“Post-hoc comparisons for the eyes-closed condition revealed that high relative to low, hypnotizables reported significantly greater alterations in body image, time sense, meaning, and altered state of awareness. Medium hypnotizable Ss, compared to low hypnotizables, reported significantly increased alterations in body image and state of awareness.
“Post-hoc comparisons for the hypnotic induction condition revealed that high, viz-a-viz low, hypnotizables reported significantly increased absorbed attention; greater altered experience (body image, time sense, perception, meaning); and increased alterations in state of awareness. High hypnotizables also reported significantly less imagery vividness, self-awareness, rationality, volitional control, and memory. Medium hypnotizable Ss, vis-a-vis low hypnotizables, reported significantly more altered experience (body image, time sense, perception, meaning); absorbed attention; and altered state of awareness; and significantly less imagery vividness, self-awareness, rationality, volitional control, and memory. High hypnotizable Ss, relative to medium hypnotizables, reported significantly more altered experience (perception, meaning) and absorption, and significantly less rationality, volitional control, and memory.
“Concerning the significant interactions (alpha = .01), graphs of the means indicated significant ordinal interactions between Conditions and Hypnotizability Groups for altered experience (perception), imagery (vividness), self-awareness, altered state of awareness, rationality, volitional control, and memory. For all of the PCI (sub)dimensions, the hypnotic induction condition (compared to eyes-closed) was associated with a significantly greater increase in altered experience (perception), and altered state of awareness; and a significantly greater decrease in imagery (vividness), rationality, volitional control, and memory for the high (and medium) hypnotizable groups relative to the low hypnotizable group.
“Significant disordinal interactions were found for absorption and unusual meanings. Whereas high hypnotizable Ss reported a more absorbed attentional focus and more unusual meaning during hypnosis, low hypnotizable Ss reported being less absorbed (or more distracted) during the induction than eyes-closed. Low hypnotizables reported more unusual meanings in reference to eyes closed” (pp. 84-85).
Correlations among the major PCI dimensions, absorption, and hypnotizability differ between the two conditions. In hypnosis, the hypnotizability correlations that reached the .001 level were: –Self Awareness -.55 –State of Awareness .60 –Altered Experience .56 –Inward Absorbed Attention .44 –Rationality -.41 –Volitional control -.65 –Memory -.41 –Arousal -.28
In the eyes closed condition, the only PCI variables that Hypnotizability correlated with, at the .001 level, were: –Positive Affect .26 –Altered Experience .32
MANOVAs and ANOVAs were computed for Absorption groups in a similar fashion. Main effects but not interaction effects were significant. Results are not abstracted here.
In their Discussion, the authors note that “The three hypotheses were supported by the results. Several of the absorption group comparisons obtained in previous research (Pekala et al., 1985) involving alterations in subjective experience (body image, perception, meaning); state of awareness; and volitional control were replicated in the present research” (p. 85).
1988
Lorig, Tyler S.; Schwartz, Gary E. (1988-89). EEG activity during relaxation and focal imagery. Imagination, Cognition and Personality, 8, 201-208.
EEG activity was recorded in nine volunteer subjects while they engaged in eight cognitive tasks. The tasks involved mental arithmetic, relaxation imagery, food imagery and imagery related to “neutral” stimuli (bicycle and automobile). Period analysis of the EEG indicated significant differences in EEG factor activity related to tension and anxiety for the subtraction, relaxation and food imagery trials. Imagery of heaviness and the subject’s favorite dessert produced EEG factor activity most characteristic of relaxation. Results of this study are discussed in terms of the relation of odor to food imagery and the ecological validity of the use of food imagery in relaxation training. NOTES 1:
NOTES
Lorig, in a comparison of spectral and period analysis techniques, found that period analysis had greater sensitivity to task-related EEG effects. More recently, Lorig and Schwartz applied factor analysis to EEG period data and found that the factors identified tended to show greater homogeneity and correspondence to self-report than the traditional EEG bands of alpha, theta and beta. Period analysis reduces data to a histogram of the number of waves of various frequencies which occur during each 10 second data collection epoch for each task.
As is evident from Finding 1, the 8 tasks tend to stratify into two groups which either increase or decrease in Factor 1/theta activity over time. Those tasks which decrease over time seem to be performance or practice-related and include Serial subtraction of threes, of sevens, relaxation imagery of heaviness (HVY) and instructions to concentrate on the word “one” as they inhaled and exhaled (BCON). These tasks may change little in their cognitive demands on the subjects over time. The other tasks (imagery of their first bicycle, imagery of their earliest ride in a car, imagery of their favorite main course, imagery of their favorite dessert) may be more evocative to the Ss since they were asked to recall events from their personal experience. The recall of some of these experiences may kindle the subsequent recall of other events and account for the increases in theta and Factor 1. It is also possible that theta and Factor 1 are attention- related. Thus, as the S participates in a task which changes little over time, attention is diminished. If, however, the task continues to evoke other personally relevant events, attention will be maintained and may even increase over time. If this later hypothesis is correct, the Favorite Dessert task may be of use clinically since it produces EEG patterns associated with less tension and anxiety and also less boredom. This task also produced self-reports of greater happiness (p = .0001) and was not different from relaxation imagery of heaviness and instructions to concentrate on the word ‘one’ as they inhaled and exhaled in self reports of relaxation, tension or calm.
The results of this study indicate that imagery of food, especially one’s favorite dessert, has relaxation effects apparent in EEG and self-report. These effects may indicate that food-related odorants exert their relaxation effects by producing imagery of food. Such effects should not be surprising given the early history of systematic desensitization training in which food was often used as a competing stimulus for anxiety-provoking stimuli.
Nash, Michael R. (1988). Hypnosis as a window on regression. Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic, 52, 383-403.
Examines the empirical evidence for temporal and topographic regression during hypnosis–which Freud explicitly defined as regressive. A review of more than 100 studies spanning 60 years of research found no convincing evidence that developmentally previous psychological structures are reinstated during hypnosis (temporal regression). In contrast, there is evidence that hypnosis enables subjects to elicit more imagistic, primary process, and affect-laden material (topographic regression). The author recommends a careful reexamination of two core assumptions underlying the concept of temporal regression: (1) that early structures in human development are imperishable, and (2) that regression necessarily involves reinstatement of infantile psychological structures.
1987
Bandura, A.; O’Leary, A.; Taylor, C. B.; Gauthier, J.; Gossard, D. (1987). Perceived self-efficacy and pain control: Opioid and non-opioid mechanisms. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 53, 563-571.
