Understanding Psychology (10th Ed)

hypnosis
A trancelike state of 
heightened susceptibility to the 
suggestions of others.
Key Concepts
What is hypnosis, and are 
hypnotized people in a 
diff erent state of 
consciousness? 
What are the eff ects of 
meditation?
M O D U L E 1 5 
 
Hypnosis and Meditation
feL82795_ch05_138-171.indd Page 154 7/22/10 5:51 PM user-f465
feL82795_ch05_138-171.indd Page 154 7/22/10 5:51 PM user-f465
/Users/user-f465/Desktop
/Users/user-f465/Desktop

---

 
Module 15 
Hypnosis and Meditation 
155
they are doing (Benham, Woody, & Wilson, 2006; Kirsch & Braffman, 2001; Rubichi 
et al., 2005).

A DIFFERENT STATE OF CONSCIOUSNESS?

The question of whether hypnosis is a state of consciousness that is qualitatively 

different from normal waking consciousness is controversial. Some psychologists 
believe that hypnosis represents a state of consciousness that differs signifi cantly 
from other states. In this view, high suggestibility, increased ability to recall and 
construct images, and acceptance of suggestions that clearly contradict reality suggest 
it is a different state. Moreover, changes in electrical activity in the brain are associ-
ated with hypnosis, supporting the position that hypnosis is a state of consciousness 
different from normal waking (Fingelkurts, Fingelkurts, & Kallio, 2007; Hilgard, 1992; 
Kallio & Revonsuo, 2003). 
In this view, hypnosis represents a state of divided consciousness . According to 
famed hypnosis researcher Ernest Hilgard, hypnosis brings about a dissociation , or 
division, of consciousness into two simultaneous components. In one stream of con-
sciousness, hypnotized people are following the commands of the hypnotist. Yet on 
another level of consciousness, they are acting as “hidden observers,” aware of what 
is happening to them. For instance, hypnotic subjects may appear to be following 
the hypnotist’s suggestion about feeling no pain, yet in another stream of conscious-
ness they may be actually aware of the pain. 
On the other side of the controversy are psychologists who reject the notion 
that hypnosis is a state signifi cantly different from normal waking consciousness. 
They argue that altered brain-wave patterns are not suffi cient to demonstrate a 
qualitative difference, because no other specifi c physiological changes occur when 
people are in trances. Furthermore, little support exists for the contention that 
adults can recall memories of childhood events accurately while hypnotized. That 
lack of evidence suggests that there is nothing qualitatively special about the hyp-
notic trance (Hongchun & Ming, 2006; Lynn et al., 2003; Lynn, Fassler, & Knox, 
2005; Wagstaff, 2009). 
There is increasing agreement that the controversy over the nature of hypnosis 
has led to extreme positions on both sides of the issue. More recent approaches sug-
gest that the hypnotic state may best be viewed as lying along a continuum in which 
hypnosis is neither a totally different state of consciousness nor totally similar to 
normal waking consciousness (Jamieson, 2007; Lynn et al., 2000; Kihlstrom, 2005b). 
Despite common misconceptions, 
people cannot be hypnotized against 
their will, nor do they lose all will of 
their own when they are hypnotized. 
Why, then, do people sometimes behave 
so unusually when asked to by a 
hypnotist?