The Effect of Suggestion on Cognition in Smokers
Abstract
Cigarette smoking remains an extremely important public health concern. Despite decreasing prevalence rates, smoking is still the leading cause of preventable death in United States. Even when smokers use available efficacious treatments, most quit attempts end in failure (relapse). Therefore, novel smoking cessation interventions are required. Recent research has identified cognitive processes associated with quit attempts as important targets for intervention. One intervention found to be effective in targeting cognitive processes is hypnotic suggestion. Several studies have demonstrated that hypnotic suggestion can reduce or eliminate the Stroop effect assessed using the classic Stroop task. Treatments that utilize hypnotic suggestion (e.g., clinical hypnosis) are popular, sought-after, brief, and tolerable interventions for smoking cessation. However, these treatments have yet to incorporate suggestions which directly target cognitive processes. Using a counterbalanced within-subjects, this laboratory study examined if cognitive processes can be modified in smokers (N=33) using hypnotic suggestion. Specific Aim 1 sought to replicate previous findings that hypnotic suggestion reduces the classic Stroop effect using a sample of smokers with high hypnotic susceptibility. Specific Aim 2 investigated if hypnotic suggestion reduces attention to smoking cues on the smoking Stroop task (a modification of the emotional Stroop task). Exploratory analyses examined if hypnotic suggestion reduces craving. Descriptive statistics of hypnotic susceptibility and attitudes towards using hypnosis during a subsequent quit attempt in smokers were also presented. The results demonstrated no evidence that hypnotic susceptibility moderated the effect of hypnotic suggestion on the classic Stroop effect or that hypnotic suggestion reduced the classic Stroop effect in individuals with high levels of susceptibility (Specific Aim 1).
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2019
- Accession Number
- AD1127782
Entities
People
- Jared W. Bollinger
Organizations
- Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences