Is the hypnotized subject lying?
T Kinnunen, H S Zamansky, M L Block
Journal of Abnormal Psychology May 1, 1994 DOI: 10.1037//0021-843x.103.2.184 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Experimental study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Deeply hypnotized and simulating (nonhypnotized) adult participants |
| Intervention | Hypnotic suggestions |
| Measures | Skin conductance response (SCR) |
| Keywords | Humans Hypnosis Suggestion Truth disclosure Deception Guilt Arousal Galvanic skin response Adult Female |
| Key findings | Skin conductance responses were used to assess the truthfulness of participants' reports about hypnotic suggestions. Eighty-nine percent of deeply hypnotized participants' reports met the criterion for truthfulness, compared with 35% of simulators' reports, suggesting hypnotized individuals largely reported their experiences accurately. |
Abstract
Do the verbal reports of deeply hypnotized Ss truthfully reflect their subjective experiences of hypnotic suggestions? Experiment 1 established that the electrodermal skin conductance response (SCR) provides an effective method for detecting deception in the laboratory equally well in hypnotized and nonhypnotized Ss. In Experiment 2, deeply hypnotized and simulating Ss were administered a number of hypnotic suggestions in a typical hypnotic session, without mention of deception, and were questioned about their experiences while SCR measures were recorded concurrently. Results indicate that 89% of the hypnotized Ss' reports met the criterion for truthfulness, whereas only 35% of the simulators' reports met this criterion. Implications for the theory of hypnosis are discussed.