ABSTRACT
The notion that thinking about a movement tends to produce that movement forms the explanatory basis for much of the behavior that is observed in response to hypnotic suggestions. This general notion has a long history in psychology that is best characterized by James' ( 1890) classic statement that: "every representation of a movement awakens in some degree the actual movement which is its object [p. 526}." This principle of ideomotor action is clearly relevant to many suggested events of hypnosis such as eye closure, arm levitation, and arm lowering, which are among the most widely known, easily experienced, and frequently demonstrated hypnotic phenomena. In fact, most individuals can experience the hypnotic phenomena that are based on ideomotor responding.
