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Biomedical subjects

H J Crawford

Publications and source records attributed to H J Crawford.

10 recordsLinked to original sources

Transient positive and negative experiences accompanying stage hypnosis.

Frequency of positive and negative experiences accompanying stage hypnosis was assessed in follow-up interviews with 22 participants of university-sponsored performances. Most subjects described their experience positively (relaxing, interesting, exciting, satisfying, illuminating, and pleasurable), but some described it negatively (confusing, silly, annoying, and frightening). Five subjects (22.7%) reported partial or complete amnesia; all were highly responsive to the stage hypnosis suggestions. One subject was completely unable to breach amnesia and felt annoyed and frightened. Five subjects (22.7%) believed the hypnotist had control over their behavior. Participants (n = 15) tested subsequently on the Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale, Form C (Weitzenhoffer & Hilgard, 1962) were mostly moderately to highly hypnotizable (M = 7.07), and the scores correlated significantly (r = .68) with the percentage of passed stage hypnosis suggestions.

Adolescent

Individual differences in afterimage persistence: relationships to hypnotic susceptibility and visuospatial skills.

To investigate the moderating role of individual differences in hypnotic susceptibility and visuospatial skills on afterimage persistence, we presented a codable (cross) flash of light to 40 men and 46 women who had been dark adapted for 20 min. In an unrelated classroom setting, subjects had previously been given two standardized scales of hypnotic susceptibility (Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility, Shor & Orne, 1962; Group Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale, Form C, Crawford & Allen, 1982) and the Mental Rotations Test (Vandenberg & Kuse, 1978). The first afterimage interval and the afterimage duration correlated significantly with hypnotic responsiveness, supporting Wallace (1979), but did not show the anticipated relationships with mental rotation visuospatial skills. Individuals in the high hypnotizable group had (a) significantly longer afterimage intervals between its first appearance and first disappearance than did those in medium or low groups, as well as (b) significantly longer afterimages between the first appearance and the final disappearance than did those in low groups, but those in medium groups did not differ significantly from the other groups. Discriminant analysis using the afterimage persistence measures classified correctly 65.2% of high hypnotizables, 37.5% of medium hypnotizables, and 54.8% of low hypnotizables. Hypothesized cognitive skills that assist in the maintenance of afterimages and underlie hypnotic susceptibility include abilities to maintain focused attention and resist distractions over time and to maintain vivid visual images.

Adult

EEG correlates of hypnotic susceptibility and hypnotic trance: spectral analysis and coherence.

EEG was recorded monopolarly at frontal (F3, F4), central (C3, C4) and occipital (O1, O2) derivations during A-B-A conditions of waking rest, hypnosis (rest, arm immobilization, mosquito hallucination, hypnotic dream), and waking rest. Stringently screened on several measures of hypnotic susceptibility, 12 very low hypnotizable and 12 very highly hypnotizable, right-handed undergraduate, subjects participated in one session. Evaluations were Fast-Fourier spectral analysis, EEG coherence between selected derivations and maximum spectral power within EEG bands. In eyes open and closed conditions in waking and hypnosis, highly hypnotizable subjects generated substantially more mean theta power than did low hypnotizable subjects at all occipital, central and frontal locations in almost all conditions of waking and hypnosis, with a larger difference in frontal locations. Both low and high hypnotizables showed increased mean theta power in hypnosis, suggesting an intensification of attentional processes and imagery enhancement. Mean alpha power was never a predictor of hypnotic susceptibility. Interactions with hypnotic susceptibility showed that highly susceptible subjects had more beta activity in the left than right hemispheres, while low susceptible subjects showed only weak asymmetry. No main effects for or interactions between waking/hypnosis and hypnotic level were found for coherence between derivations or maximum spectral power within theta, alpha and beta EEG bands.

Alpha Rhythm

The effects of hypnosis upon cognitive responses to persuasive communication.

Several writers have suggested that hypnotic responsiveness is directly related to the content of S's covert self-statements. To test this notion, low and high hypnotizable Ss in either hypnosis or waking conditions were exposed to a recorded message advocating that college seniors be required to pass a comprehensive exam in order to graduate. Following message presentation, Ss listed all of the thoughts which occurred to them while listening to the message; these thoughts were later coded as counterarguments, favorable thoughts, or neutral thoughts. Hypnotized Ss generated significantly fewer counterarguments and agreed more with the message than waking Ss. In addition, high hypnotizable Ss (in both waking and hypnosis conditions) produced significantly more favorable thoughts and agreed more with the message than low hypnotizable Ss. Results, therefore, provided a demonstration of the differential impact of context (induction) and trait (hypnotizability level) upon different cognitive phenomena. Implications for the occurrence of hypersuggestible behavior are discussed.

Adult

Eidetic-like imagery in hypnosis: rare but there.

The production of eidetic-like imagery during hypnosis in subjects with high but not low hypnotizability was supported in three separate experiments using nonfakable stereograms (Julesz, 1971; Gummerman, Gray, & Wilson, 1972). In Experiment 1, 6 (25%) of 24 stringently chosen, high hypnotizables were able to perceive one of the superimposed stereograms (presented monocularly) during conditions of standard hypnosis or hypnotic age regression, or under both conditions, but not during waking. In Experiments 2 and 3, low and high hypnotizables were presented stereograms in an alternating, monocular fashion (one-half to each eye). In Experiment 2, 10% of the high hypnotizables perceived one or more stereograms in hypnosis or age regression, but not during waking. In Experiment 3, none of the 17 low hypnotizables reported correct stereograms, but 6 of the 23 high hypnotizables (26%) did. Relationships between imagery performance and visuo-spatial abilities were investigated. Results support the general hypothesis that hypnosis enhances imaginal processing of information to be remembered that is a literal or untransformed representation.

Eidetic Imagery

Hypnotic deafness: a psychophysical study of responses to tone intensity as modified by hypnosis.

Hypnotic deafness was suggested for 1000 Hz tones presented in random orders at seven intensities between 17 and 70 db. Subjects were 70 college students stratified into four levels of hypnotic susceptibility, ranging from low to high. Four conditions were presented within a single session. Two conditions tested normal hearing, one in waking and one in hypnosis; two tested reported loudness of the tones as reduced by hypnotic suggestion. The method of magnitude estimation was employed. Hearing reduction was found to correlate .59 with hypnotic susceptibility in the total sample. Few high hypnotizables reduced their hearing to zero; their mean residual hearing during the deafness conditions was 55% of normal. Power functions for the relationship between tone intensity and magnitude estimates for conditions of normal hearing and deafness were found to be relatively parallel and orderly, differing primarily in intercept value. Order effect anomalies are discussed. The "hidden observer" method showed that for 4 of the 70 subjects the covert hearing was found to be at least 20% greater than that reported overtly within hypnotic deafness and approached normal hearing. As in our previous hypnotic analgesia research, not all subjects who reduced their hearing significantly gave subsequent covert reports which differed from reported overt hearing. Discussion is given for evidence of two levels of information processing during hypnotically suggested perceptual distortions.

Audiometry