Parameters of Hypnosis with Special Reference to Posthypnotic Amnesia and Hypnotic Analgesia
Abstract
Spontaneous amnesia following hypnotic induction, commonly reported in the lore of hypnosis, proved to be very rare, and may thus be the result of the subject's expectations or of the hypnotist's nonverbal suggestions. Suggested amnesia is readily demonstrated, and is correlated with hypnotic susceptibility. The special kind of amnesia known as source amnesia, in which something learned under hypnosis is remembered, while the fact that it was learned under hypnosis is forgotten, was found to occur both spontaneously and as a result of special suggestion. Pain was readily reduced under hypnotic analgesia suggestions, the amount of reduction corresponding to measured hypnotic susceptibility. Blood pressure rose with pain in the waking state, but continued to rise in the cold pressor response even though pain was absent, although it did not rise in the ischemic experiment when pain was absent. This somewhat paradoxical finding remains to be explained.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 15, 1968
- Accession Number
- AD0677758
Entities
People
- Ernest R. Hilgard
Organizations
- Stanford University