Theory · 1973
A neodissociation interpretation of pain reduction in hypnosis
Listen instead of reading · 35 minDirty Mind: Dirty Talk Hypnosis – Find Your Own WordsNo script, no borrowed lines: a trance that lets your own words out – in a lower, slower voice. Hilgard, E. R. · Psychological Review, 80(5), 396–411
Main finding
Hilgard interpreted this as a split in awareness – a "hidden observer" that registers what the hypnotized person does not consciously report – and built his neodissociation theory on it.
What was done
Ernest Hilgard described experiments in which hypnotized volunteers reported little pain during cold water or ischaemic pain, while a "hidden" part of them, reached through automatic writing or key presses, reported more.
What the study does not show
Later studies showed that hidden-observer reports depend heavily on how the instructions are worded, which supports an expectancy explanation. The phenomenon is real as a report; what it means is still argued about.
Cite as
Hilgard, E. R. (1973). A neodissociation interpretation of pain reduction in hypnosis. Psychological Review, 80(5), 396–411. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0020073
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