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Biomedical subjects

K S Bowers

Publications and source records attributed to K S Bowers.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Imagination and dissociation in hypnotic responding.

A neodissociative model of mind is better equipped than a social-psychological model to deal with the complexities of hypnosis, and of human behavior generally. It recognizes, as Coe's (1992) model does not, that behavior can be more automatically activated than strategically enacted. In particular, Coe's emphasis on human behavior as purposeful and goal directed does not distinguish between goal-directed behavior that serves a purpose, and goal-directed behavior that is performed on purpose. It is this distinction that permits goal-directed behavior to be dissociated from a person's conscious plans and intentions. In addition to offering a critique of Coe's "limited process" view of hypnosis, 4 main points are made in the interest of developing a slightly modified, neodissociation view of hypnosis. First, it is argued that goal-directed fantasies are more limited in their ability to mediate hypnotic responding than is commonly appreciated; as well, they do not seem to account for the nonvolitional quality of hypnotic responding. Second, it is argued that hypnotic ability is not unidimensional, with compliance and social influence more apt to account for the low than for the high hypnotizable's responsiveness to suggestion. Third, compared to low hypnotizables, the hypnotic responsiveness of high hypnotizables seems more likely to result from dissociated control. In other words, for high hypnotizables, hypnotic suggestions may often directly activate subsystems of cognitive control. Consequently, the need for executive initiative and effort to produce hypnotically suggested behavior is minimized, and such responses are therefore experienced as nonvolitional. Fourth and finally, while goal-directed fantasies typically accompany hypnotically suggested responses, they are in many cases more a marker of dissociated control than a mediator of suggested effects.

Awareness↗
PubMed1991

Selective hypnotic amnesia: is it a successful attempt to forget or an unsuccessful attempt to remember?

Subjects in 2 experiments (ns = 72 and 50) learned a 16-item, 4-category word list and were then administered hypnotic suggestions to be amnesic for all the words in 1 of the categories. Even when selective amnesia was completely successful, subjects in both experiments revealed a high level of recall for words not targeted for amnesia; moreover, these words were recalled in a highly organized, category-by-category fashion. Evidently, attention to relevant retrieval (i.e., organizational) cues does not oblige recall of words targeted for amnesia. Forgetting in the presence of such powerful mnemonic cues seems to characterize hypnotic amnesia and some spontaneous forms of forgetting as well. We argue that mnemonic lapses of this kind represent a failed attempt to remember rather than a successful attempt to forget.

Amnesia↗
PubMed1991

Dissociation in hypnosis and multiple personality disorder.

The first part of this paper examines the concept of dissociation in the context of hypnosis. In particular, the neodissociative and social psychological models of hypnosis are compared. It is argued that the social psychological model, in describing hypnotic enactments as purposeful, does not adequately distinguish between behavior that is enacted "on purpose" and behavior that serves or achieves a purpose. 2 recent dissertations (Hughes, 1988; Miller, 1986) from the University of Waterloo are summarized, each of which supports the neodissociative view that hypnotic behavior can be purposeful (in the sense that the suggested state of affairs is achieved) and nonvolitional (in the sense that the suggested state of affairs is not achieved by high level executive initiative and ongoing effort). The second part of the paper employs a neodissociative view of hypnosis to help understand the current epidemic of multiple personality disorder (MPD). In particular, it is argued that many symptoms of MPD are implicitly suggested effects--particularly prone to occur in persons who have a lifelong tendency to use dissociative type defenses. The present author believes that this account is easier to sustain conceptually and empirically than the current view, which states that a secondary (tertiary, etc.) personality accounts for the striking phenomenological discontinuities experienced by MPD patients.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Toward a multidimensional view of personality and health.

Health status has in effect become an external criterion for various personality traits. It seems unlikely, however, that a unidimensional approach to personality actually will be productive, even when something as concrete as physical health serves as a criterion variable. Instead, the benefits of a more multidimensional, contextualized approach to the prediction of health status are emphasized. Additional comments concern the distinction between cooccurence and correlation of two variables, some ambiguities regarding the appropriate criterion variables for health psychology, and some logistical issues in the domain of personality and health psychology.

Health↗
PubMed1986

Hypnosis and hypnotizability: implications for clinical intervention.

Increasing laboratory and clinical research during the past 25 years has greatly enhanced understanding of hypnosis. Drawing on this research, the authors illuminate the many factors that define the domain of hypnosis, the most crucial of which is individual differences in hypnotizability. The important treatment ramifications of this factor are discussed, as are its pathogenic and diagnostic possibilities. The authors examine hypnotizability from a developmental perspective and conclude with an in-depth discussion of the clinical use of hypnosis with children, who have been shown to be particularly susceptible to hypnotic suggestion.

Adolescent↗