NOTES
Subjects who were trained to use psychological coping strategies (e.g. imagery, distraction, dissociation, sensation transformation) had both better pain tolerance on a cold pressor test and higher self efficacy ratings. Those subjects who were given naloxone (which blocks pain reduction effects of beta endorphins) showed more pain tolerance than subjects not given the cognitive training experiences. They attributed much of the pain tolerance increase associated with cognitive interventions to opiate release, suggesting that cognitive interventions may have physiological mediating effects on pain perception.
Boswell, Louis K. (1987). Abstract imaging: Abstract imaging as a mode of personality analysis and adjustment. Medical Hypnoanalysis Journal, 2, 175-179.
Describes the use of abstract imaging during hypnosis to circumvent defense mechanisms and arrive at the initial sensitizing event behind a patient’s emotional problems. Case examples illustrate how abstract imaging is also used to explore how the patient relates to the world on a conscious level and forms an idealized self-image to work toward.
Crist, Dwayne Anderson (1987). The effect of suggestibility on the efficacy of relaxation training instruction: A multisession evaluation (Dissertation, University of Alabama). Dissertation Abstracts International, 47 (n9-B), 3950.
Progressive relaxation is a well established procedure used in the treatment of anxiety related disorders. Research has suggested that the muscle tension-release component of progressive relaxation is the critical variable in producing relaxation effects. However, other techniques which do not employ muscle-tension release have proven effective. It has been suggested that treatment type may interact with personality characteristics to produce greater effects. Suggestibility was selected as a personality characteristic that may facilitate or inhibit relaxation effects. Fifty high and 50 low suggestible individuals were selected to participate based on scores from the Creative Imagination Scale. Half of each group as randomly assigned to either a progressive relaxation or imagery relaxation treatment. Subjects received four weekly sessions of relaxation training. The Relaxation Scale was administered before and after each session to assess effects of training. The results indicated that high suggestible individuals had significantly greater increases in relaxation within session on each of the three scales of the Relaxation Scale, but this appeared to be a result of lower pre-test scores. Only the Physical Assessment scale also demonstrated higher post-test scores for the high suggestible participants. A ceiling effect appeared to be operating for both the Physiological Tension and Cognitive Tension scales. There were no significant differences between the progressive relaxation and imagery relaxation treatments. It appears that muscle tension release may not be a critical variable in relaxation effects” (p. ).
De Sano, Christine F.; Persinger, M. A. (1987). Geophysical variables and behavior: XXXIX. Alterations in imaginings and suggestibility during brief magnetic field exposures. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 64, 968-970.
12 male and 12 female volunteers were evaluated for their suggestibility before and after an approximately 15-min. exposure to either sham, 1-Hz or 4-Hz magnetic fields that were applied across their mid-superior temporal lobes. During the field application subjects were instructed to view a green light that was pulsating at the same frequency as the field and to imagine countering an alien situation. Results were commensurate with the hypothesis that weak brain-frequency fields may influence certain aspects of imaginings and alter suggestibility. NOTES 1:
NOTES: “Subjects who had been exposed to the 4-Hz fields showed a significant decrease … in heart rate compared to those who had been exposed to either the 1 Hz or sham-field conditions. A significant … interaction of sex by field … was noted for the change in HIP [Hypnotic Induction Profile] scales. Whereas both men and women in the sham-field condition tended to show less induction (~ 1 unit) on the second occasion … women showed much greater (8.4 + 1.1) induction (= 3 units) if they had been exposed to the 1-Hz field while men showed much greater (8.0 + 1.5) induction (= 3 units) if they had been exposed to the 4-Hz fields. On the protocols, women reported significantly more fear responses than men. In addition, subjects who were exposed during the imaginings to the 4-Hz field showed more imaginings … and more references to vestibular experiences (e.g., self or entity rising or floating) … than those exposed to the other conditions” (p. 969).
“Dissociation scores on the HIP were correlated significantly … with vestibular (0.44), imagery (0.43), and fear (-0.45) scores from the transcripts. Floating responses on the HIP were correlated with the amount of imagery. (0.46). There was a significant positive Pearson correlation between the compliance measure and the amount of arm levitation during the second induction only. These results suggest that hypnotic susceptibility may be increased following magnetic-field exposure but that the effective frequency is not the same for each sex. In addition, the amount of the imagery (particular vestibular experiences) increased if the person observed a light that was flashing at the same frequency as a 4-Hz applied magnetic field” (p. 969).
Friedman, Howard; Taub, Harvey A.; Sturr, Joseph F.; Monty, Richard A. (1987). Visual information processing speed in hypnotized and nonhypnotized subjects. Journal of General Psychology, 114 (4), 363-372.
Using a backward-masking paradigm with a bias-free and ceiling-free psychophysical task, we tested hypnotized and control subjects for speed of visual information processing. Approximately half of each group received visual imagery suggestions in an attempt to influence attention. Imagery produced no significant differential effect. Although an absence of a hypnotizability-performance relationship was in keeping with findings of a previous study, those subjects in the present study who performed under hypnosis were, as a group, significantly superior to the other subjects in speed of information processing.
Holroyd, Jean (1987). How hypnosis may potentiate psychotherapy. American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, 29, 194-200.
Hypnotherapy is defined as doing psychotherapy in the hypnotic state. This article reviews cognitive, affective, and motivational changes associated with hypnotic trance, attempting to demonstrate how the hypnotic state might influence ordinary psychotherapy processes. Nine characteristics of trance probably potentiate psychotherapy: (1) changes in attention and awareness, (2) imagery enhancement, (3) increase in dissociation, (4) decrease of reality orientation, (5) increase in suggestibility, (6) increased accessibility of mind-body interactions, (7) diminution of initiative resulting in a sense of nonvoluntariness, (8) increased availability or manipulability of affect, and (9) development of a fusional relationship (rapport). This article touches upon the psychotherapeutic implications of these hypnosis attributes.
Locke, Steven E.; Ransil, Bernard J.; Covino, Nicholas A.; Toczydlowski, Janice; Lohse, Christopher M.; Dvorak, Harold F.; Arndt, Kenneth A.; Frankel, Fred H. (1987). Failure of hypnotic suggestion to alter immune response to delayed-type hypersensitivity antigens. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 496, 745-749.
The ability to alter delayed-type hypersensitivity via hypnotic suggestion was tested in 12 highly hypnotizable, untrained subjects and 30 non-hypnotized controls. Subjects were skin tested bilaterally with a standardized panel of delayed hypersensitivity antigens and instructed either to enhance or suppress the skin test response (STR) unilaterally. Compared to controls, STR’s showed no effect of hypnotic suggestion with regard to either the area of induration or the degree of inflammation assessed histologically.
