A pseudomemory of having been awakened by some loud noises during a night of the previous week was suggested to 27 highly hypnotizable subjects during hypnosis. Posthypnotically, 13 of them stated that the suggested event had actually occurred. This finding has implications for the investigative use of hypnosis in a legal context.
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.
Twenty-three highly hypnotizable subjects underwent two specially constructed 7-item hypnotic inductions. Over the 14 items, the main finding was of a relationship between Hilgard's "hidden observer" effect and two aspects of hypnotic age regression. Subjects reporting a hidden observer experienced duality during regression to age 5, in which they were aware of being both adult and child. When asked to write a complex sentence, most did so, usually without spelling errors. The subjects not reporting this effect experienced quasi-literal age regression in which they had the exclusive feeling of being 5 years old, with no sense of an adult identity. Most of these subjects were unable to write the same complex sentence when requested to during age regression. The study replicated Hilgard's finding of the hidden observer phenomenon in terms of its incidence and obtained similar verbal reports from subjects experiencing it. At the same time, the results suggest that a neodissociation account of hypnosis may need some modifications to accommodate these additional empirical findings. The support of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Grant A6361 ("Cognitive Patterns in Hypnosis"), to the second author is acknowledged gratefully. We also wish to thank Elizabeth Chau for her careful typing of the manuscript during the phases of its preparation. Requests for reprints should be sent to Campbell
This article elucidates an integrative model of hypnosis that integrates social, cultural, cognitive, and neurophysiological variables at play both in and out of hypnosis and considers their dynamic interaction as determinants of the multifaceted experience of hypnosis. The roles of these variables are examined in the induction and suggestion stages of hypnosis, including how they are related to the experience of involuntariness, one of the hallmarks of hypnosis. It is suggested that studies of the modification of hypnotic suggestibility; cognitive flexibility; response sets and expectancies; the default-mode network; and the search for the neurophysiological correlates of hypnosis, more broadly, in conjunction with research on social psychological variables, hold much promise to further understanding of hypnosis.
We tested a hypothesis from parallel distributed processing theory that highly hypnotizable subjects have greater connection strengths along verbal pathways and would show greater Stroop effects than low hypnotizable subjects. Using Cheesman & Merikle's (1986) paradigm, which varied cue visibility and probability, we assessed automatic and strategic effects on Stroop performance. Compared with 9 low and 9 moderately hypnotizable subjects, 9 highly hypnotizable ones showed significantly greater Stroop effects for both visible- and degraded-word trials. No strategic differences emerged for the 3 hypnotizability groups. These findings support the contention that highly hypnotizable persons have stronger verbal connection strengths than their moderately and low susceptible counterparts, and they may account for highly hypnotizable persons' propensity to disregard personal attributions and label their responses in hypnosis as being involuntary.
We examine the evidence concerning what people believe about memory. We focus on beliefs regarding the permanence of memory and whether memory can be repressed and accurately recovered. We consider beliefs about memory among the undergraduate and general population, mental health professionals, judges, jurors, and law enforcement officers to provide a broad canvass that extends to the forensic arena, as well as to psychiatry, psychology, and allied disciplines. We discuss the implications of these beliefs for the education of the general public and mental health professionals regarding the science and pseudoscience of memory and the use of suggestive procedures in psychotherapy.
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