change in body size. The characteristics of sleep paralysis and associated personality patterns are delineated. This material is discussed with special reference to experiences of patients in hypnosis, especially hypnotherapy and hypnoanalysis.
1970
Sarbin, Theodore R.; Juhasz, Joseph B. (1970). Toward a theory of imagination. Journal of Personality, 38 (1), 52-76.
NOTES 1:
Imagination refers to (1) forming mental pictures (imaging) and creative innovating. The authors focus on “the more literal meaning of imagining, that is, ‘having mental pictures,’ for [they] believe that a clarification of that concept is basic to any further discussion of the psychology of the imagination.
“Before continuing, let us establish some reference cases for what a psychologist would call instances of imaging or imagining.
1. In a psychophysical experiment, a subject declares that he hears an auditory signal when no signal is presented. The experimenter scores the response as a ‘false alarm.’
2. A patient in a mental hospital reports seeing the Mother of God. The psychiatrist classifies the report as a hallucination.
3. A novelist describes his work habits as involving conversations with imaginary characters. The critic calls this creative work.
4. A three-year-old child engages in play with a fictitious invisible rabbit. She is said to have an imaginary playmate” (p. 54).
1969
Graham, Kenneth (1969). Brightness contrast by hypnotic hallucination. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 17, 62-73.
Tested the veridicality of a hypnotic hallucination elicited by a buzzer through a conditioning procedure. The stimulus to be hallucinated consisted of 2 gray circles, 3 in. in diameter, mounted on a white card. 11 highly susceptible Ss were able to produce this hallucination upon hearing the buzzer during a series of test trials following the training. Following a 2nd training series, a black and white background was provided for the hallucination and Ss tended to report the hallucinated circles as a brightness contrast. A 2nd group of highly susceptible Ss was not hypnotized, but was asked to respond as if hypnotized. These Ss tended not to report the contrast. (Spanish & German summaries) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2002 APA, all rights reserved)
1965
Jackson, Bill (1965). The autoblink: A technique to explore nonveridical visual perception. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 13 (4), 250-260.
The Autoblink technique was developed to allow objective, quantitative investigation of perceptual abnormalities found in psychiatric and normal populations under various experimental conditions. A pilot study demonstrated that spontaneous visual percepts could be elicited by this technique in a group of psychiatric patients and that wide individual differences were present. A 2nd study found significant differences in Autoblink rate between normal and hallucinating psychotic male Ss and also suggested that sensory deprivation and prestige suggestion are variables related to Autoblink rate. A 3rd study further explored differences between psychiatric patients and normal Ss as well as examining sex differences. The latter 2 studies are reported in detail. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2002 APA, all rights reserved)
1964
Furneaux, W. D. (1964). The heat-illusion test and the structure of suggestibility. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 12 (3), 169-180.
2 similar forms of the heat-illusion test are shown to correlate to a smaller degree than would be expected if they measure the same attribute. The 2 versions also differ in the way in which they correlate with other suggestibility tests. It is shown that linear regression techniques are not appropriate for analyzing the data concerned. The interaction of various nonlinear relationships with a difference in “difficulty,” as between the 2 forms of the illusion, seems to provide an adequate explanation for the results. It is suggested that these nonlinear relationships may indicate the existence of an attribute which prevents some Ss from responding to any suggestibility test, irrespective of what the specific mechanisms of response may be. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2002 APA, all rights reserved)
1961
Skemp, Richard R. (1961). Note on an hypnotic induction device. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 9 (4), 303-304.
Author describes a technique for increasing suggestibility by causing the person to experience effects that he believes are caused by the hypnotist. “If one fixates the edge of a coloured strip on a white background, a narrow line of deeper colour will be seen close to the edge. This is because small movements of the fixation point bring this strip, for part of the time, on to an area of the retina which has been fatigued by the white. (The effect is best obtained if the colour is unsaturated). At the same time a narrow strip of brighter white will appear along the other side of the edge. If fixation is continued, this band of brighter white gradually takes on the colour complementary to that of the coloured band. These effects are unexpected to a naive subject, and therefore stisfy the requirements for a feed-back process” (p. 303). Thus, if the color is red, then the hypnotist suggests that a green line will appear, that the green band will continue to become greener, the red part redder; then suggests that the eyes will blink faster and faster, eventually closing, etc. After the eyes are closed, the suggestion that one will continue to see the green line is given.
