Ansel, Edward Leslie (1977). A simple exercise to enhance response to hypnotherapy for migraine headache. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 25 (2), 68-71.
A common method of hypnotherapy for migraine headache utilizes suggestions of warmth for the hands and coldness for the head. This procedure reverses the abnormal pattern of vasodilation and excess supply of blood in the head and decreased supply in the extremities associated with this type of headache, threby relieving the pain. A simple exercise, utilizing centrifugal force to dramatically increase blood flow to the hands, is described. It promotes relief in itself and provides a vivid background experience to enhance productino of this effect in hypnosis. It appears to be especially useful in patients exhibiting lesser degrees of trance capacity.
1976
Dugan, Michelle; Sheridan, Charles (1976). Effects of instructed imagery on temperature of hands. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 42, 14.
NOTES
Sixteen college student volunteers were involved in the research. Subjects were randomly assigned to two groups, either to warm or to cool their hands. All 10 subjects attempting to cool their hands were able to cool at least one hand, and six people cooled both hands. For those trying to warm their hands, five warmed at least one hand and one was able to warm both hands. Four people were able to cool their hands without hypnosis, conditioning, or feedback.
Jackson, T. L.; Barkley, R. A.; Pashko, S. M. (1976). The effects of hypnotic induction versus high motivation on oral temperature. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 24, 22-28.
The hypothesis that changes in oral temperature are associated with neutral hypnotic induction was investigated using neutral hypnosis and a high motivation condition as controls. 33 Ss were assigned to 3 experimental conditions: (1) neutral hypnotic induction, (2) high motivation control, and (3) no treatment control. Ss in all 3 conditions received pre- and post-treatment oral temperature measurements after a 20-minute temperature stabilization showed a significantly greater increase in oral temperature as compared to Ss in both the high motivation and no treatment control conditions. Ss in the latter 2 conditions did not differ from each other in this regard. The methodological considerations of future research in this area are also discussed.
1973
Roberts, Alan H.; Kewman, Donald G.; Macdonald, Hugh (1973). Voluntary control of skin temperature: Unilateral changes using hypnosis and feedback. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 82 (1), 163-168.
To demonstrate the ability of human Ss to achieve control over specific autonomic functions, hypnosis and auditory feedback were used to train a select group of hypnotically talented subjects to produce a difference in skin temperature in one hand relative to the other in a direction specified by the experimenter. Large and reliable effects were shown demonstrating that some individuals are capable of achieving a high degree of voluntary control over the autonomic processes involved in peripheral skin temperature regulation. Individual differences between subjects were noted, and variables that might account for these are discussed.
1969
Timney, Brian N.; Barber, Theodore X. (1969). Hypnotic induction and oral temperature. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 17, 121-132.
Measured oral temperature in 19 Ss under hypnotic and control conditions. Confirming a study by A. F. Reid and G. Curtsinger (see 42:10), the hypnotic induction procedure gave rise to a significant increase in oral temperature (p < .01). This significant rise was due to the data of 10 of the 19 Ss, 6 did no change and 3 dropped in temperature. The temperature change was not related to Ss'' responsiveness to suggestions or to their testimony that they were or were not hypnotized. Although good and poor hypnotic Ss manifested the same degree of temperature rise, there was a tendency for those who had the least previous hypnotic experience to show the greatest rise. Data suggest a hypothesis for further research: oral temperature rises during hypnotic induction to the extent that Ss perceive the hypnotic situation apprehensively, i.e., as mysterious or foreboding. (Spanish & German summaries) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2002 APA, all rights reserved) 1968 Reid, Allen F.; Curtsinger, George (1968). Physiological changes associated with hypnosis: The effect of hypnosis on temperature. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 16, 111-119. STUDIED THE PHYSIOLOGICAL EFFECT ON TEMPERATURE OF HYPNOSIS. UNDER NEUTRAL HYPNOSIS, 20 SS EXPERIENCED AN INCREASE OF ORAL TEMPERATURE AVERAGING .6DEGREES F, WHICH SUBSIDED AFTER TERMINATION OF THE TRANCE. WHEN SKIN TEMPERATURE ON THE FOREHEAD, CHEST, AND HAND WERE MEASURED ON 4 SS, THERE WAS AN EVEN MORE PRONOUNCED INCREASE; MEASUREMENTS ON THE VOLAR SURFACE OF THE FOOT WERE EQUIVOCAL. CONTROL ORAL TEMPERATURE MEASUREMENTS USING RELAXATION WITHOUT HYPNOSIS SHOWED NO SIGNIFICANT INCREASE. IT IS CONCLUDED THAT NEUTRAL HYPNOSIS IS GENERALLY ACCOMPANIED BY AN INCREASE IN ORAL AND SKIN TEMPERATURE. (GERMAN + SPANISH SUMMARIES) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2002 APA, all rights reserved) 1954 Kline, Milton V.; Guze, Henry (1954). The alteration of oral temperature through hypnotic techniques: I. Pilot experimentation. