Hypnosis Developments in Research and New Perspectives

Although research and practice in hypnosis has seen unprecedented expansion, there has been a definite lack of inclusive and comprehensive surveys to aid the student and researcher. This collection of original chapters written by leading experimental investigators is the first work to offer a current state-of-the-art in hypnosis research. A compendium of the historical background, theories, issues, and trends in hypnosis, this volume represents all major experimental viewpoints while providing a virtual who's who in the field of hypnosis.

The first two chapters (written by the editors) establish the current theoretical base of the field and review the historical background. Seventeen contributions focus directly on key aspects of present day hypnosis research. These contributions are organized as surveys of broad topic areas, descriptions in depth of individual investigator's programmatic lines of research, and reports on research within specific areas, especially those representing new viewpoints and holding promise for programmatic development. A final chapter develops questions for future research.

Offering an inclusive survey of the field from its historical inceptions to its current and predictive state, this book presents many new ideas while updating established positions in research and theory. The vital areas covered in connection with hypnosis include: psychophysiology, creativity, dreams, imagination, suggestibility, simulator controls, cognitive activity, and ego-psychological theory. In addition there are chapters on hypnosis as a research method, the measurement of altered states of consciousness, and hypnotic programming techniques in psychological experiments. Hypnosis: Research Developments and Perspectives is written for researchers in hypnosis and clinical practitioners in medicine and psychology. The book will serve as a basic text in all courses in hypnosis at the graduate level.