IMAGERY
Gibbons, Don E.; Sanchez, George P. (undated). Hyperempiria, a new ‘altered state of consciousness’. [Unpublished manuscript]
NOTES
The authors suggest that any induction procedure legitimizes acceptance of primary-type suggestions that are at variance with everyday experience. Such primary (i.e. “waking”) suggestions are actually accepted at a higher rate than most people think (Barber & Calverley, 1962), and passing those suggestions convinces the subject he must be “hypnotized.” However, inductions with the word “sleep” tend to retard subject”s response to suggestions. An inudction that is more oriented to alert states would be very useful for many people and situations. “Hyperempiria” in Greek means hyper-experience or enhanced quality of experience. The hyperempiric induction contains suggestions of increased alertness, mind expansion, enhanced awareness, and enhanced sensitivity.
1995
Comey, Gail; Kirsch, Irving (1995, November). Intentional and spontaneous imagery in hypnosis. [Paper] Presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, San Antonio, TX.
Students were given one of two versions of the Carleton University Responsiveness to Suggestion Scale (CURSS): a) the original version, which contains instructions to intentionally imagine goal-directed fantasies, and b) a modified version, in which instructions for suggestion-related imagery was deleted. Participants were asked to report their goal-directed fantasies and to indicate whether these occurred spontaneously or were generated intentionally. They were also asked whether they had tried intentionally to generate the suggested experience and to indicate whether they had believed that the suggested states of affairs were real (e.g., whether they thought a hallucinated cat really existed). The deletion of instructions for goal-related imagery significantly increased responsiveness to CURSS suggestions. Spontaneous goal-directed imagery was significantly correlated with behavioral response, but intentional imagery was not. Most successful responders tried to generate suggested experiences intentionally, indicated that they could have resisted challenge suggestions if they really wanted to, and reported believing in the reality of suggested ideomotor and challenge experiences, but not of cognitive suggestions. Voluntary attempts to generate suggested experiences were correlated with subjective responding.
Jasiukaitis, Paul; Spiegel, David (1995, November). Relateralizing hypnosis, or have we been barking up the wrong hemisphere?. [Paper] Presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, San Antonio, TX.
NOTES
The association between the right hemisphere and hypnotizability dates to the Gurs and Bakan; and to Hilgard and Morgan who developed a measure based on EEG power spectrum. Results from the body of research using alpha are conflicting. De Pascalis, 1988, also couldn’t show a large alpha difference between hemispheres.
Research on hypnotic hallucination with Pribram found Highs in a visual obstruction condition reduced P200 and P300; there was a slightly greater response at O2 than O1 EEG leads, leading us to think it was maybe a Right hemisphere task. But it was a foveal stimulus.
We tested with hemifield stimuli, blocking perception of 1/2 of the visual monitor; had them do the obstruction hallucination. P200 had the greatest reduction, with stimuli presented on the left. With obstruction of left visual field, we got little response. So ERP results were greater in right visual field (left hemisphere). This suggests the earlier observation was predominantly due to left, not right, hemisphere influence.
Martha Farah’s work on imagery is instructive. Also Steve Kosslyn. The Right hemisphere answers “Where” do you see something. The Left answers “What is it you see?” The left hemisphere generates image patterns that match what you see. When you ask people to generate an image, the activity is in O1 area. Also, patients with left hemisphere damage can’t generate images; callosectomy patient also gave evidence. Many inductions use generation of images (left occipital and temporal regions). So when asking subjects to generate a hallucinated image blocking the screen, they are using that area.
The cortex can serve as an amplifier or a suppressor of response. In earlier study of somatosensory potential we observed bigger response when asking person to be more aware of pain. The cortex has an arousal system. There are two relevant systems in the brain (see Posner)–posterior and anterior. Hypnotizability is correlated with a metabolite of dopamine, which is associated with the anterior system which is dopaminergic.
Tucker & Williamson, in article in Psychological Review, 1984, write that activation is “the determination of information control by previous, stored internal representations” as opposed to arousal which is the “determination by novel [missed words….]”
Kinsbourne, in Consciousness and Contemporary Science, 1988. wrote that if at any time a hemisphere works like an automaton, it is the left hemisphere. With R. Davidson, he has shown the left hemisphere elevates affect, the right depresses it. Many people report that hypnosis is a pleasurable thing to do, maybe because it elevates mood.