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 2 (3), 233-237. NOTES 1: The authors used a variety of hypnotic techniques to attempt to modify the oral temperature of a normal 30 year old male who was capable of both positive and negative hypnotic hallucinations and of reaching a somnambulistic level with spontaneous, complete, post-hypnotic amnesia. Techniques included direct suggestions (general for temperature rising as when ill, and specific, i.e. his oral area was getting hot), time regression to when he had experienced a fever, age regression to age 10 when he had a high fever, direct suggestion of temperature drop, and positive hallucination of extreme elevation in a plane. A waking simulation control was run for each condition. Although the subject appeared uncomfortable and showed behavioral changes, the mean oral temperatures did not differ from the baseline mean significantly for either hypnosis or simulation conditions, except for the hallucinated experience of flying in a plane at an altitude of 100,000 feet. That condition lowered the temperature an average of 3 degrees Fahrenheit. In that experimental condition there was no mention of temperature alteration per se, "thus indirect mechanism rather than direct mechanism appears to be more effective in the hypnotic control of temperature" (p. 237). TERMINAL ILLNESS-DEATH 1999 Harper, Gary W. (1999). A developmentally sensitive approach to clinical hypnosis for chronically and terminally ill adolescents. American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, 42 (1), 50-60 Adolescents who suffer from terminal and/or chronic medical illnesses must face difficult developmental issues coupled with increased burdens of physical discomfort and uncertainty about survival. Clinical hypnosis is one technique that can be used to help these individuals gain a sense of comfort and control over their lives. I describe the use of a developmentally sensitive hypnotherapeutic intervention for chronically and terminally ill adolescents. I have used the technique for the reduction of various types of physical and psychological discomfort secondary to a range of medical problems such as cancer, end-stage renal disease, organ transplant, and HIV disease. The treatment focuses on the use of personalized procedures that attempt to increase perceptions of control through interactive formats. Movement through a personally intriguing journey is used as a metaphor for controlling and moving away from discomfort. I also present three case examples as well as general treatment recommendations for clinical use. 1994 Alden, P. A. (1994, October). Hypnotic approaches in pain control with terminally-ill patients. [Paper] Presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, San Francisco. NOTES ( These notes do not cover the entire presentation, which was based on clinical practice experience.) One conclusion reached was that J. Barber's Rapid Induction Analgesia (RIA) is more immediately effective than a direct approach to induction, but that a direct approach improves with time. RIA seems to work better for low hypnotizables. Next she plans to study whether patients would benefit from being given a tape of RIA routinely as an adjunct to pain control. 1992 Morse, Donald R.; Martin, John; Moshonov, Joshua (1992). Stress induced sudden cardiac death: Can it be prevented?. Stress Medicine, 8, 35-46. Previously, psychosomatically induced death relative to stress, hypnosis, mind control, and voodoo was discussed. In this article, emphasis is on one aspect of that - stress induced sudden cardiac death (SCD). A brief review is presented of the sympathetic aspects of the acute stress response and stress induced SCD. Findings from previous studies are presented to highlight sympathetic aspects of the acute stress response. This is followed by a presentation of various strategies to prevent of decrease the possibilities for stress induced SCD. These include long-term measures (e.g. diet control, smoking control, hypertension control, stress management strategies) and immediate measures (e.g. calm, controlled approach, elicitation of the relaxation response, selected use of drugs, and heart rate variability monitoring). Relative to prevention strategies, findings are presented both from previous studies and new investigations. Spira, James L.; Spiegel, David (1992). Hypnosis and related techniques in pain management. Hospice Journal, 8, 89-119. Hypnosis has been used successfully in treating cancer patients at all stages of disease and for degrees of pain. The experience of pain is influenced not only by