Hypnosis C. Alexander Simpkins PhD Annellen M. Simpkins PhD What is Hypnosis?  People have been asking this question since the time of the Greeks  The only thing everyone agrees on is that one definition of hypnosis has not been agreed on  The phenomena of hypnosis are subject to many variables that influence how they are responded to and expressed.  But thanks to more methods of examining hypnosis, including imaging the brain, we are learning more all the time! Franz Anton Mesmer (1734-1815)  Viennese physician  Vital energy like magnetism that could be made to act on the human body.  It could be influenced by the practitioner to bring about cures of disease, both mental and physical  He came into conflict with the medical establishment because of his claims.  Today we are revisiting magnetism without mysticism through treatment of conditions by magnetism  This slowed the initial progress of experimentation James Braid (1795-1860)  One of earliest researchers who altered the course that Mesmer had initiated  Medical doctor who gave hypnosis the name  He believed Mesmer had made errors in how he conducted his experiments with patients  Used careful observation of individual subjects to demystify hypnosis and categorize its effects  For example, experiment with sharpening senses  Hypnotized person, blindfolded, could locate someone in crowd with sense of smell  Developed the theory of hypnosis as focused attention, still an important view Jean Martin Charcot (1835-1893)  Some consider him the founder of neurology as distinct discipline  Created the Salpetriere School of Hypnosis  Scientific approach  Used narrow subject pool: female patients with hysterical symptoms  Defined hypnosis as hysteria  But did reveal a link between mental states and exhibited symptoms  Also gained acceptance by scientific community  Freud studied with Charcot and translated his writings Charcot Examining a Brain The Nancy School  Liebeault (1823-1904)  Provided free medical hypnosis to thousands of people suffering from physical and mental conditions  Bernheim (1840-1919)  Studied with Liebeault and developed the view that hypnosis is suggestion  Suggestion is influence exerted by a suggested idea on the mind i.e. the ability to respond to an idea  Freud studied with Liebeault and Bernheim and translated Bernheim’s book, Hypnosis and Suggestion in Psychotherapy Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936)  Russian physiologist  Studied hypnosis extensively  Believed in the power of the word as a signal to bring about a response  Hypnosis became foundational in Russian psychology  He did careful neurological measurements  Defined hypnosis as scattered sleep: excitation and inhibition First International Statistics of Susceptbility  Largest hypnosis study performed in 1892  8705 subjects  15 countries  Each kept track of success in inductions  Measuring many aspects of susceptibility 1892 Study Findings  Susceptibility Findings: 75% susceptible  25% Deep, 50%Moderate 25% Mildly       No differences among different races or countries No sex differences Children more susceptible More intelligent more susceptible More imaginative more susceptible This research dispelled myth that hypnosis is for the weak-minded  By 1888 there were more than 1172 books written on hypnosis and hundreds of studies Other Important Labs  Clark Hull (1884-1952)  Lab at Yale  Research applied John Stuart Mill’s method of difference comparing hypnotized and nonhypnotized  Tested hypnotic phenomena  Used normal subjects  Adapted the technology of his day inventively for experiments  Measuring postural sway from suggestion with a simple sensor connected to the shoulder that reacted to movement and record it on paper Stanford Lab  Ernest Hilgard (1904-2001) and Josephine Hilgard  Researched using college students  Did careful, scientific work  Extensive work on many hypnotic phenomena  Found pain responses were there but subjects didn’t feel pain  Developed Stanford Susceptibility Scale  Did much to promote respect for hypnosis  Firmly believed that through the study of hypnosis we could come to better understand such cognitive processes as attention, memory, learning, etc Ernest & Josephine Hilgard Milton H. Erickson (1904-1980)  Dedicated to hypnosis his whole life  Known for his clinical work but also a skilled researcher  Developed naturalistic methods to study hypnosis unobtrusively as well as studying it in the lab  Early fruit study  Concluded hypnosis takes place in the mind of the subject and the less the hypnotist interferes, the stronger the effects  Developed the indirect method of hypnosis Milton H. Erickson MD Theories of Hypnosis  Many theories  Each has some merit  Think of them as models that can be useful  Only problem when a theory is a “nothing but” theory  House analogy Theories of Hypnosis  Fixation of Attention  On one idea with monotony  Partial Sleep  Scattered inhibition and excitation  Suggestibility  Response to the idea  Ideodynamic processes  Neo-Dissociation  Reduction of executive control by consciousness  Social-Role Theory  Role playing  Expectancies  Altered State of Consciousness  Trance or alteration of consciousness  Unconscious functioning  Literalness because not thinking about them--just thinking them Experimental Hypnosis  To capture it well, must respect the phenomena being studied  Research needs to use the same procedures for all subjects  As a result, may be using crude procedures  People respond differently  Fails to take enough time to induce a good trance  People vary  May not distinguish between induction and utilization Clinical Hypnosis  Distinguishes induction and utilization  Take time to learn how to go into trance  Then use it for change  Direct vs Indirect  Pain relief  Vast research on applications for purposes  Obstetrics, anxiety, pain control, depression, fears, habit control, moods to name a few Research Project to Test Indirect  Compared Hypnosis using Ericksonian Therapy (ET) & Brief Dynamic Therapy (BDT)  Simpkins & Simpkins, 2008  Comparison study of two very different approaches to brief therapy  ET: no direct discussion of problem  BDT: Discussion and analysis of problem Research Continued  2 Groups: ET & BDT  4 Tests: for 4 dimensions     1-CPSAS - Social/interpersonal 2-HSCL- Internal/experiential 3-TC - Target complaint 4-GI - Global improvement  Results  Both methods equally effective for changing the target complaint Implications of Results  Not always necessary to address a problem directly in order to resolve it  Indirect hypnosis activate inner processes for specific as well as nonspecific changes Clinical Hypnosis involves Relationship  Although takes place in the mind of the subject, it is best activated through a trusting relationship  Don’t usually follow advice from someone you mistrust  In self-hypnosis, learn to trust one’s own inner self  When people have problems, sometimes mistrust self  sometimes for good reason  Learn through self-hypnosis to know when to trust and how to develop inner capacities Learning to Experience Hypnosis  Open attitude  Curiosity  Allowing responsiveness  May be subtle  Like flickers between boxcars of a passing train  Utilizing the natural abilities you have and building on them  Relax and enjoy!