Lynn, Steven Jay; Rhue, Judith W. (1987). Hypnosis, imagination, and fantasy. Journal of Mental Imagery, 11, 101-112.
Considers three questions pertaining to the relationship between hypnotic responsiveness and imaginative processes: Are subjects’ nonhypnotic imaginative involvements related to hypnotic susceptibility? Do some fantasy prone subjects share a unique constellation of personality attributes and experiences, including an ability to respond to hypnotic suggestions? What are the childhood developmental antecedents of persons who score at the extremes of hypnotic ability and measures of fantasy and imagination? Reviews literature.
Nadon, Robert; Laurence, Jean-Roch; Perry, Campbell (1987). Multiple predictors of hypnotic susceptibility. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 53, 948-960.
Report two experiments in which various measures thought to be related to hypnotizability were analyzed by stepwise discriminant analysis. Absorption and preference for an imagic style of thinking predicted hypnotizability. Addition of 2 other variables in Experiment 2–a Sleep-Dream score derived from Evans’s Cognitive Control of Sleep Mentation subscale and Gibson’s Dream Questionnaire, and the Belief in the Supernatural subscale of the Taft Experience Questionnaire–increased the correct classification of the medium-hypnotizable subjects from chance levels to 74%. Argue for a confirmatory and hierarchical approach in future studies to explore correlates of hypnotizability more fully. NOTES 1:
NOTES
The following notes were made at an SCEH presentation: [Robert Nadon, Hypnotizability: A Correlational Study Involving Experiential, Imagery, and Selective Attention Variables.]
Author used a number of variables that have related to hypnotizability in single measure studies to predict with a multiple r. 30 male and 30 female Ss, given Harvard (?) then screened on Form A, and finally on Form C. Classed as Low (0-2), Medium (5-10 without amnesia), and High (11-12 with amnesia).
Independent Variable Triserial r % Correctly Classified Sheehan (1967) short Betts -.69** 57 Preference for Imagery Mode of Thought
(Isaacs 1982) .64** 57 Tellegen’s Absorption .58** Personal Experience Questionnaire .51** 80
(Evans 1982) Concordia Fantasy Questionnaire Pavio Stroop Random Number Generation Task Modified Van Nuys Meditation Task 8 Auditory attention tasks
1986
Belicki, Kathryn; Belicki, Denis (1986). Predisposition for nightmares: A study of hypnotic ability, vividness of imagery, and absorption. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 42 (5), 714-718.
The relationships of nightmare frequency to hypnotic ability, vividness of visual imagery, and the tendency to become absorbed in fantasy-like experiences were examined. Subjects were 841 undergraduate university students who participated in group tests of hypnotic ability, after which they estimated the number of nightmares that they had experienced in the prior year. In addition, 406 of the subjects completed Marks’ Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire, and Rotenberg and Bowers’ Absorption scale. Of the subjects, 76% reported experiencing at least one nightmare in the prior year; 8.3% indicated one or more per month. Individuals with frequent nightmares scored higher on hypnotizability, vividness of visual imagery, and absorption.
NOTES
620, Belicki & Bowers, 1982 ABSTRACT: Investigated the role of demand characteristics in dream change by comparing dream report change following pre- and postsleep administrations of instructions to pay attention to specific dream content. This design was based on the assumption that if presleep instructions merely distort dream reports rather than influence actual dreams, report change should be observable following a postsleep instruction. 42 undergraduates were prescreened with the Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility (Form A), which allowed experimenters to examine the role of hypnotizability in dream change. Significant differences were observed only following the presleep instructions. It is concluded that report distortion as a result of paying attention to a dimension of dream content was insufficient to account for dream report change following presleep instructions. Hypnotic ability correlated significantly with the amount of dream change.
Brink, Nicholas E. (1986-87). Three stages of hypno-family therapy for psychosomatic problems. Imagination, Cognition and Personality, 6, 263-270.
In dealing with psychosomatic complaints it has been found useful and necessary to bring together three stages or techniques of psychotherapy. First, along with teaching relaxation, the therapist directs the client to define the symptom in a symbolic or figurative way describing size, shape, color, consistency, smell, and sound. These descriptors assess intensity and, over time, change in intensity of the symptom. Second, several hypnotic techniques are used to determine the dynamic pattern that has created the symptom. Such uncovered patterns have been found to invariably involve family dynamics. Third, hypnotic and family therapy techniques assist the client in changing the pattern. Examples are presented.
Cole, Ronald William (1986, February). Posthypnotic suggestion and the production of creative imagination imagery (Dissertation, Mississippi State University). Dissertation Abstracts International, 47 (8), 2953-A.
This investigation assessed the effect of posthypnotic suggestions in facilitating creativity in persons highly susceptible to hypnosis. Fifty college-age subjects from educational psychology and psychology classes at Mississippi State University who scored 9 or above on the Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility were used. Groups of 10 subjects were randomly assigned to one of five conditions: a) hypnosis/creative learning set instructions b) relaxation/creativity learning set instructions c) hypnosis only d) relaxation only e) posttest only “Subjects in the hypnosis/creative learning set instructions group received 25 min. of hypnosis and creativity instruction. The relaxation/creative learning set instructions group received 25 min. of relaxation and creativity instructions. The hypnosis-only group received 25 min. of hypnosis and then completed mazes. The relaxation-only group received 25 min. of relaxation and then completed mazes. And lastly, the control group received the posttest only. All groups were given the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking (TTCT), Verbal and Figural Forms A, 1 week after receiving their treatment conditions. The results indicated that the combination of hypnosis and creativity instructions produced significantly higher mean scores on the Verbal Form A — fluency, flexibility, and originality subtests, and Figural Form A elaboration subtest, and lend support to the contention that posthypnotic suggestions can increase creativity (as measured by the TTCT) in high susceptible subjects. The components of both hypnosis and creativity instruction had to be present to increase creative performance. There was a tendency for relaxation combined with creativity instructions to show decreases in creativity scores. “The hypnotic state was seen as necessary for the unconscious acceptance of creativity instructions (low volitional control), while the relaxed state produced conscious contamination of suggestions for creativity (high volitional control). It was postulated that it was the difference in volitional control which produced the positive responses to posthypnotic suggestions to be more creative in the group receiving hypnosis and creativity instructions” (p. 2953).
Crawford, Jeffrey Cleon (1986, February). The effects of hypnosis and imagery on immunity (Dissertation, University of Texas Health Science Center at Dallas). Dissertation Abstracts International, 46, 2800-B.