physiological factors stemming from disease progression and oncological treatment, but also from psychosocial factors including social support and mood. Each of these influences must be considered in the successful treatment of pain. The successful use of hypnosis also depends upon the hypnotizability of patients, their particular cognitive style, their specific motivation, and level of cognitive functioning. While most patients can benefit from the use of hypnosis, less hypnotizable patients or patients with low cognitive functioning need to receive special consideration. The exercises described in this chapter can be successfully used in groups, individual sessions, and for hospice patients confined to bed. Both self-hypnosis and therapist guided hypnosis exercises are offered. Vijselaar Joost; Van der Hart, Onno (1992). The first report of hypnotic treatment of traumatic grief: A brief communication. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 40 (1), 1-6. In 1813 the Dutch physicians Wolthers, Hendriksz, De Waal, and Bakker reported the hypnotic treatment of a woman suffering from traumatic grief, in which the therapist had to deal directly with the patient's spontaneous reenactments of the circumstances surrounding the death. This report, summarized in the present article, has historical value, as it is probably the first known precursor of the uncovering hypnotic approach. The original authors' views on the case are discussed, and a modern view for understanding the patient's traumatic grief and its treatment is presented. 1991 Morse, Donald R.; Martin, John; Moshonov, Joshua (1991). Psychosomatically induced death: Relative to stress, hypnosis, mind control, and voodoo: Review and possible mechanisms. Stress Medicine, 7, 213-232. A common denominator in psychosomatically induced death is stress. Death can occur slowly, as from the preponderance of chronic stressor, or it can come on suddenly, as from an acute stressor. Sudden death is more likely in an individual with preexistent serious medical conditions, which were outlined. Seven types of individuals more prone to sudden death were outlined. Most cases of sudden death are related to the presence of a severely stressful situation in which there appears to be no means of control or escape. With mind control, hypnosis, and voodoo curses, circumstances can be manipulated to achieve severe stress and uncontrollability. 1988 Van Der Hart, O. (1988). An imaginary leave-taking ritual in mourning therapy. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 36 (2), 63-69. One form of mourning therapy is the therapeutic leave-taking ritual, the essence of which is that by parting with symbols connected with the deceased, patients take their leave of the deceased and can start a new life of their own. In the case described in the present paper, the patient performed such a ritual in her imagination while under hypnosis. Her extreme grief response is explained in terms of Janet's theory of emotions. It is emphasized that successfully performing the ritual necessarily involved a change in attitude towards the deceased, and it is argued that the specific characteristics of hypnosis--involuntariness and effortlessness--add an extra dimension to guided imagery approaches to unresolved mourning. 1985 Levitan, Alexander A. (1985). Hypnotic death rehearsal. American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, 27 (4), 211-215. Death rehearsal is a technique developed to help terminally ill patients and their families deal with anxieties about death. It has proven useful in demystifying the dying process by answering the question "What is it like to die?" Patients, who are able to hypnotically experience the death process, learn to deal with both grief and anxiety with the help of the hypnotherapist. - Author's abstract Stumpfe, Von Klaus-Dietrich (1985). Psychosomatic reactions of near-death experiences. A state of affective dissociation. Zeitschrift fur Psychosomatische Medizin, 31, 215-225. The feelings of persons who had encountered life-threatening danger were analyzed and compared with the feelings of persons, who are in hypnoses or trained in autogenic training. The symptoms are widely alike. The result of the comparison is, that there exists a state of affective dissociation, which can be caused by conscious or unconscious actions. 1984 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. 1977 Mystical states by-pass usual sensory perception and logical thinking. They often represent the ultimate goal of long apprenticeships in Eastern or Western monastic practices which stress self-discipline and meditation; or they correlate with sudden religious conversions. While interest has also been revived in mystical experiences stimulated by hallucinogens within the appropriate physical, intellectual, and emotional environment, less attention has been paid to those mystical experiences which appear spontaneously during hypnosis and Transcendental Meditation. The present author facilitates the unleashing of mystical experiences by using hypnotic approaches specifically aimed at altering space and time perceptions. Case presentations illustrate the methodologies for guiding receptive subjects to mystical states with the aim of relieving or correcting organic and functional painful syndromes unresponsive to other interventions. The probable biopsychological processes are discussed. 