Hypnotic dissociation (as indexed by the "hidden observer" method), duality in age regression, and the potential impact of situational cues on these phenomena were examined. A special attempt was made to examine the hidden observer effect in a nondirective fashion. Twelve high and 9 low susceptible subjects were tested in an application of the real-simulating paradigm of hypnosis; 10 highmedium susceptible subjects were employed also. Inquiry into subjects' experiences was conducted through the experiential analysis technique, which involves subjects viewing and commenting on a videotape playback of their hypnotic session. Results demonstrated that neither the hidden observer effect nor duality can be explained solely in terms of the demand characteristics of the test situation. The hidden observer effect was observed in high'Susceptible subjects only; all subjects who displayed the hidden observer effect also displayed duality in age regression. High susceptible subjects were distinctive in their reports of multiple levels of awareness during hypnosis. Findings are discussed in terms of the cognitive skills that subjects bring to hypnosis and the degree to which the hypnotic setting encourages the use of dissociative cognitive processes.
Visual recall memory of high (n = 24) and low (« = 24) hypnotizable subjects for black and white line drawings of common objects was tested repeatedly 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 subjects in the hypnosis condition were more likely than other subjects 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. Comment is made also on the implications for the applied use of hypnosis.From both theoretical (see Smith, 1983) and applied (see Orne, Soskis, & Dinges, 1984) perspectives, empirical clarification is needed regarding the extent to which hypnosis may enhance memory beyond that which occurs when hypnosis is not involved. Across the research that has been conducted on this issue, (for recent reviews, see Orne et al., 1984;Smith, 1983) findings generally indicate that hypnosis does not enhance memory for meaningless materials (e.g., Dhanens & Lundy, 1975; Salzburg & DePiano, 1980) but
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