The present study explored the effects of hypnosis and imagery on Total T-Lymphocytes, T-Helper, T-Suppressor, Natural Killer Lymphocytes and level of Salivary IgA. Twenty-four volunteers (15 females and 9 males) between the ages of 23 and 41, with a mean age of 30, were assigned to an experimental or no-treatment control group in a modified random sequence. Participation was limited to individuals who were clinically free of disease, not using medication known to influence immunity, and scored above the mean on self-report pencil and paper measures of life stress (Life Experiences Survey and Stress Coping Rating Scale). Blood and saliva samples were obtained one day before, immediately before, one hour after, and eight days after a one hour hypnotic session. A relaxation induction, a variation of [H. R.] Hall’s method, was utilized to induce hypnosis, and its effect measured by the Long Stanford Scale. The subjects were encouraged to imagine the cells of their immune systems multiplying and destroying pathogens. An adaptation of the IMAGE-CA was used to assess the effectiveness of the imagery. Finally, the experimental subjects were instructed in and asked to practice self- hypnosis and imagery twice daily for a week. The data were analyzed in six two-factor repeated measure analyses of variance, and Newman-Keuls tests were utilized to make multiple comparisons between the levels of Group and Time. The analyses produced no evidence for the confirmation of the overall hypothesis that the experimental group would increase in percent of T-Lymphocytes, percent of T-Helper cells, percent of Natural Killer cells and level of Salivary IgA, and decrease in percent of T-Suppressor lymphocytes. Post-hoc analyses revealed correlations that served as a basis for interesting speculation, but there was no revision in the overall conclusion that there was not evidence that hypnosis and imagery, as employed in this study, influenced in the selected measures of immunity. These results extend, but are not analogous, to the results of previously published studies using “fractional” measures of immunity” (pp. 3055-3056).
Hendler, Cobie S.; Redd, William H. (1986). Fear of hypnosis: The role of labeling in patients’ acceptance of behavioral interventions. Behavior Therapy, 17, 2-13.
One hundred and five outpatient cancer chemotherapy patients were interviewed to assess their attitudes toward hypnosis and relaxation as well as to determine their beliefs in and willingness to try a behavioral procedure. Patients were randomly assigned to groups receiving identical descriptions labeled “hypnosis,” “relaxation,” or “passive relaxation with guided imagery.” The description stressed the behavioral components of hypnosis and relaxation rather than the nonbehavioral techniques often associated with hypnosis such as age regression and posthypnotic suggestion. Patients believed hypnosis to be a powerful process that involved loss of control and altered states of consciousness. When compared with a group of college students, patients held significantly more fearful, conservative views about hypnosis. Patients who received a description of an intervention labeled “hypnosis” were significantly less likely to believe the procedure would effectively control their nausea and vomiting and were significantly less likely to state they would try the procedure than patients in the other two label conditions. This reaction to the label occurred independently of patients’ degree of nausea, vomiting, and pain due to their chemotherapy treatments.
Holroyd, Jean (1986). Hypnosis applications in psychological research. Imagination, Cognition and Personality, 5, 103-115.
It is proposed that hypnosis leads to altered cognition, affect, or motivation as reflected by changes in 1) reality orientation, 2) attention and awareness, 3) imagery, 4) dissociation, 5) suggestibility, and 6) mind-body interaction. Hypnosis may be used as an experimental method to effect such cognitive, affective and motivational changes in order to pursue research in learning, personality, physiological, and social psychology. Examples of possible applications of hypnosis are provided. The influence of individual differences in hypnotic responsivity on research also is discussed. NOTES 1:
NOTES: The author concludes, “Contributions of hypnosis to research in psychology may have been diminished by the confusion inherent in searching for main effects while giving insufficient attention to interaction effects between personality variables and experimental manipulations. As psychology becomes more cognitive in orientation, the phenomena of hypnosis may seem less bizarre and more amenable to inclusion in psychological research. However great care must be taken not to confuse the contributions of hypnosis with the contributions of the hypnotically responsive personality” (p. 109).
Mitchell, George P.; Lundy, Richard M. (1986). The effects of relaxation and imagery inductions on responses to suggestions. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 34, 98-109.
Theoretical attempts to understand the meaning and importance of induction procedures in producing hypnotic phenomena suggest that 2 critical components, relaxation and imagery, should be isolated and their relative effect on hypnotic responding studied. Objectively and subjectively scored responses to 12 hypnotic suggestions, which had followed relaxation, imaginal, or combined inductions, were obtained from 59 Ss, divided into 3 levels of hypnotizability. Regardless of hypnotizability level, the combined induction led to a greater subjective report of hypnotic response than did either the relaxation or the imagery inductions; and the relaxation led to a greater subjective report than the imagery induction. It may follow that the subjective experience of hypnosis is facilitated by inductions which include relaxation. The inductions were equally effective in producing objectively measured behavioral responses. There were no significant interactions found between induction type and hypnotizability level. NOTES 1:
NOTES
(From the Discussion Section).
As suggested by Sacerdote (1970), the combination procedure was the most generally effective in producing hypnotic responses. The difference between combined and imagery inductions reached statistical significance on four dependent variables, and the difference between combined and relaxation reached significance on three. It may also be of interest that Ss receiving the combined procedure scored consistently higher on all nine dependent variables.
A somewhat unexpected finding was that the relaxation induction produced scores on four of the dependent variables that were statistically higher than the imagery induction scores. Considering the difficulty of isolating relaxation and imagery components, it is quite noteworthy that these differences between inductions were found.
The four variables in which the combination and relaxation conditions produced significantly higher scores than the imagery condition were subjective reports–subjective score, degree hypnotized, response volition, and Field Inventory. In contrast to Ss in the imagery induction, Ss in the other two induction conditions believed that they were responding more, felt that their responses were more nonvolitional, and felt that they were more deeply hypnotized.
The fact that relaxation instructions were present in both conditions that were superior to the imagery condition would appear to support Edmonston’s (1981) position which posits relaxation as essential for the production of the state of neutral hypnosis. For Edmonston the condition of neutral hypnosis is defined as the relaxed state and precedes other phenomena, such as dissociation and increased suggestibility, which other theoreticians may include in the definition of hypnosis.
However, the statistically significant superior effect of the combined over the relaxation induction on three measures casts doubt on Edmonston’s position. The S believes that he or she is more deeply hypnotized and is responding less volitionally when an imagery component is combined with relaxation. The Ss also responded more to the Field Inventory when the combined induction was used.
Another explanation for imagery’s relatively poor showing may lie in Ss’ differential expectations. The Ss, especially those with previous experience with a traditional hypnotic induction, as was the case in the present study, may not expect to be hypnotized when presented with an imagery alone induction. Such expectations, of course, might reduce responses. On the other hand, there is no reason to believe that the reduced expectation in the imagery condition would not affect the behavioral responses as well, and such was not the case.
