It is the process of planting thoughts into other people`s minds. Hypnotists are also known for their work as mesmerists.
Hypnosis is divided into various categories, based on what sort of trances the mesmerist uses in her job.
For example, in our day, mesmerist and hypnotist Jon Finch often uses hypnosis to apparently discern minds.
Finch`s skills comprise psychic suggestion, ideomotor action, and regression, imagination.
Hypnosis is a state of human consciousness that involves focused attention and a reduced awareness of the peripheral as well as an increased ability to react to suggestions. It could be used to refer to an art, skill, or the process of creating hypnosis.
Theories that explain what happens in hypnosis can be divided into two categories. The theories of altered state view that hypnosis is an altered state or Trance, characterized by a level of awareness distinct from the usual conscious state. In contrast, `nonstate` theories see hypnosis as an act of imagination or playfulness.
The most familiar
method of hypnosis
is to obtain memories via suggestion. However, different forms of hypnosis are sometimes included.
In hypnosis, an individual is said to experience increased concentration and focus. Attention is shifted to the topic to be focused on, and the hypnotized individual appears to be in a state of trance or sleep state, and has an enhanced capacity to respond to suggestions. A person might experience partial amnesia, allowing them to forget things or disconnect from former or present memories. They are also said to show an increased response to suggestions. This could explain why the person could perform actions that aren`t in line with their usual behavior patterns.
Certain experts believe that hypnotic susceptibility is related to personality traits. People who are highly hypnotized by personality traits such as psychopathic, narcissistic or Machiavellian personality features may find hypnotic sessions to be more like controlling others rather than being managed. But, those with an altruistic personality type will likely remember and take in ideas more easily, and will act on them willingly without feeling threatened.
Theories of hypnosis define it as a state that is characterized by high alertness and focus, shifts in the brain`s activity or levels of awareness, or dissociation.
In popular culture , the term “hypnosis” often brings to thoughts stereotypical depictions of stage hypnosis that involve spectacle-like transformations from an awake state into the state of trance, typically depicted by the subject`s arms dropping hypnotically towards their side, the suggestion that they`re either drunk or sleepy and a subsequent request to perform a certain action. Stage hypnosis is usually performed by an entertainer playing the role of a hypnotist. The subject`s compliance is enacted by putting them in a trance state where they`re willing to listen and accept the advice given to them.
The term “hypnosis” can be used to describe non-state phenomena. It has also been argued that the effects observed in hypnotic induced states are examples of classical conditioning, and reactions learned through previous experience in the state of hypnosis. But, it is widely agreed upon within the field that when hypnosis is artificially produced to create states of high suggestibility (known as trance logic) there is a high degree of logical, linguistic and cognitive function that is normal even when it appears to be highly concentrated. This strange phenomenon has been suggested as the result of two cooperating processes working in opposition: one becoming more focused, the other becoming less focused. The hypnotic subject is able to experience a narrowing of their concentration, and simultaneously, a heightened ability to concentrate on matters that relate to the hypnotist`s suggestion.
There are a variety of theories regarding what actually happens inside the brain when someone is hypnotized, but there seems to be some agreement that it is the result of a focus concentration and an altered state.
People under hypnosis generally are more likely to experience their attention focused on the area of the brain in which the voice of the hypnotist emanating from. This leads to a heightened attentional processes, by shutting out all other sensory information. People who are hypnotized can concentrate on the recommended behavior, but are still able to carry out tasks that aren`t in the normal patterns of behavior. The intense concentration leads to an altered state in the brain.