Can hypnosis be feigned?

Learn and understand about Hypnosis. How it works, how to practice it etc.

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Dj I.C.U.
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Can hypnosis be feigned?

Post by Dj I.C.U. » Sun Jun 04, 2006 8:41 am

From http://www.fmsfonline.org/hypnosis.html#chbf

Although the behavior observed in hypnosis can be dramatic and compelling at times, it can be simulated by individuals who have little of the ability to be hypnotized. Low hypnotizables are chosen for the task of simulation because there is no likelihood of them becoming hypnotized inadvertently. They are instructed that intelligent people can fake hypnosis, and are told, truthfully, that the person performing the hypnosis is blind as to who is, and is not, hypnotized. In addition, they are told that the hypnotist will terminate the induction if s/he suspects simulation. Importantly, simulators are not given any training on how to enact this role. If they ask, as many do, they are told simply that they are to try to pick up any available implicit cues in order to determine what the demand characteristics (Orne, 1959) of the situation are. That is, they are asked to figure out what the hypnotist wants, and then to respond accordingly.

Some investigators in the field believe that hypnosis is little more than a form of behavioral compliance. If it were true, it would make the study of hypnosis substantially less interesting. Retrospective subjective reports, however, indicate that more than behavioral compliance is involved. For instance, a common hypnotic item is the suggestion that an arm is stiff and rigid, and impossible to bend no matter how hard the hypnotized person tries. It is very difficult, on the sole basis of observing the behavior, to differentiate a person who truly believes that the arm is impossible to bend at the elbow, no matter how hard s/he tries, from a person who complies with the suggestion, in full knowledge that s/he can bend the arm.

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Dj I.C.U.
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Post by Dj I.C.U. » Sun Jun 04, 2006 8:41 am

Reports of hypnotized and simulating subjects reveal that hypnosis involves, basically, subjective alterations in perception, mood and memory (Orne, 1980); this means that there is a qualitative difference between persons who report that a suggested subjective alteration was experienced as "happening" involuntarily to them, as opposed to those who report it as something that they "did" actively and voluntarily. It is from subjective reports, rather than from behavioral manifestations, that a differentiation of voluntary compliance from the involuntary experience of hypnosis becomes possible. This, however, is not an all-or-nothing distinction; some behavior in hypnosis is voluntary.

For instance, a willingness to cooperate, and to experience subjective alterations are major prerequisites of hypnotic response. This issue is addressed in more detail in the section Are high hypnotizables suggestible? In conclusion, the comparison of hypnotized and simulating individuals points to a fundamental differentiating characteristic: the responses of simulators tend to be based upon logic, while those of hypnotized people tend to be grounded in fantasy (Orne, 1979)

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