1976 Gardner, G. G. (1976). Childhood, death, and human dignity: Hypnotherapy for David. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 24, 122-139. Hypnotherapy can be a significant part of the treatment of a dying child. A detailed clinical report illustrates how hypnotherapy was integrated with other treatment modalities to help a terminally ill child and his family cope effectively with problems and enhance their ability to use their own resources for personal growth and mastery throughout the dying process. 1962 Crasilneck, Harold B.; Hall, James A. (1962). The use of hypnosis with unconscious patients. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 10 (3), 141-144. 8 of 10 patients dying of cancer were found to continue a simple motor response to a hypnotic command, even though they revealed no other evidence of interaction with the environment and were considered unconscious by their physicians. Certain theoretical considerations are mentioned. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2002 APA, all rights reserved) 1956 Stokvis, B. (1956). The appliction of hypnosis in organic diseases. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 4 (2), 79-82. NOTES 1: "SUMMARY. Hypnotherapy, applied as a symptomatic treatment, is especially indicted in those cases of organic diseases in which the patient has neurotically elaborated his physical suffering. In cases presenting neither etiological nor secondary psychic factors one may try to improve the patient's condition by hypnotic treatment. Description of a case (hypnotherapy in a woman with carcinoma mammae)[sic]. The writer's lack of appreciation of hypnotherapy in organic diseases does not include the treatment of diseases which are definitely psychosomatically determined" (pp. 81-82). 1955 Schneck, Jerome M. (1955). Hypnosis-death and hypnosis-rebirth concepts in relation to hypnosis theory. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 3 (1), 40-43. The author presents a few case notes in support of his proposition that hypnosis is symbolically conncected with ideas of death and rebirth in some patients. The final sentence of this article reads, "The unconscious identification of the hypnotic state with processes relating to death and rebirth may be involved far more frequently than realized with widespread belief regarding alleged remarkable beneficial effects of the hypnotic state and procedure which incorporates simple, authoritative suggestion" (pp. 42-43). TERMINAL ILLNESS-DEATH 1999 Harper, Gary W. (1999). A developmentally sensitive approach to clinical hypnosis for chronically and terminally ill adolescents. American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, 42 (1), 50-60 Adolescents who suffer from terminal and/or chronic medical illnesses must face difficult developmental issues coupled with increased burdens of physical discomfort and uncertainty about survival. Clinical hypnosis is one technique that can be used to help these individuals gain a sense of comfort and control over their lives. I describe the use of a developmentally sensitive hypnotherapeutic intervention for chronically and terminally ill adolescents. I have used the technique for the reduction of various types of physical and psychological discomfort secondary to a range of medical problems such as cancer, end-stage renal disease, organ transplant, and HIV disease. The treatment focuses on the use of personalized procedures that attempt to increase perceptions of control through interactive formats. Movement through a personally intriguing journey is used as a metaphor for controlling and moving away from discomfort. I also present three case examples as well as general treatment recommendations for clinical use. 1994 Alden, P. A. (1994, October). Hypnotic approaches in pain control with terminally-ill patients. [Paper] Presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, San Francisco. NOTES ( These notes do not cover the entire presentation, which was based on clinical practice experience.) One conclusion reached was that J. Barber's Rapid Induction Analgesia (RIA) is more immediately effective than a direct approach to induction, but that a direct approach improves with time. RIA seems to work better for low hypnotizables. Next she plans to study whether patients would benefit from being given a tape of RIA routinely as an adjunct to pain control. 