How to be a ‘good’ hypnotic subject!

Abstract

AbstractThis paper reviews a major debate within the field of hypnosis: the stability of hypnotic susceptibility. State theorists, who maintain that hypnosis is a special and unique process, believe that hypnotic responding is a stable and enduring trait (Hilgard, 1965). Non‐state theorists, who maintain that hypnosis involves psychological processes such as imaginative skills, motivation and expectancies, believe that hypnotic responding is a skill which can be acquired. Such theorists have shown that with cognitive skills training hypnotic susceptibility can be significantly enhanced (Gorassini & Spanos, 1986). However, attempts to replicate such findings in other laboratories have not always been successful (Bates, Miller, Cross & Brigham, 1988) and there has been much controversy concerning whether the training promotes ‘genuine’ changes in hypnotic responsiveness or whether it simply promotes behavioural compliance (Bates, 1990).The research reported here has shown a positive training effect and has employed a qualitative technique of inquiry (the Experiential Analysis Technique: Sheehan & McConkey, 1978) in order to examine the effects of hypnotic skills training upon the strategies and cognitive processes that are employed by hypnotic subjects. Preliminary analysis of this data indicates the existence of a wide variety of complex hypnotic experiences, which confirms the findings of Sheehan and McConkey (1982). The technique has certainly provided a unique and rich insight into the experience of hypnosis and a clearer idea about how such an experience can be enhanced. Copyright © 1996 British Society of Experimental and Clinical Hypnosis