Kevin M. McConkey

Multiple Hypnotizabilities: Differentiating the Building Blocks of Hypnotic Response.

Although hypnotizability can be conceptualized as involving component subskills, standard measures do not differentiate them from a more general unitary trait, partly because the measures include limited sets of dichotomous items. To overcome this, the authors applied full-information factor analysis, a sophisticated analytic approach for dichotomous items, to a large data set from 2 hypnotizability scales. This analysis yielded 4 subscales (Direct Motor, Motor Challenge, Perceptual-Cognitive, Posthypnotic Amnesia) that point to the building blocks of hypnotic response. The authors then used the subscales as simultaneous predictors of hypnotic responses in 4 experiments to distinguish the contribution of each component from general hypnotizability. This analysis raises interesting questions about how best to conceptualize and advance measurement of the ability to experience hypnosis.

Reports of real and false memories: The relevance of hypnosis, hypnotizability, and context of memory test.

Thirty high- and 30 low-hypnotizable subjects saw slides of a purse snatching and then imagined seeing the slides in hypnosis or waking conditions. The experimenter suggested the offender had a moustache (true), wore a scarf (false), and picked up flowers (false). Memory was tested by the experimenter after the suggestion, by another experimenter during an inquiry session, and again by the 2nd experimenter after the experimenter appeared to end the session. Hypnotizability, but not hypnosis, was associated with false memory reports; more high-than low-hypnotizable subjects reported false memories. The context of testing influenced true and false memory reports; fewer reports occurred in an informal rather than a formal test context.

Inconsistency in Hypnotic age Regression and Cue Structure as Supplied by the Hypnotist1

Ss to write a complex sentence, in contexts that varied appreciably in the extent to which they cued Ss that illogical response was appropriate. Hypnotically responsive and unresponsive Ss were assigned to a real or simulating group in application of the real-simulating model of hypnosis and tested in 1of 3 distinct cue conditions. Cue conditions either followed those of previous studies and communicated that no particular response was appropriate, or communicated that an illogical response was appropriate, or inappropriate. It was hypothesized that cue structure would have a significant impact. Data indicated that cues for logical response had a greater influence on the behavior of Ss than did cues for illogical response when compared with the base response condition; at times, real Ss behaved appreciably more illogically than simulating Ss. Also, detailed analysis of the reports of both groups of Ss indicated distinctive properties of experience that point to the importance of recognizing the complexities of consciousness underlying the experiences of highly susceptible Ss.

What we don’t know about the Brain and Hypnosis, but need to: A View from the Buckhorn Inn

Based on reflections on the University of Tennessee Conference on Brain Imaging and Hypnosis, the authors point the field of hypnosis toward a new generation of research that can successfully coordinate multiple methods of inquiry and effectively connect psychological with biological understanding. They examine issues concerning hypnosis as a state, hypnotic susceptibility as a trait, and the psychological processes that underlie hypnotic responses. The article indicates ways in which some old questions can, and need to, be asked in new ways. The authors illustrate how to move toward a neuropsychological understanding of hypnosis by describing the classic suggestion effect and consider candidate psychological mechanisms to explain this effect. They argue that the neuroscience of hypnosis needs to build on a sound psychological foundation and add to, rather than replace, existing levels of analysis.

Information processing during hypnotically suggested sex change.

Abstract During hypnotically suggested sex change, 36 real (12 virtuoso and 24 high hypnotizable) and 18 simulating (low hypnotizable) individuals listened to a story involving a male and a female character. They subsequently reported their experience and recall of the story. Virtuosos were less likely than highs and simulators to identify with the character consistent with their suggested sex. However, virtuosos recalled more information about the character consistent with their suggested sex than did highs and simulators. The authors discuss the findings in terms of attention and the selective processing of information during hypnosis. They conclude that character identification was not the major factor that influenced the recall of virtuosos and suggest that virtuosos may have processed aspects of the information in a more self-referential way and thus encoded and recalled it more effectively.

Knowledge of eyewitness memory

Abstract A questionnaire was administered to introductory psychology, advanced psychology, and advanced law students to assess their knowledge of eyewitness memory. The data were obtained in a way that allowed a comparison with similar research in the U.S.A. and the U.K. Our findings indicated that a limited knowledge of eyewitness memory exists among the three samples, and that the level of knowledge of the combined sample is similar to that of the international samples. The findings are discussed in terms of the implications for the evaluation of eyewitness testimony, and the role that psychologists who are expert in memory research may play in communicating relevant information.

Specific autobiographical memory following hypnotically induced mood state

Abstract This study investigated the impact of hypnotically induced mood on the specificity of autobiographical memory. High (n = 24) and low (n = 21) hypnotizable participants were administered a hypnotic induction for sad, neutral, or happy mood and were asked to retrieve specific autobiographical memories in response to positive and negative cue words. Whereas high hypnotizable participants in the sad condition provided fewer specific memories in response to positive rather than negative cues, those in the neutral and happy conditions responded similarly to positive and negative cues. Findings suggest that impaired recall of specific memories may be mediated by state factors associated with sad mood. These results point to the utility of hypnotic mood induction as a means to experimentally investigate the relationship between mood and autobiographical memory.

Measuring change in the subjective experience of hypnosis

The authors indexed the subjective experience of hypnosis through the use of a continuous behavioral measure of the strength of the participants experience at the time of the suggestion. Specifically, subjects turned a dial to indicate changes in their experience of the suggested effect during that experience. Thirty-three high, 47 medium, and 28 low hypnotizable subjects were asked to use the dial during the suggestion, test, and cancellation phases of three hypnotic items: arm levitation, arm rigidity, and anosmia. The pattern of ratings differed according to the nature of the suggestion. Also, across the items, subjects who passed according to behavioral criteria experienced the suggested effect to a greater degree than those who failed. Notably, whereas the ratings of highs and mediums did not differ for any item, they differed from lows on all three items. The authors discuss the implications of these findings in terms of the potential for this method to provide insight into the experience of hypnosis.

Functional Blindness: A Construction of Cognitive and Social Influences

Functional blindness represents the reported loss of visual awareness in the absence of organic reasons to explain the impaired vision. We review the empirical research on two major forms of functional blindness: Hypnotic blindness and visual conversion disorder. In both conditions there is convergent evidence that individuals can process visual information despite phenomenal blindness. Further, there is strong evidence that both the experience of blindness and the behaviour of individuals during blindness can be influenced by cognitive and social factors. We propose a model that conceptualises functional blindness as a dissociation between episodic and semantic representations of visual information. We argue that functionally blind individuals are best understood as active problem-solvers who respond to situational cues and personal needs in the development and maintenance of their experiential blindness. Although we recognise the inherent differences between hypnotic blindness and visual conversion diso...

Posthypnotic Amnesia For Autobiographical Episodes: Influencing Memory Accessibility and Quality

The authors examined the impact of posthypnotic amnesia on the accessibility and quality of personal memories. High, medium, and low hypnotizable individuals recalled two autobiographical episodes and rated those memories. During hypnosis, subjects were given a posthypnotic amnesia suggestion that targeted one of the episodes. After hypnosis, they recalled and rated their memories of the episodes. The posthypnotic amnesia suggestion influenced the accessibility and quality of autobiographical memory for high and some medium, but not low, hypnotizable participants. The article discusses these findings in terms of investigating and understanding the impact of posthypnotic amnesia on autobiographical memory.