Thus, we may be left with the explanation that relaxation adds to the subjective experience of hypnosis. This is in keeping with Edmonston’s (1981) position as well as with previous research, such as that by Hilgard and Tart (1966), which finds traditional inductions, with their relaxation components, superior to nontraditional inductions, such as fantasy or task-motivational. If future research should find that bodily involvements such as the physical exertion or repetitive motor behavior (Banyai and Hilgard, 1976) lead to the same level of subjective experience as relaxation did, then we may need to broaden the concept of the somatic component beyond relaxation alone.
In terms of the behavioral compliance of Ss, the results of the present study are in accord with some previous studies in finding all procedures equally effective. Neither imagery, relaxation, nor the combined procedure was superior for the behavioral measure.
Personality factors (social desirability, internality/externality, and absorption) did not affect the basic findings. To the degree that the Tellegen scales measure the ability to engage in imagery there seems to be little basis for believing that imagery ability is related to the general findings.
Sarbin (1983) would call the inductions studied here ‘entrance rituals,’ and he has recently asked in his review of Edmonston’s book, “Which ritual is more suitable… [p. 58]’ for preparing S to respond in various hypnotic ways? One answer from the present results is that an entrance ritual should include muscular relaxation if one wants a better subjective response from S. From Sarbin’s point of view, the relaxation component may be more ego-involving, producing more subjective experience and meaning for S.
If one wants to produce only a behavioral response, either a relaxation or imagery ritual will serve.
1985
Acosta, Enrique; Crawford, Helen J. (1985). Iconic memory and hypnotizability: Processing speed, skill or strategy differences?. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 33, 236-245.
The purported relationship between hypnotizability and speed of information transfer from iconic to short-term memory was studied in a comparison of 12 low and 12 high hypnotizable Ss. As in Ingram, Saccuzzo, McNeill, and McDonald (1979), high hypnotizable Ss showed less interference from a visual mask in the report of a briefly presented item than did low hypnotizable Ss when the mask delays were predictable. When the delay of the mask could not be anticipated, however, differences between high and low hypnotizable Ss disappeared. It is suggested that differences in information processing related to hypnotizability may be due to differences in strategy, skills, or other factors, rather than underlying information processing speed.
NOTES
Hypnosis may require concentrative or selective attention, which usually is measured by self-report (e.g. Absorption) or by experimental measures. Several investigations indicate that high hypnotizable people are better than low hypnotizables at focusing on a task and ignoring extraneous information (Brown, Crawford, Smith, Leu, & Brock, 1983; Graham & Evans, 1977; Karlin, 1979; Miller, 1975; Wallace, 1979; Wallace, Garrett, & Anstadt, 1974; Wallace, Knight, & Garrett, 1976). One way to study attentional processes is through the effect of presenting a mask (e.g. $$$$$) shortly after presenting a stimulus (e.g. ABCDE). Ingram (1979) found that highs had faster information processing, but that might be due to anticipation bias associated with the method of limits employed. This study uses both an ascending method of limits, like Ingram, and a condition in which the mask delays were presented randomly within another block of trials.
RESULTS
“While the present study replicated Ingram et al.’s (1979) findings when an ascending method of limits was used (the same used by Ingram et al.) differences were not found in processing when ISIs were presented randomly. Thus, these results suggest that high and low hypnotizable Ss do not differ in their information transmission rates, but rather they may differ in other aspects which mediate performance in this task” (pp. 241- 242).
“Several lines of evidence point towards strategy or skill differences between high and low hypnotizable Ss as a possible explanation for the present findings. First, it was found that when Ss could anticipate the mask delay (the ascending condition), high hypnotizable Ss outperformed the low hypnotizables. When this anticipation was controlled, as in the random condition, the two groups did not differ when the data were scored by serial position. When the data were scored by a free recall scheme, there was a nonsignificant trend for high hypnotizable Ss to score higher than did the low hypnotizables. This trend suggests that high hypnotizable Ss may be more willing to guess, and to guess more accurately than low hypnotizables, when they have partial information about a letter, and/or they may have greater skill in perceiving incomplete information. The latter suggestion finds indirect support from Crawford (1981) who reported that high hypnotizable Ss can process fragmented stimuli (Gestalt Closure tests, see Thurstone & Jeffrey, 1966), significantly better than can low hypnotizables. High imagers have been shown also to perform significantly better than low imagers in Gestalt Closure tasks (Ernest, 1980). At a speculative level, given that recent research has suggested that iconic memory may be a right hemisphere phenomenon (e.g. Cohen, 1976, but also see DiLollo, 1981), and high hypnotizable Ss outperform low hypnotizables on certain right hemisphere tasks (e.g. Crawford, 1981), it may be asked if the trends found with the free recall scoring scheme in the present study might be a reflection of differential right hemisphere processing. Such a hypothesis could be investigated in future research by comparing the performance of high and low hypnotizable Ss, as possibly moderated by visuo-spatial ability, for stimuli presented to the left versus the right visual hemifield (Ernest, 1983).
“A second set of evidence in favor of strategy differences was found in Saccuzzo et al. (1982) which was published after the data for the present experiment were collected. In the Saccuzzo et al. (1982) paper, which was an extension and replication of Ingram et al. (1979), the same mask delay was used throughout a 10-trial block. The order of the blocks (i.e., the mask delays) was random. Thus, while S did not know which mask delay was used in the first trial of a block, the remaining 9 trials were the same and could be anticipated. During the first session, high hypnotizable Ss outperformed the low hypnotizables, but these differences disappeared on the second testing session. These results suggest that practice may have affected performance, rather than any underlying information processing speed differences” (pp. 242-243).
Gibson (1985). Dreaming and hypnotic susceptibility: A pilot study. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 60, 387-394.
Previous experimental work has indicated that certain stable personality characteristics are reliably associated with differential susceptibility to hypnosis. It is suggested that people who are more susceptible will be characterized by an awareness of dreaming more frequently, vividly and creatively. This study describes the construction of a Dream Questionnaire and the relations of the scores obtained on it to scores previously obtained on the Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility. Sex differences were noted in response to the questionnaire. For women, a global score was derived from the questionnaire, and this was positively and significantly associated with hypnotic susceptibility. Men responded rather differently to the questionnaire and as hypnotic susceptibility scores were available for only a more limited number, further analysis was postponed until more data from men may become available. Some suggestions for research are discussed, and the relations between sleep research and hypnosis research are briefly considered.