1992 Morse, Donald R.; Martin, John; Moshonov, Joshua (1992). Stress induced sudden cardiac death: Can it be prevented?. Stress Medicine, 8, 35-46. Previously, psychosomatically induced death relative to stress, hypnosis, mind control, and voodoo was discussed. In this article, emphasis is on one aspect of that - stress induced sudden cardiac death (SCD). A brief review is presented of the sympathetic aspects of the acute stress response and stress induced SCD. Findings from previous studies are presented to highlight sympathetic aspects of the acute stress response. This is followed by a presentation of various strategies to prevent of decrease the possibilities for stress induced SCD. These include long-term measures (e.g. diet control, smoking control, hypertension control, stress management strategies) and immediate measures (e.g. calm, controlled approach, elicitation of the relaxation response, selected use of drugs, and heart rate variability monitoring). Relative to prevention strategies, findings are presented both from previous studies and new investigations. Spira, James L.; Spiegel, David (1992). Hypnosis and related techniques in pain management. Hospice Journal, 8, 89-119. Hypnosis has been used successfully in treating cancer patients at all stages of disease and for degrees of pain. The experience of pain is influenced not only by physiological factors stemming from disease progression and oncological treatment, but also from psychosocial factors including social support and mood. Each of these influences must be considered in the successful treatment of pain. The successful use of hypnosis also depends upon the hypnotizability of patients, their particular cognitive style, their specific motivation, and level of cognitive functioning. While most patients can benefit from the use of hypnosis, less hypnotizable patients or patients with low cognitive functioning need to receive special consideration. The exercises described in this chapter can be successfully used in groups, individual sessions, and for hospice patients confined to bed. Both self-hypnosis and therapist guided hypnosis exercises are offered. Vijselaar Joost; Van der Hart, Onno (1992). The first report of hypnotic treatment of traumatic grief: A brief communication. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 40 (1), 1-6. In 1813 the Dutch physicians Wolthers, Hendriksz, De Waal, and Bakker reported the hypnotic treatment of a woman suffering from traumatic grief, in which the therapist had to deal directly with the patient's spontaneous reenactments of the circumstances surrounding the death. This report, summarized in the present article, has historical value, as it is probably the first known precursor of the uncovering hypnotic approach. The original authors' views on the case are discussed, and a modern view for understanding the patient's traumatic grief and its treatment is presented. 1991 Morse, Donald R.; Martin, John; Moshonov, Joshua (1991). Psychosomatically induced death: Relative to stress, hypnosis, mind control, and voodoo: Review and possible mechanisms. Stress Medicine, 7, 213-232. A common denominator in psychosomatically induced death is stress. Death can occur slowly, as from the preponderance of chronic stressor, or it can come on suddenly, as from an acute stressor. Sudden death is more likely in an individual with preexistent serious medical conditions, which were outlined. Seven types of individuals more prone to sudden death were outlined. Most cases of sudden death are related to the presence of a severely stressful situation in which there appears to be no means of control or escape. With mind control, hypnosis, and voodoo curses, circumstances can be manipulated to achieve severe stress and uncontrollability. 1988 Van Der Hart, O. (1988). An imaginary leave-taking ritual in mourning therapy. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 36 (2), 63-69. One form of mourning therapy is the therapeutic leave-taking ritual, the essence of which is that by parting with symbols connected with the deceased, patients take their leave of the deceased and can start a new life of their own. In the case described in the present paper, the patient performed such a ritual in her imagination while under hypnosis. Her extreme grief response is explained in terms of Janet's theory of emotions. It is emphasized that successfully performing the ritual necessarily involved a change in attitude towards the deceased, and it is argued that the specific characteristics of hypnosis--involuntariness and effortlessness--add an extra dimension to guided imagery approaches to unresolved mourning. 1985 Levitan, Alexander A. (1985). Hypnotic death rehearsal. American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, 27 (4), 211-215. Death rehearsal is a technique developed to help terminally ill patients and their families deal with anxieties about death. It has proven useful in demystifying the dying process by answering the question "What is it like to die?" Patients, who are able to hypnotically experience the death process, learn to deal with both grief and anxiety with the help of the hypnotherapist. - Author's abstract Stumpfe, Von Klaus-Dietrich (1985). Psychosomatic reactions of near-death experiences. A state of affective dissociation. Zeitschrift fur Psychosomatische Medizin, 31, 215-225. The feelings of persons who had encountered life-threatening danger were analyzed and compared with the feelings of persons, who are in hypnoses or trained in autogenic training. The symptoms are widely alike. The result of the comparison is, that there exists a state of affective dissociation, which can be caused by conscious or unconscious actions. 