Consciousness and Hypnosis

Consciousness and Hypnosis

Defining Consciousness

  • Consciousness: Our awareness of ourselves and our environment.

  • Part of the dual processing that goes on in our two-track minds.

Different States of Consciousness

Occur Spontaneously

  • Daydreaming

  • Drowsiness

  • Dreaming

Physiologically Induced

  • Hallucinations

  • Orgasm

  • Food/Oxygen starvation

Psychologically Induced

  • Sensory deprivation

  • Hypnosis

  • Meditation

Hypnosis

  • Hypnosis: A social interaction where one person (the subject) responds to another person's (the hypnotist's) suggestions.

  • Involves the ability to focus full attention and become imaginatively absorbed.

Hypnotic Memories

  • Hypnotically refreshed memories may be fabricated; they result from the subject’s imagination, believing it to be a lost memory.

  • Important: Hypnosis cannot force someone to act against their will.

Posthypnotic Suggestions

  • Suggestions made during hypnosis that the subject carries out post-session.

  • Useful in clinical settings for pain control and changing undesired behaviors.

Explaining the Hypnotic State

Heightened Suggestibility

  • Hypnosis involves heightened suggestibility.

Categories of Hypnosis

  • Social Phenomenon Theory: The subject behaves in a way that fits the expectations or role associated with hypnosis.

    • Example: If told to scratch their ear at the mention of "Psychology", subjects usually comply only if they believe the experiment is legitimate.

  • Divided Consciousness Theory: Suggests hypnosis causes a split in consciousness, allowing simultaneous thoughts and behaviors.

    • Example: Doodling while listening to a lecture or running with an audiobook.

Implications of Divided Consciousness

  • Split Awareness: In hypnotized states, attention can be diverted effectively.

    • Example: Ignoring the sensation of cold in an ice bath due to engrossment in hypnosis.

Theories on Hypnosis Effects

  • Divided Consciousness Theory emphasizes the split awareness in hypnosis.

  • Social Influence Theory posits that subjects might ignore pain because they are absorbed in the hypnosis process itself, leading to selective attention to the task at hand.