NOTES
This article provides an example of dissociation-hypnosis contribution to sleep research:
“There has hitherto been little link between research on sleep and on hypnosis. Cartwright’s (1978) review of dream research makes no mention of hypnosis, but a little common ground is referred to in Ernest Hilgard’s (1975) review of hypnosis research. More recently, Belicki and Belicki (1984) and Perreault and Montplaisir (1984) have renewed the effort to link the two areas. Such research may not begin to pay off in terms of delineating more fully the traits of personality which refer to dissociative ability both in sleep and in wakefulness. It is hoped that the pilot questionnaire provided by the present study will serve to further such research.”
[Note that in Nadon, Hoyt, & Kihlstrom, 1987, some questions from Evans’ sleep questionnaire were predictive of hypnotizability.]
Kelly, Paul James (1985, November). The relationship between hypnotic ability and hypnotic experience (Dissertation). Dissertation Abstracts International, 46 (5), 1690-B.
This study investigated the relationship between four types of hypnotic experience and hypnotic ability. The types of experiences were: dissociation, the experience of involuntariness, altered state effects, such as perceptual alterations and diminished reality sense rapport, transference-like involvement with the hypnotist, and relaxation. A 47-item scale, the Hypnotic Experience Questionnaire was developed to measure types of hypnotic experience. It was given to 484 subjects and then to a subsample of 272 students. When the scale was factored, four stable factors emerged: Nonconscious/Trance, Rapport, Relaxation, and Cognitive Rumination. A Group Profile Scale was also developed to measure students and when it was factor analyzed four factors were extracted: Hallucinations and Fantasies, Amnesias and Post-Hypnotic Compulsions, Motor Inhibition, and Direct Motor Suggestion. “Two statistical approaches were used to investigate the connections between hypnotic ability and hypnotic experience . Canonical analysis was used to identify the main relationships between hypnotic ability and hypnotic experience and factor analysis was used to explore the relationship among measures of hypnotizability and hypnotic experience. Two canonical variates from the canonical analysis were significant. The first variate was characterized by a dissociative-imaginative involvement process, and the second variate tapped a rapport-social compliance process. “When 25 variables, representing components of hypnotic ability and hypnotic experience, were factored, five factors were extracted. Imaginative Involvement, Ideomotor Response, Rapport, Cognitive Inhibition, and Relaxation. The results of the factor analysis suggested that dissociative experience and altered state experience are related to hypnotic ability but rapport and relaxation are not. “The results of study, taken as a whole, suggest that relaxation and rapport may happen in the hypnotic situation, but neither experience is related to the condition of being hypnotized in any essential way. The results suggest that the hypnotic condition is characterized by dissociative experience, altered state experience, and by successful performance on hypnotic ability tasks. From a theoretical point of view, the results strongly supported Hilgard’s theory, partially supported Shor’s theory, and failed to support Edmonston’s theory” (p. 1690).
Nogrady, Heather; McConkey, Kevin M.; Perry, Campbell (1985). Enhancing visual memory: Trying hypnosis, trying imagination, and trying again. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 94 (2), 195-204.
Tested visual recall memory of high (n = 24) and low (n = 24) hypnotizable undergraduates (screened under the Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility and the Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale) for black and white line drawings of common objects in either hypnosis, imagination, or control conditions. Memory performance in terms of both correct and incorrect items increased appreciably across the recall tests. Neither hypnosis nor imagination enhanced recall beyond that of normal repeated testing. Hypnotizability was not related to the amount of correct material recalled but was related to the amount of incorrect material reported. High hypnotizable Ss in the hypnosis condition were more likely than other Ss to confidently rate the incorrect material as correct. Findings are discussed in terms of the impact of hypnosis on and the relevance of hypnotizability to enhancing visual memory.
1984
Achterberg, J. (1984, October). Cancer, immunology, psychological factors, and imagery. [Paper] Presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, San Antonio, TX.
NOTES
Author developed a way of scoring imagery (which will be published in Imagery and Disease.). In terms of predicting who will die and who will survive, the content of the images doesn’t seem to be as important as the quality (strength, vividness, etc.), which supports Bernauer Newton’s (1984) findings. “The image seems to be a basic pre-verbal component of our species that has survival value.”
D’Eon, Joyce Lillian (1984). Response to pressure pain as moderated by hypnotic susceptibility, type of suggestion strategy, and choice (Dissertation, Concordia University, Canada). Dissertation Abstracts International, 45 (n4-B), 1313-1314.
The present study examined the relationship between hypnotic susceptibility and ability to control pain, by comparing high and low susceptible subjects’ response to pressure pain when these subjects employed either an imagery or a distraction pain attenuating strategy. The effect of providing subjects with a choice of which strategy to employ was investigated. In addition, the subjects’ imagery ability and the types of cognitive strategies they engaged in were assessed. Subjects who scored either 9 or above or 4 and below on the Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility: Form A, were asked to participate in a pain study. All 84 subjects first received a baseline trial on a modified version of the Forgione-Barber Strain Gauge Pain Stimulator, within susceptibility levels. Subjects who were able to keep their finger in the apparatus for 60 seconds were randomly assigned to a Choice, a No Choice, or a Control condition. The 36 high and low susceptible subjects in the Choice condition were given the option of using either an imagery suggestion strategy or a low distraction strategy on the second trial. The 32 high and low susceptible subjects in the No Choice condition were told about both strategies but were assigned randomly to either the imagery or the distraction strategy group. The 16 subjects in the Control group did not receive a strategy. Both pain intensity and pain tolerance were measured. Results indicated that an equivalent number of high and low susceptible subjects, given a choice of strategy, chose the imagery and distraction strategies. There were no differences in either pain intensity or pain tolerance between high and low susceptible subjects in the Choice conditions. The Choice condition subjects exhibited significant pain reductions from the first to the second trial. No Choice and Control subjects did not reduce pain significantly. In addition, high and low susceptible subjects who chose the imagery strategy did not have higher imagery scores than those subjects who chose the distraction strategy. Subjects in the No Choice condition used fewer coping strategies than subjects in the Choice condition, on the second trial. The implication of these results and directions for future research are discussed” (p. ).
Gott, Peggy S.; Hughes, Everett C.; Whipple, Katherine (1984). Voluntary control of two lateralized conscious states: Validation by electrical and behavioral studies. Neuropsychologia, 22 (1), 65-72.
A subject is described who can voluntarily select and hold either of two qualitatively different states of consciousness. Evidence is presented which confirmed differential left or right hemisphere dominance in each state. Asymmetries of EEG alpha and task performance scores indicated a state-dependent shift in functional lateralization. Evoked response studies showed directional changes in rate of interhemispheric transmission correlated with state-related hemisphere dominance. These findings demonstrated the capability for voluntary endogenous control of cerebral dominance under natural conditions.
