Understanding The Major Theories Of Hypnosis

A state of hypnosis is often accompanied by a deep and soothing relaxation and comprises of a state of heightened awareness. It cannot be forced upon anyone, and someone who is under hypnosis can come out of it easily. It is a relaxed and often highly rejuvenating and enjoyable experience. It is a very effective solution for many problems that people tend to face. In fact, people get into hypnotic states several times a day, while day dreaming, or turning a page only to forget what you just read, or even driving and going somewhere and forgetting the whole trip.

There are three major theories of hypnosis used for research – the Social Cognitive perspective, Neo disassociation theory and the Interactive-Phenomenological theories. Apart from this, paraprofessionals have used hypnosis for ages, thus their perspective on the issue counts as well.

The Social Cognitive theory, out of all the theories of hypnosis, looks at hypnosis in terms of a response or reaction in a social context. Social Cognitive theorists believe that hypnosis isn’t just a single process or an altered state of consciousness but that the situational and social context of the hypnotic session along with the subject’s pre-conceived notions, attitude and expectations will all contribute to the process. Role enactment and conformity form a major part of the analysis of hypnosis done by Social Cognitive theorists, such as Coe and Sarbin, Spanos and Wagstaff.

Theories of hypnosis also include the Neo disassociation theory, developed by Hilgard who derived it from the work of Pierre Janet, a French psychiatrist. This theory propagates that when memory, perceptions and motor controls are altered (that is, in the hypnotic state) it is due to the fact that the executive functions of the hierarchical arrangements of the cognitive substructures are altered via suggestion. Hilgard supports the state theory in the state versus non-state debate in hypnosis research. That is, this theory supports the belief that hypnotic is an altered state of consciousness from the “normal” one – and one that is induced by an induction process of hypnosis. This theory believes that under hypnosis, usually available conscious experience can be repressed and usually repressed processes are made more accessible by the hypnotist. Experimentally, the “hidden observer effect” demonstrated by Hilgard supports this theory.


The third major research theory of all the theories of hypnosis is the Interactive-Phenomenological perspective. This school of thought emphasizes the importance of the interaction of numerous variables while the process of hypnosis is going on, and the fact that this interaction depends upon the perception of the subjects and what the subjects make of their experiences. This perspective stresses on the differences between hypnotic and waking behavior, and the fact that the personalities of the subjects have a part in forming the whole experience of hypnosis. The Socio Cognitive and Interactive-Phenomenological theories of hypnosis have some parallels but are essentially different.

For paraprofessionals, the main elements in the practice of hypnosis are the words – trance and suggestion. Paraphrased by Heap, these words form the basis of the paraprofessional approach to hypnosis.