Critically Assess the Practice of HypnosisEssay Preview: Critically Assess the Practice of HypnosisReport this essayCritically Assess the Practice of HypnosisHypnosis, viewed by many as some form of mind control or brainwashing in which the hypnotist commands the person or subject to obey his or her every command is somewhat still widely believed today. However this is one of the misconceptions of hypnosis, since a person is still conscious, most times in an altered state, nonetheless conscious. Hypnosis is the trancelike state in which a person responds readily to therapeutic suggestions.
Studies have shown that susceptibility to hypnosis varies in individuals, which has created some disagreements about the process and definition of hypnosis. Reports have shown that different people who have undergone hypnosis describe their experiences in very different ways. However, Hilgard, E.R. (1965) describes hypnotic susceptibility as the measureable responsiveness a person has to hypnosis. Everyone however cannot be hypnotized, only 10%-15% respond exceptionally well to hypnosis. Some people have high sensory and perceptual gaiting abilities that allow them to black some stimuli from awareness (Barnier, McConkey and Wright, 2004). There is little evidence linking personality traits and intelligence to hypnotic susceptibility.It is found that hypnosis produces a focused attention or focused state which can be compared to similar sates of concentration, in which the person becomes oblivious o his or her surroundings. Once in this focused state, ones normal function is reduced, role playing is easily accomplished and the subject (person) tends to wait for instructions. This state (hypnosis: focused attention) can be achieved by inducing deep relaxation followed by deep long intakes of air, Spiegel eye roll (an old hypnotic tool), confusional scripts such as counting and various other techniques. Furthermore some psychologist have developed studies that show relations between the effect people display when hypnotized and their level of suggestibility, also referred to as hyper-suggestibility, which induces the subject whilst in a state of focused attention to respond to the hypnotist suggestions. Many persons after the hypnosis session genuinely claim that they were unable to recall the incident (hypnotic suggestion; posthyoptic amnesia), while other say that they were aware that the hypnotist was wrong but however it seemed easier to go along with the instructions, hence continued disputes of the validity of hypnosis as a real state. In defense some hypnotists claim that this shows the difference between a deep and shallow hypnotic trance.
The practice of hypnosis in the 18th century was thought of a practice of gullibility and fraudulence, which has formed different psychological theories and ideas of hypnosis. Social constructionism suggests that individuals are role playing (fraudulent) and that really there is no such thing as hypnosis. It also suggest that a rapport would have developed between the subject and hypnotist which would in effect influence or discredit behavior of subject under hypnosis. Furthermore Robert Baker, claims that what we call hypnosis is actually a form of learned social behavior, a complex hybrid of social compliance, relaxation and suggestibility that can account for any esoteric behavioral manifestation. Dissociation, originally developed by Pierre Janet suggest that individuals behavioral control are split off from ordinary awareness, which in effect removes some control from the conscious
Practical applicability The practice of hypnosis in the 19th century was thought of as a form of non-technological persuasion. In fact the practice did not originate in a scientific study of an esoteric phenomenon, but was used as part of the training of workers to be hypnotists in the 19th century, among other experiments and training methods. It was often claimed that hypnosis was invented in order that the hypnotists be “disciplined and well-trained.” The claim is not well founded as it is very questionable whether the hypnotist had a prior knowledge of what would happen if the subject went unconscious (e.g. if he was unaware of the subject’s mind), as this would have a huge impact on a victim of hypnosis. However the original method used was that the subject should “suffer the same pain as other people,” when the hypnotist did not know who or what the subject was. If the hypnotist did not know, the subject would not get his/her consciousness back. This is true of most psycholinguistic work and is often claimed to explain human experience in the context of some sort of hallucinatory experience.
The question mark and what is the connotations of that term There are a number of popular definitions pertaining to the use of hypnosis which are based upon the practice of hypnotism. Some of these are listed below. Some of these are listed in order of preference, or because these are most commonly used they may not be particularly well suited to all practical use. Some of these definitions vary from author to author and may also require reading them individually to take into consideration the pros and cons of each. Also check out the following list of all of the uses of hypnosis in the social psychology literature: When it comes to hypnosis and the social science there are numerous popular definitions of the term hypnosis. One of the most common uses are for non-human people to deceive one another, but it is also used in many other aspects in the literature and in fact is used both as a method of persuasion and as an attempt to manipulate to deceive. As far as the common use is concerned the most frequently used definition of hypnosis is: “the technique as a means to an end by inducing an end in oneself and the other people. Such means can be described both as mental and physical persuasion.” When it comes to this type of persuasion or social control the most commonly used definition is: “to convince an individual or group of people of something.” Although the term refers to the practice of lying about oneself to gain them approval, often it is meant to be used in this sense. In other words, hypnosis is being used to convince people without actually persuading them, and often in this sense, the same is true. But although this definition includes a lot of popular uses of it, most are of lesser validity and are not listed here. Although the practice of hypnotism used in the United States is called “hypnosis” in some circles, this term is never used on the streets as much as used in the field of psychology. It is quite interesting to note that while in some states laws require students to be registered to hypnotize, these are limited to those states where no training can be given to students before obtaining a degree or license and the actual practice of hypnosis is not required to become a professional. This does not mean that you will not learn some obscure, yet highly successful form of psychology. In the U.S., the only legal requirement for students to have obtained a degree is a special certificate from the school and by doing so you will be granted a professional degree in an area of work which