NOTES
A personal communication (letter) from Gott indicates the S switches from one state to the other by visualizing her surroundings and imagining what it would look like in the other state. Immediately she finds herself in that other state. Her drawings demonstrate that her perspective must differ in the two states.
Gould, Sol S.; Tissler, Doreen M. (1984). The use of hypnosis in the treatment of herpes simplex II. American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, 26, 171-174.
Hypnosis training was used to treat the painful lesions and emotional symptoms associated with Herpes Simplex II in two females, ages 32 and 26. Three weekly sessions of hypnosis and daily practice sessions were initiated in the first case. During this time, the patient experienced a decline in the subjective level of pain and severity of the lesions, as well as an elevation in mood level. On three-month followup, she reported no pain or skin eruptions and significantly less feelings of stress and anxiety. The second case utilized two sessions of hypnosis and daily practice sessions, and similar results were obtained. A traumatic event caused a relapse in the latter patient, but she was again able to use hypnosis to bring the virus back under control and to experience an elevation in mood level as well. A seven-month follow-up indicated no eruptions and an improvement in self-esteem.
NOTES
In the first case the tape included ego-strengthening suggestions (Hartland, 1971); another tape used the patient’s fantasy of water and snow skiing. The patient felt that hypnosis helped her acquire a more positive attitude toward herself and relief of guilt and blame, as well as an improved ability to cope with the unpleasant sensations.
In treatment session, ego strengthening suggestions were followed by 2 minutes of quiet for integration of suggestions, then visualization used in cancer therapy (Simonton): suggestions of a strong cell structure, perfect skin, hormonal balance, cleanliness, and a cooling refreshed feeling in the area of the vagina and perineum; imagery of internally controlled friendly white sharks was used to “devour” the virus; of water and snow skiing, imagery of cool breezes, white refreshing snow, clean fresh water; visualized herself forgiving and releasing her previous boyfriend of guilt, thereby allowing her anger to abate.
For second patient it was similar, plus visualization of being bathed in white lights and traveling through concentric circles radiating peace and protection, being purified as she traveled through the circles until she emerged as flawless as a diamond, reflecting only clarity and light. Both patients scored 4 on Spiegel’s Hypnotic Induction Profile (HIP).
Hall, Howard R. (1984, October). Hypnosis, imagery, and the immune system. [Paper] Presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, San Antonio, TX.
NOTES
Studied the relationship of hypnosis to immune functions, using imagery methods like the Simontons did with their cancer patients. Twenty normal volunteers were hypnotized and asked to imagine their white blood cells (WBCs) attacking weak germs like strong sharks would attack something, and they were told that the sharks would continue working after they came out of hypnosis (a post-hypnotic suggestion). They were asked to “feel it and experience it any way you can,” to avoid emphasizing visual imagery too much. Then they were taught self hypnosis and sent home to practice twice a day for a week.
Three blood measures increased after hypnosis: –B-cells increased with pokeweed stimuli (an allergen) for younger Ss, not older Ss –WBC’s increased for highly hypnotizable Ss who were young, not for poor hypnotizable Ss or for any older Ss (Age range was 22-80.) –Lymphocyte count increased, approaching significance for highly hypnotizable Ss who were young but not for poor hypnotizable Ss or for older Ss. A personality test administered before the hypnosis, the SLC-90, suggested that the higher the distress level, the lower the lymphocyte count before hypnosis training. Two scores that summed up the distress level correlated -.49 and -.53, respectively. The psychological distress measured by the personality test decreased after the week of self-hypnosis practice. Of the two scores that summed up distress, one decreased for everyone (General Severity Index) and the other decreased only for highly hypnotizable Ss (Positive Symptom Total). Thus, a week of self hypnosis with imagining one’s WBC’s eating up weak germs in the blood led to both an increase in immune response indicators and a decrease in psychological distress. Psychological distress decreased as lymphocytes increased.
Dr. Hall repeated these procedures with a small number of Ss who were told just to “lie down and rest” rather than being hypnotized and given instructions to imagine their WBC’s increasing. None of the above changes occurred. However, he cautions that his research doesn’t indicate whether the positive effects are due to relaxation, imagery, or hypnosis since all three were involved.
Handelsman, Mitchell M. (1984). Self-hypnosis as a facilitator of self-efficacy: A case example. Psychotherapy, 21 (4), 550-553.
This article presents the four-session treatment of Elaine, using self- hypnosis to facilitate the mourning process. It is argued that self-hypnosis– rather than enhancing imagery– increases self-efficacy, a person’s feeling that he/she can perform behaviors that lead to desired outcomes. Elaine’s sense of self-efficacy was increased by allowing her to choose scenes from her life to be explored in the context of the use of imagery. Elaine imagined events surrounding her father’s death, and “rewrote history” in an attempt to permit herself the direct expression of emotions.
Kearns, John S.; Zamansky, Harold S. (1984). Synthetic versus analytic imaging ability as correlates of hypnotizability. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 32, 41-50.
It was hypothesized that synthetic imaging ability, but not analytic imaging ability, is positively related to hypnotizability. The correlation of scores on a paired- associates task, used as a measure of synthetic imaging ability, with scores on the Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale, Form C (SHSS:C) of Weitzenhoffer and Hilgard (1962), indicated a statistically nonsignificant trend in the predicted direction. 2 measures of analytic imaging ability, as well as Sheehan’s (1967) revision of the Betts (1909) Questionnaire Upon Mental Imagery, a measure of vividness of imagery, did not correlate significantly with SHSS:C. The results are discussed in terms of their relation to studies of creativity and goal-directed fantasy.
NOTES
The authors review the literature on imagery and hypnotizability and propose that an important variable in hypnosis is an ability to expand imaginatively upon a given verbal input (synthetic imaging ability), akin to Spanos’ (1971) concept of goal-directed fantasy. They cite studies relating creativity (“essentially a synthetic process”) to hypnotizability, and predict that skill in solving spatial relations problems (analytic imaging ability) is not correlated with hypnotizability because it involves “accurately scanning visual images and converging on solutions to specific problems,” (p. 42) rather than creative fantasy characteristic of hypnotic behavior.
Forty Subjects had two sessions each: imagery tests in #1 and SHSS:C in #2. Imagery tests included, in this order: 1. Paired Associates (Paivio, 1972; a test of synthetic imaging), in which paired words are learned and later recalled; Experimental Ss were to learn them by combining them into an image, while Control Ss were to simply try to learn them. The nouns differed in imagery strength (potential for stimulating images). 2. Nonsense Forms (a test of analytic imaging), in which Subjects trace with their fingers an irregularly shaped Masonite form, blindfolded, and then choose one of 5 drawings that best matches the form. 3. Cube Visualization (a test of analytic imaging), in which Ss imagine a 2″ wooden cube painted red on all faces, that had been sawed into 1″ cubes; they are to say how many of the smaller cubes would be red on 3 faces, 2 faces, one face, and none of the faces. 4. Betts QMI.