1984 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. 1977 Mystical states by-pass usual sensory perception and logical thinking. They often represent the ultimate goal of long apprenticeships in Eastern or Western monastic practices which stress self-discipline and meditation; or they correlate with sudden religious conversions. While interest has also been revived in mystical experiences stimulated by hallucinogens within the appropriate physical, intellectual, and emotional environment, less attention has been paid to those mystical experiences which appear spontaneously during hypnosis and Transcendental Meditation. The present author facilitates the unleashing of mystical experiences by using hypnotic approaches specifically aimed at altering space and time perceptions. Case presentations illustrate the methodologies for guiding receptive subjects to mystical states with the aim of relieving or correcting organic and functional painful syndromes unresponsive to other interventions. The probable biopsychological processes are discussed. 1976 Gardner, G. G. (1976). Childhood, death, and human dignity: Hypnotherapy for David. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 24, 122-139. Hypnotherapy can be a significant part of the treatment of a dying child. A detailed clinical report illustrates how hypnotherapy was integrated with other treatment modalities to help a terminally ill child and his family cope effectively with problems and enhance their ability to use their own resources for personal growth and mastery throughout the dying process. 1962 Crasilneck, Harold B.; Hall, James A. (1962). The use of hypnosis with unconscious patients. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 10 (3), 141-144. 8 of 10 patients dying of cancer were found to continue a simple motor response to a hypnotic command, even though they revealed no other evidence of interaction with the environment and were considered unconscious by their physicians. Certain theoretical considerations are mentioned. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2002 APA, all rights reserved) 1956 Stokvis, B. (1956). The appliction of hypnosis in organic diseases. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 4 (2), 79-82. NOTES 1: "SUMMARY. Hypnotherapy, applied as a symptomatic treatment, is especially indicted in those cases of organic diseases in which the patient has neurotically elaborated his physical suffering. In cases presenting neither etiological nor secondary psychic factors one may try to improve the patient's condition by hypnotic treatment. Description of a case (hypnotherapy in a woman with carcinoma mammae)[sic]. The writer's lack of appreciation of hypnotherapy in organic diseases does not include the treatment of diseases which are definitely psychosomatically determined" (pp. 81-82). 1955 Schneck, Jerome M. (1955). Hypnosis-death and hypnosis-rebirth concepts in relation to hypnosis theory. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 3 (1), 40-43. The author presents a few case notes in support of his proposition that hypnosis is symbolically conncected with ideas of death and rebirth in some patients. The final sentence of this article reads, "The unconscious identification of the hypnotic state with processes relating to death and rebirth may be involved far more frequently than realized with widespread belief regarding alleged remarkable beneficial effects of the hypnotic state and procedure which incorporates simple, authoritative suggestion" (pp. 42-43). TEST- SCALE 1994 Grant, Carolyn (1994). The Computer-Assisted Hypnosis Scale: Standardization and norming of a computer-administered measure of hypnotic ability (Dissertation). Dissertation Abstracts International, 54 (10/B), 5387. "In a counterbalanced, within-subjects, repeated measures design, 130 subjects were administered both the Computerized Assisted Hypnosis Scale (CAHS) and the Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale, Form C (Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale: C). For each hypnotic procedure responsiveness was assessed along three dimensions: behavioral (CAHS, Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale: C), subjective depth (Field Depth Inventory), and relational involvement (Archaic Involvement Measure). Subjects also completed a Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale: C self scoring measure and the Tellegen Absorption Scale. The CAHS was shown to be a psychometrically sound instrument for measuring hypnotic ability. The various dimensions of CAHS hypnotic responsiveness were highly positively related, and the CAHS compared favorably with the Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale: C across the three dimensions assessed. Results are discussed in terms of the theory and practice of clinical assessment, noting directions for future research" (p. 5387). 