Hypnosis is a subject that leaves the experts divided. Some say the trance state produces genuine changes in the brain; others say people are only ever feigning. The truth probably lies in between.
Hypnotism has fascinated people ever since Franz Mesmer wowed 18th-century high society with his displays of control over the minds of others. But what is hypnosis? Is it a special level of consciousness, a clever manipulation of normal consciousness, or just quackery? The best answer seems to be that consciousness or just quackery. The best answer seems to be that under hypnosis, we lose ourselves in vivid imagery and hand over control of this imagery – and so our behavior – to someone else.
Hypnotic technique
Today’s professional hypnotists use a simple conversational technique pioneered in the 1940s by US psychotherapist Milton Erickson. After some small talk to establish a rapport, the hypnotist directs the subject’s attention inwards by asking, for example, if his or her hands feel heavy.
As the subject becomes absorbed in this thought, the hypnotist starts to assert control, suggesting that one hand is now so light it will rise. Picturing this in mind, some subjects will feel the suggestion to be true and allow their hand to float upwards. The hypnotist can now move on to more elaborate feats of suggestion – such as regressing the person to a past life or suggesting that an onion is a nice crunchy apple. The person will imagine what the hypnotist asks and respond to the image as if it were authentic. But is this state of mind real? Studies show that only about one in ten people have mental images so strong they seem like genuine perceptions. For most of us, hypnotic imagery appears fleeting and dull: we cannot shake off the knowledge that the images are ‘produced.’ But if we are dragged up on stage or have paid money to a hypnotherapist, we may feign simply out of embarrassment.
Experiments also show that motivation techniques can match the effect of a supposed hypnotic state. In one test, men were asked to hold a brick at arm’s length for as long as they could. Unhypnotized, they lasted barely five minutes; hypnotized, they could stretch to 15 or 20. However, when unhypnotized men were told that women usually managed 20 minutes, suddenly, the men found that they could last this long as well.
The ‘hidden observer’
One intriguing phenomenon seems to provide evidence on both sides. In a typical study, strongly hypnotized subjects were first told that a small part of their mind – the ‘ hidden observer’ would always know what was going on during the session.
Still, under hypnosis, they were given lists of words -along with the suggestion that certain words on the list were not actually there. The subjects duly swore that the words were indeed missing from the lists. But when their ‘ hidden observer’ was addressed, they reported being able to see the’ missing’ word, after all.
Some researchers say this means that there was always at least a part of the subject’s mind that was behaving normally, quite unhypnotized. Others, however, argue that because hypnosis divides consciousness in this way, with one part of the mind apparently having access to information denied to another part, the hidden observer effect shows that hypnosis involves a real state of dissociation. More recently, brain scanning machines have been used to examine some of the 10 percent who do have super strength mental imagery, and it was found that hypnosis could induce a visible change in their brain state. For example, when hypnotized to see a black-and-white picture as colored, the scans suggested the subjects really did paint in the sensory impressions of color. So, while hypnosis is a largely self-induced state rather than a helpless trance, some people do have the mental imagery to make it a powerful experience.
Mindbending Spies
Recently released CIA files confirm that hypnosis – along with LSD and brain-zapping magnets – was just one of many mind warping techniques tested out during the Cold War. However, the results were too unreliable to show that hypnotism could be used to force people to do things if they do not want to.
Nonetheless, according to Dr Armen Victorian, author of Mind Controllers, the CIA hatched some extraordinary plans. One was to implant a microscopic radio receiver in the ear – or even nostril – of an unsuspecting victim. The idea was that the victim would be cornered and, under hypnosis, have the device inserted, which would then be used for hypnotic control. Later, a whispered radio message could activate them as an assassin, spies, or saboteurs.
