On the basis of a critical review of the literature in chapter one, it is concluded that no existing theory of hypnosis is able to provide a satisfactory account of the entire set of behavioural, cognitive, social and physiological evidence pertaining to the phenomenon. In an attempt to rectify this situation, an integrative conceptual framework amalgamating existing theories of hypnosis into a single model on the basis of contemporary cognitive psychological theory is presented in chapters two and three. According to the model, successfully executed suggestions result from the automatic activation of perceptual and behavioural representations following the receipt of triggers by low level attentional systems. By this view, the process involved in hypnotic and non-hypnotic suggestions are essentially the same; however, it is argued that contextual features and state changes associated with the hypnotic situation are responsible for the increased responsivity to suggestions typically displayed therein. In the following chapters, four studies designed to assess predictions from the model are described. In the first two, the related predictions that suggestibility is positively related to a low level processing predisposition and negatively related to a high level processing predisposition were assessed. Both studies provided support for the first hypothesis although no evidence for the second hypothesis was obtained. the third and fourth studies examined the related hypotheses that hypnosis is associated with (i) a low level processing bias; and (ii) a high level processing inhibition. Neither hypothesis received any significant empirical support. In the final chapter, the results of these studies are discussed with reference to the theoretical framework outlined in the introductory chapters. It is concluded that the model provides a fairly good account of suggestion, although certain revisions are required before an adequate account of hypnosis can be offered. Avenues for future research are explored.

Thesis (MPsych((Clin))--University of South Australia, 1998

This study investigated depth of hypnosis self-reported by subjects on the Field Inventory of Hypnotic Depth (FIHD) after experiencing one of two formal hypnotic inductions. The 68 subjects (41 females and 27 males) ranged in age from 17 to 47 (mean 25.3) and were placed into a high susceptibility group or a low susceptibility group based on their scores on the Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility (HGSHS:A). Both the low susceptibility group and the high susceptibility group were further divided randomly so that half of each group received an indirect induction treatment and the other half received a direct induction treatment.

J. Hilgard (1970, 1972, 1974, 1979), utilizing an interview format, asserted that a personality variable, namely, an individual's capacity to become imaginatively involved in experiences outside of hypnosis, was significantly correlated with his or her hypnotic susceptibility. Tellegen and Atkinson (1974) operationalized the imaginative involvement variable in a 37-item questionnaire, the Tellegen Absorption Scale (TAS) that correlated significantly with hypnotic susceptibility (e.g., Crawford, 1982). However, Council, Kirsch, and Hafner (1986) suggested that the relationship between the TAS and hypnotic susceptibility is a context-mediated artifact in that the two correlate only when the TAS is administered within a context clearly identified as involving hypnosis. As the interviews conducted by J. Hilgard (1970, 1972, 1974, 1979) were done within a context clearly identified as involving hypnosis, the possibility exists that the relationship between imaginative involvement and hypnotic susceptibility is also a context-mediated artifact. In a test of this possibility, 86 subjects were interviewed concerning their imaginative involvements. Forty-three subjects were interviewed within a context defined as "research investigating hypnosis" and 43 subjects were interviewed within a context defined as "research investigating imagination." Hypnotic susceptibility was assessed in sessions separate from the interviews. In the present study, an individual's hypnotic susceptibility was not found to be significantly related to his or her imaginative involvement. It appears J. Hilgard's original finding may have been due to chance correlations compounded by subsequent experimenter expectancy effects. It is recommended that J. Hilgard's work be clarified through more extensive replications in which experimenter blindness is assured.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Washington State University, August 2009. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on June 5, 2009). "College of Education." Includes bibliographical references (p. 80-91).

No description available.

Thesis (M.S.)--State University of New York at Binghamton, Department of Psychology, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.)--State University of New York at Binghamton, Department of Psychology, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references.

The possibility that a positive correlation between nightmare frequency and hypnotic susceptibility reported by Belicki and Belicki (1986) was an artifact of administering a sleep questionnaire in the context of a hypnosis experiment was tested in the present study. Measures of vividness and absorption were also administered. Forty subjects, twenty of whom were told that the measures were related to hypnotic responding, completed the questionnaires immediately prior to hypnosis. Twenty other subjects, who completed the questionnaires in contexts unrelated to hypnosis, were later hypnotized. The hypothesis that context of administration of the questionnaires influenced the relationship between the measures and hypnotic susceptibility was not supported. Replication using a larger sample was recommended.

Thesis (M.Sc.)--Memorial University of Newfoundland. / Bibliography : leaves 55-60. Also available online.