1993 Balthazard, Claude G. (1993). The hypnosis scales at their centenary: Some fundamental issues still unresolved. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 41, 47-73. Current approaches to the measurement of hypnotic performance can be traced back to the 19th century. In part because of these early origins and in part because of the nature of hypnotic phenomena, the hypnosis scales are unique psychometric instruments. The classic hypnosis scales are based on the notion of a "performance ladder"; items are scored on a pass/fail basis and can be arranged in incrasing order of difficulty. Some of the implications on [sic]this "performance ladder" approach are reviewed. The evidence for two-mechanism models of hypnotic performance is reviewed. It is argued that this kind of formulation is at least as plausible as one that argues that the hypnosis scales measure "one thing" or "mostly one thing." If it were the case that the hypnosis scales were tapping two different and distinct processes, the label "hypnotic susceptibility" could not be unambiguously applied to scores on the hypnosis scales. The hypnosis scales would appear well-suited to the investigation of underlying mechanisms, yet no consistent picture of the mechanisms underlying hypnotic performance on the scales has emerged thus far. No resolution is presented, but some of the reasons why such a resolution is so elusive are discussed. The future of hypnosis scales is discussed with respect to multidimensional assessment and alternatives to the "work sample" approach. NOTES Author discusses the hypnotizability scales' history and psychometric properties, suggesting that they cannot have construct validity if more than one construct is involved. He states that many of the alternative formulations "posit structurally similar two- mechanisms models, where the relative contributions of one and the other mechanism changes gradually with the difficulty of the hypnotic performance--that is, one mechanism is more important for easy items and the other more important in the difficult range. This kind of formulation has been advanced by a number of authors ..... Although these formulations are structurally similar, the nature of the mechanisms has been variously conceptualized: nonability and ability components (Shor, Orne & O'Connell, 1962), primary suggestibility and somnambulism (Weitzenhoffer, 1962), minor and major dissociations (Hilgard, 1977), compliance and true hypnosis (Tellegen, 1978-1979), and cooperativeness and expectation at one end and absorption at the other (Spanos, Mah, Pawlak, D'Eon, & Ritchie, 1980). ... In a formulation such as Hilgard's (1977), where both mechanisms are dissociative, it may be that it makes some sense to understand both mechanisms as aspects of the same complex construct. In other formulations... it would appear more cogent to speak of two constructs. Spanos et al. (1980) found that 'cooperativeness and expectation may be particularly important in responding to ideomotor and challenge suggestions, while the ability to convincingly treat imaginings as real (i.e., absorption) becomes increasingly important for more difficult 'cognitive' items" (p. 21). Balthazard & Woody (1992) presented evidence that the more difficult items on hypnotizability scales are related to absorption more than the easier items. Balthazard & Woody (1989) investigated the proposition that hypnotizability scores are distributed bimodally, and concluded that statistical problems clouded the issue. Furthermore, most analyses previously have been of surface structure, which does not relate directly to the underlying mechanisms of hypnosis, and current psychometric methods cannot address the mechanisms that underlie surface relations. "There are two aspects of hypnotic processes ... that obscure underlying mechanism: synergisms and overdetermination. Synergisms occur when mechanisms potentiate each other in such a way that a combination of processes becomes more than the sum of its parts. Overdetermination occurs when co-occurring mechanisms do not potentiate each other, such that any one of the mechanisms would have been sufficient to produce the observed effect" (p. 63-64). The author suggests there are two options at present: Corrective Scoring (like the Curss.OI, an objective-involuntary score which, although unreliable on test-retest, appears it could be more a measure of "pure" hypnotizability) and not using the typical "work sample" approach. Balthazard and Woody (1992) suggested the Absorption Scale may provide a better measure of "hypnotizability" than the standard hypnosis scales because absorption scores are more strongly related to difficult hypnotic performances.