Transcript Myers Module Nine

Hypnosis
Is Hypnosis an Altered State of Consciousness?
The Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale has factors like
postural sway; people who respond to suggestions without
hypnosis respond the same when hypnotized. Kirsch &
Braffman, 2001(mp110,c109).
Hypnotically refreshed memories combine fact with fiction.
(Loftus, 1980).
Hypnosis does not seem able to force people to act against
their wills; (Orne & Evans, 1965)
Posthypnotic suggestion can however, alleviate pain. (Kirsch,
1996).
Drug, alcohol and nicotine addiction do not respond to
hypnosis. (Nash, 2001,mp111,cp110).
Hypnosis inhibits pain-related brain activity. In surgical
experiments, h-patients required less medication, recovered
sooner, and left hospital earlier than non-h-patients. (Askay &
Patterson, 2007 (mp112,cp110).
Hypnosis
Social influence theory of hypnosis. (Spanos & Coe,
1992,mp112,cp111).
Milgram, 1974: An authoritative person in a legitimate context
can induce people--hypnotized or not--to perform some unlikely
acts.
Hypnosis is more likely to be an extreme form of dissociation--a
split between different levels of consciousness. See Fig.
9.1mp113,c3.19p112).
Hypnosis is another example of selective attention.
PET scans show that hypnosis reduces brain activity in a region
that processes painful stimuli, but not in the sensory cortex,
which recieves raw input. (Rainville et al. 1997,mp113,cp112).