Preface

Chapter 13 on ‘Methodological issues in hypnosis’ shows the importance of recognising that subjects in psychological investigations are actively cognising participants eager to please the investigator. In designing experiments in psychology the author considers that we must always be aware of the possibility that the phenomena we are measuring may be as much a product of our procedures as something measured by them. Research into hypnosis has shown that non-hypnotic subjects are just as likely to perform anti-social acts when instructed to do so as subjects given an hypnotic induction procedure. While these studies cannot demonstrate that hypnosis is not a special state, they suggest that one does not need to invoke the concept of an hypnotic state to explain many of the facts attributed to hypnosis. Similarly, while hypnosis can be useful in the treatment of a number of complaints including insomnia, skin complaints, dental stress, etc., hypnotic techniques may involve a variety of factors that are not unique to hypnosis that might account for the improvements. These include social support, relaxation, social compliance, etc., and illustrate the difficulties associated with isolating the specific aspects of a complex stimulus responsible for the effects.