One obstacle to this formulation is the idea that the left hemisphere governs logical thought.
We may disturb the relationship between words and images in hypnosis; you start to manipulate images and passively receive words, so that language is now a passive, receptive experience and images are active (instead of the usual pattern of actively using words and passively using images).
1994
Krippner, Stanley (1994, August). Improvement of academic skills for children and adolescents with hypnosis. [Paper] Presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, Los Angeles.
NOTES
Literature and research in this area are sparse, though there is clinical evidence that hypnosis is useful. My definition of hypnosis is a procedure facilitating a variety of structured goals or procedures in which a suggestion or motivation is enhanced by a mechanical device, another person, or oneself.
There are 3 areas of application in academics:
study habits
test taking
strengthening academic motivation
The hypnotist should know the specifics of academic achievement, because specific suggestions (e.g. “Imagine you are at desk focusing well for 20 minutes,”) are better. Emphasis on the positive is better than negative. Use the words “imagination,” “concentration,” or “imagining pictures,” rather than “hypnosis.” I try to determine what they expect, based in part on what words they use.
In elementary school I focus on attitude and self esteem. I have them imagine reading a story, then how well they feel; that when they notice mistakes they won’t be bothered because everyone makes mistakes.
For high school, I help them develop good habits for time motivation (e.g. suggestions to “make an outline to follow while you study”). At college level, I introduce self hypnosis. I make frequent use of mental imagery, at all levels–especially imagery rehearsal, in which the person is engaged in a particular activity.
In the NSF report on accelerated learning techniques (a project sponsored by the Army), Lozonov’s “suggestopedia” techniques were studied. This review indicated it might enhance training effectiveness and reduce training time.
I have observed the suggestopedia classes in Bulgaria and Hungary. Classes had a relaxed comfortable learning environment. Rather than individual learning, it was group learning. It included preliminary exercises, new material, and a review of what was learned. The first stage used 2/3 of the time. Then suggestions were given by the teacher to promote learning. The presentation phase took one third of the time. The method encourages students to make mental images of the material. In foreign language classes, people take on new roles.
Malinoski, Peter; Aronoff, Jodi; Lynn, Steven J.; Moretsky, Michael (1994, August). Hypnosis and early memories. [Paper] Presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, Los Angeles.
NOTES
We studied autobiographical memory in the college population, as manifested in the therapy situation, as a way of investigating an individual difference variable. Most people do not have recall before age 3 or 4 (and probably infantile amnesia begins before age 2).
Administered Autobiographical Memory Scale (AMS), and later in context of a hypnosis scale. 247 students were in phase 1, conducted as two separate experiments so that Ss wouldn’t link the AMS to measures used in the second study.
First study was presented as a study of personal memories. Asked Ss to distinguish first five birthdays, circumstances around loss of first tooth, first day of high school. Also, they were asked about their earliest memory events, rated according to 3 scales (detail, vividness, accuracy of recall). Authors summed Ss’ responses on these 3 ratings for the 8 item scale.
Part II. Administered various scales: Life Experiences, Fantasy Proneness, Wilson & Barber’s scale, Imagery Control Scale, Global Psychopathology, 25 item scale of physical and sexual abuse, Brier’s list of symptoms of abuse, and DES (Dissociative Experiences Scale). Imbedded were 12 items to test carelessness in responding (e.g. “I have never said Hello to anyone who wore eyeglasses.”)
RESULTS
Phase 1. Two people indicated they had memories dating to before their first birthday; an additional 5% of Ss gave memories between 12-24 months. This would probably be impossible. Another 14.4% described events between 24-36 months; 37.4% said their earliest memory was at age 3. Mean age for earliest memory was 3.4 years (which agrees with other surveys.) Only l subject stated his earliest memory was as late as the tenth year of life.
High intercorrelation was obtained, ranging .79 to .89, between ratings on any of the memory event ratings (as detailed, vivid, or accurate). There was a negative correlation of these ratings with age of recall. Ss who report more detail, vividness, and competence, were also likely to report earlier first memories.