The Paired Associates (PA) scores were a ratio of high imagery words recalled to low imagery words recalled, intended to reflect the impact of imagery availability on memory. There was a trend for hypnotizability to correlate with PA ratio scores, regardless of whether intermediate or low imagery nouns were used as baseline (rho = .37 and .34, p <.10) in the experimental group ("Use imagery to learn."), a trend that was not found in the control group (no imagery instructions). Neither measure of analytic imaging ability (Nonsense Forms, Cube test) correlated with hypnotizability.
In their Discussion, the authors write, "The common factor in successful performance of both imagery-mediated paired associates learning tasks and hypnotic suggestions appears to be the ability to expand imaginatively upon a given verbal input" (p. 47). They cite the literature relating hypnotizable and creative performance (p. 47). "The present findings with the Nonsense Forms Test and the Cube Visualization Test, both of which failed to correlate significantly with SHSS:C, support the hypothesis that hypnotizability is not related to analytic, spatial-imagining skills" (p. 47). "The nonsignificant correlation between Betts QMI and SHSS:C adds to the growing body of inconsistent findings observed with Betts QMI" (p. 47).
"Given the complex nature of hypnotic susceptibility and of imagery (Monteiro et al., 1980), it is perhaps not surprising that studies attempting to relate the two variables directly frequently yield only modest relationships. Very likely, the inclusion of appropriate mediating variables would serve to clarify and, in particular instances, augment the relationships observed between hypnotic responsiveness and imaging ability. One such variable may be the capacity to become fully involved in everyday nonhypnotic experiences, commonly called absorption. This variable has been shown in numerous studies to be related to hypnotizability (e.g. Tellegen & Atkinson, 1974), as well as to creativity and vividness of imagery (P. Bowers, 1978, 1979; Monteiro et al., 1980). Even more relevant to the present study is the possible interaction between level of hypnotic susceptibility and the relationship between synthetic imaging ability and SHSS:C scores. It may be, for example, that the contribution of synthetic imaging ability becomes more critical in eliciting hypnotic behavior from Ss who are only moderately susceptible to hypnosis. Such an analysis was not possible in the present experiment, since the number of high, medium, and low susceptible Ss was approximately equal, and, therefore, the number of Ss at each level was insufficient for an adequate subgroup analysis. Clearly, however, future studies of the role of imaginal skills in hypnotic responsivity must move in directions such as these" (p. 48).
Kelly, Paul James (1984, December). The relationship between hypnotic ability and hypnotic experience. Newsletter of Division 30, Psychological Hypnosis, of the American Psychological Association, 5.
This study investigated the relationship between four types of hypnotic experience and hypnotic ability. The types of experience were: dissociation, the experience of involuntariness; altered state effects, such as perceptual alterations and diminished reality sense; rapport, transference-like involvement with the hypnotist; and relaxation. A sample of 230 students was given the HGSHS:A, a group version of the SHSS:C, and the Hypnotic Experience Questionnaire (Kelly, 1984), a 47-item multidimensional scale of hypnotic experience. Items were taken from these tests to form 11 hypnotic ability variables (Positive Hallucinations, Dreams and Regressions, Post- Hypnotic Compulsions, Amnesia (HGSHS:A), Amnesia (SHSS:C), Arm Rigidity, Arm Immobilization, Other Motor Inhibitions, Head Falling, Moving Hands Together, and Hand Lowering). Fourteen hypnotic experience variables were also formed (Generalized Dissociative Effects, Dissociative Inhibition, Trance, Unawareness, Transference-like Involvement, Trust, Friendliness, Physical Relaxation, Mental Relaxation, Imagery Presence, Imagery Vividness, Imagery Detail, Self Consciousness, and Analytic Thoughts). The 25 variables were intercorrelated and factored with principal axis factoring. Five factors with eigenvalues greater than 1 were extracted and rotated to varimax criteria. These factors, which accounted for 54.4 percent of the variance, were called: Imaginative Involvement, Ideomotor Response, Rapport, Cognitive Inhibition, and Relaxation. Hypnotic ability variables loaded significantly on three of the factors (Imaginative Involvement, Ideomotor Response, and Cognitive Inhibition) and these three factors also tapped some aspect of altered state experience and/or dissociative experience. It was concluded therefore that dissociative experience and altered state experience are related to hypnotic ability. The remaining two factors, Rapport and Relaxation, showed significant loadings only for rapport variables and relaxation variables, respectively. Neither of these two factors were related to any of the traditional measures of hypnotic ability or to the experience of dissociative effects or altered state effects. The results of this study suggest that rapport and relaxation may happen in the hypnotic situation but neither experience is related to the condition of being hypnotized in any essential way. The hypnotic condition is characterized by dissociative experience, altered state experience, and by successful performance on hypnotic ability tasks. The results also raise questions about Edmonston's (1981) theory that relaxation is the essence of hypnotic responsiveness. The finding that the experience of relaxation is unrelated to hypnotic ability is more congruent with Hilgard's (1977) view that relaxation is a nonhypnotic process. NOTES 1:
NOTES
This is an abstract of an unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, University of Waterloo, 1984. It won the American Psychological Association Division 30 award for Best Student Paper at the 1984 APA Convention.
Kohen, D.; Olness, K.; Colwell, S.; Heimel, A. (1984). The use of relaxation-mental imagery (self-hypnosis) in the management of 505 pediatric behavioral encounters. Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, 5, 21-25.
This report assessed outcomes of hypnotherapeutic interventions for 505 children and adolescents seen by four pediatricians over a period of one year and followed from four months to two years. Presenting problems included enuresis, acute pain, chronic pain, asthma, habit disorders, obesity, encopresis, and anxiety. Using strict criteria for determination of problem resolution (e.g., all beds dry) and recognizing that some conditions were intrinsically chronic, the authors found that 51% of these children and adolescents achieved complete resolution of the presenting problem; an additional 32% achieved significant improvement, 9% showed initial or some improvement; and 7% demonstrated no apparent change or improvement. Children as young as three years of age effectively applied self-hypnosis techniques. In general, facility in self-hypnosis increased with age. There was an inverse correlation (p less than 0.001) between clinical success and number of visits, suggesting that prediction of responsivity is possible after four visits or less. NOTES 1:
NOTES
Discusses the treatment of 505 pediatric patients with a variety of problems(enuresis, pain, obesity, anxiety reactions, habit problems, encopresis, headache, fear of pelvic examinations).