Developmental psychology.pdf

168 Modes of Awareness
Figure 6.19
Hypnotic Condition. The behavior of
this man, sitting on the floor and
shouting, is a demonstration of age
regression in hypnosis.
The condition of hypnosis is best defined in terms of the traditional induction
procedure, to which the subject willingly submits, and in terms of its outcomes. In the
induction procedure, the subject is first told what to expect, and then there is the suggestion
of drowsiness, relaxation, and an altered state of awareness. At this point any
number of additional techniques can be employed, such as asking the person to concentrate
on something in a methodical way—an object, a thought, or the hypnotist's
words. As the person yields control, certain characteristic reactions occur. These include
analgesia, which is insensitivity to painful stimuli; amnesia, which is loss of memory;
and age regression, in which the subject behaves as he or she did at an earlier
stage in life.
In several respects, a comparison with meditation is useful. Both altered states
are brought about by a narrowing of attention, and the object of attention can be much
the same. Furthermore, set or expectation is involved in both cases. Persons who do
not wish to meditate, or to be hypnotized, cannot be made to do so. Those who are
most receptive experience the most positive outcomes. Both processes, although far
from being fully understood, can be said to be significantly under the individual's control.
Views of the Hypnotic Process How does the individual achieve the hypnotic
state? Here there are two dominant views, one of which emphasizes suggestibility and
the other a dissociative reaction.
From the suggestibility viewpoint, hypnosis is almost exclusively the result of
expectation and motivation. These factors, collectively called set, can produce many
of the behaviors attributed to the hypnotic trance, including analgesia, amnesia, and
even age regression (Barber, 1969; Barber, Wilson, & Scott, 1980). The implication
is that set is the significant factor in attaining the so-called hypnotic condition.
Those who stress the role of set argue that the idea of a special hypnotic state
involves circular reasoning. A person is said to be under hypnosis when insensitive to
pain or acting as a child, yet when these acts are explained, they are invariably attributed
to the hypnotic trance. From the suggestibility viewpoint, reference to an unusual
state of consciousness is not explanatory (Barber, 1969).