Authors divided Ss into three groups based on age of first memory: 12 with first memory earlier than first year; those whose first memory was between 1-7 years; and those with a later first memory. The earlier memory group were more fantasy prone; and rated their memories as more reliable, vivid. This suggests there are persons who report memories that are covered by infantile amnesia, report them with greater detail, and are more fantasy prone than those who report memory events beginning later in life. This is consistent with Wilson & Barber’s finding that fantasy prone people have vivid recall of early childhood events.
None of the memory reports correlated with psychopathology or dissociation. Dissociation (DES) was correlated with abuse indicators, however. Compared top and lowest 10% and middle range on DES on their memory scores and found no relationship. There was no support for the idea that report of early life events in dissociative people is compromised. Failure to recall early memories shouldn’t suggest that people are dissociative (which some therapists tend to do).
All three memory measures were associated with Harvard Scale scores. The AMS was administered at the same time as the Harvard. Objective responding on the Harvard correlated with detail, vividness, and accuracy of recall. Also, involuntariness of response correlated with all 3 measures of the AMS. Finally, subjective involvement correlated with all three measures of AMS. At least when hypnosis is measured first, and explicit connection is suggested, there is a connection. Further research is needed to see if the relationship holds when measured in independent contexts. This may explain why High Hypnotizables are more prone to pseudo memories and leading questions. They may come to confuse them with historical reality.
The results suggest caution for early memory reports. They may be vulnerable to confusing fantasy and reality, as well as to biasing effects.
1993
Elter-Nodvin, Sabette; Lynch, Gregory; Nash, Michael R. (1993, October). Is primary process mentation a feature of hypnotic responding?. [Paper] Presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, Arlington Heights, IL.
NOTES
It is difficult to measure primary process; usually measures from Rorschach are used. Recently Steven Lynn and Ken Bowers have done interesting work.
From literary criticism, we took the newer method of lexical pattern analysis–like a fingerprint (e.g. of Shakespeare’s language). Wanted to determine whether there are differences between High and Low hypnotizables; or a difference in waking and hypnotic state. Martindale has a measure based on a lexical dictionary.
In Martindale’s method, you take a long verbal sample, transcribe it into computer text file (response to TAT cards, and 3 tasks like–“Imagine you are ascending a spiral staircase and see someone at the top; describe what you see”); then do word count.
Gruzelier, John; Warren, Kristen (1993). Neuropsychological evidence of reductions on left frontal tests with hypnosis. Psychological Medicine, 23, 93-101.
Individuals with high and low susceptibility to hypnosis were compared in a baseline condition and after instructions of hypnosis on tests of anterior left and right hemispheric functions of word fluency to letter categories, word fluency to semantic categories, design fluency and bilateral finger tapping dexterity. With hypnosis high susceptibles showed a reduction in word generation to letter categories, no significant change in word generation to semantic categories, an improvement in design fluency, and bilateral reductions in finger tapping dexterity. Low susceptibles showed the opposite changes except for the improvement in design fluency. These results, together with correlational results, were interpreted as evidence of central inhibitory processes, particularly of the left hemisphere, in response to instructions of hypnosis in high susceptibles. NOTES 1:
NOTES
The authors discussion of their study includes the following statements. “The main result of the study was the differential influence of instructions of hypnosis on high and low susceptibles for word fluency to letter designated categories, as distinct from semantic categories, and design fluency” (p. 98).
“The absence of effects of hypnosis on word generation to semantic categories (left fronto-temporoparietal) versus letter categories (left frontal) has a bearing on evoked potential evidence (Gruzelier et al. 1987). Bilateral comparisons at temporal lobe and central locations showed that high susceptibles were characterized by asymmetric changes in evoked potential amplitude (N116 component) with hypnosis. Activity at the central electrodes was compatible with a left-to-right hemispheric shift of function, but this was not the case at the temporal electrodes. Instead of an inhibition of left temporal activity with hypnosis activation was maintained. Maintenance of activity in the left temporal lobe follows consideration of the fact that hypnosis requires sustained attention to the voice of the hypnotist, which is predominantly a left temporal function” (p. 99).
“The absence of differences in the pre-hypnotic condition between high and low susceptibles indicates that hemisphericity _per se_ may not be a factor that characterizes susceptibility. The fact that lateral differences were found in some experiments (e.g. Gruzelier et al. 1984; Gruzelier & Brow, 1985) but not others (e.g. Cikurel & Gruzelier, 1990; McCormack & Gruzelier, 1993) may indicate that such effects, when apparent, were secondary to another factor such as cognitive flexibility as conceptualized by Crawford (1989)” (p. 99).
