Theory · 1959
The nature of hypnosis: Artifact and essence
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. Orne, M. T. · Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 58(3), 277–299
Main finding
Much of what looks like hypnosis can be produced by people who are simulating it, so researchers must control for expectations and the experimental situation. Orne also described "trance logic" – hypnotized people tolerating logical contradictions, like seeing a person and that person's hallucinated double at once.
What was done
Martin Orne asked which parts of hypnotic behaviour come from hypnosis itself and which come from what participants believe is expected of them. He compared hypnotized people with people who were only asked to fake being hypnotized.
What the study does not show
Later research questioned whether trance logic is unique to hypnosis. The paper is a framework for designing experiments rather than a single decisive test.
Cite as
Orne, M. T. (1959). The nature of hypnosis: Artifact and essence. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 58(3), 277–299. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0046128
Original paperRelated topics
Terms on this page
- Demand characteristics Demand characteristics are the small cues in a situation that reveal what is expected of you – and that influence how you behave.
- Hypnosis Hypnosis is a state in which you turn your attention fully inward and engage with your imagination – so much that it feels real, like an arm growing heavy.
- Trance logic Trance logic means that people in hypnosis calmly accept contradictions that would bother them immediately when awake – similar to a dream.
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