Hall, Howard R.; Papas, Angela; Tosi, Michael; Olness, Karen (1993, October). Bi-directional changes in neutrophil adherence following hypnosis. [Paper] Presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, Arlington Heights, IL.
NOTES
At the last time that I presented a paper, I talked about the neutrophil. The neutrophil is a model of convenience because it responds quickly to psychological interventions, it is important in upper respiratory infections, and it can be measured reliably in vitro.
We had found that Ss with two weeks of relaxation/imagery training showed an increase in stickiness of neutrophils. We wanted to replicate and extend that study. We wanted one group to increase, another group to decrease, stickiness in neutrophils. There were a total of three groups, including a resting control group.
The model of investigation involves two weeks of training in self hypnosis or simply resting.
Session 1
1 week of practice
Session 2
Results. The Control group increased adherence in neutrophils. The imagery- increase group and imagery-decrease group both decreased adherence. (In the first study the controls had no previous experience in relaxation. Also, the experimental group that was tested showed a decrease in first week and increased in the second week.)
Imagery is work, and that may result in less adherence. Pulse rate increased for the group trying to increase stickiness, in Session 1–implying less relaxation for them.
Hypnotizability (measured with the Pennsylvania State University Scale) was not correlated with increase in neutrophil adherence.
Kraft, Tom (1993). Using hypnosis with cancer patients: Six case studies. Contemporary HypnHypnosis can be used in a number of different ways for helping patients suffering from cancer. As well as pain relief, hypnosis may be used to correct insomnia that does not respond to sleeping tablets; for the reduction in skin irritation and dyspnoea when these are due to organic causes, and for treatment-related over-eating. Some patients will use hypnosis in a symbolic way. When this occurs, just as in dream interpretation, it is important to ask the patient for associations, so that these symbols can be understood. Hypnosis can be an extremely useful addition to the medical armamentarium, and should be employed as an adjunct to standard forms of cancer treatment. This paper reports six case studies in which hypnosis was used to help cancer patients.
1992
Appel, Philip R. (1992). Performance enhancement in physical medicine and rehabilitation. American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, 35, 11-19.
Performance enhancement or mental practice is the “symbolic rehearsal of a physical activity without any gross muscular movements” to facilitate skill acquisition and to increase performance in the production of that physical activity. Performance- enhancement interventions have been well known in the area of sports psychology and medicine. However, clinical applications in physical medicine and rehabilitation have not flourished to the same extent, though the demand for improved physical performance and the acquisition of various motor skills are as important. In this paper I will describe how hypnosis can potentiate mental practice, present a model of mental practice to enhance performance, and describe how to help patients access an ideal performance state of consciousness.
Hall, Howard R.; Mumma, Gregory H.; Longo, Santo; Dixon, Richard (1992). Voluntary immunomodulation: A preliminary study. International Journal of Neuroscience, 63 (3-4), 275-285.
This study explored the effects of relaxation and imagery procedures on the voluntary self-regulation of immune responses. Immune studies of 19 adults were made before and after a 45 minute intervention consisting of relaxation with imagery aimed at enhancing immune activity. A self-report measure of psychological distress was completed before each blood sample. Results indicate that the seven blood measures of immune functioning were measured with adequate reliability and consisted of two sets of immune parameters. A statistically significant increase in one of the mitogen measures and a marginally significant increase in one of the blood count measures was found following the relaxation/imagery procedure. Age, hypnotizability, and their interaction significantly predicted change on the set of blood count measures but not on the set of mitogen measures. As expected, level of subjective psychological distress generally decreased following the intervention. The methodological limitations of this study included limited sample size and absence of a control group.
Hargadon, Robin M.; Bowers, Kenneth S. (1992, October). High hypnotizables and hypnotic analgesia: An examination of underlying mechanisms. [Paper] Presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, Arlington, VA.
NOTES
Bowers’ dissociated control adaptation of Hilgard’s neodissociation theory of hypnosis posits that higher control systems are not used if lower systems are activated.
Imagery may be less important for achieving hypnotic effects. It also may contribute differently than previously thought, an uncorrelated factor. If imaginal involvement and imagery is integral to the production of analgesia using hypnosis, one would get results different than if not integral.
Research: 65 Ss rated as high on two hypnotizability tests participated.