Primary process, hypnotic dreams, and the hidden observer: hypnosis versus alert imagining.
Previous research indicated that high-hypnotizable participants reported more primary-process mentation in hypnotic dreams than low-hypnotizable participants instructed to simulate hypnosis. Differences in primary process were not evidenced in response to instructions for a "hidden part" of the participant to report on the hypnotic dream. This research replicated and extended these findings by showing that high-hypnotizable participants (n = 20) passing the dream suggestion reported more primary process in their dreams than high-hypnotizable participants instructed to remain alert and think and imagine along with suggestions (n = 20). Differences in primary process were not evidenced in response to hidden-observer suggestions, and the frequency of dream (87% hypnosis vs. 96% imagining) and hidden-observer responses (100% in both groups) was equivalent across hypnotic and nonhypnotic groups. The results provided qualified support for a psychoanalytic model of hypnosis: Differences in primary process were apparent in response to the dream but not the hidden-observer suggestion.
Pinnell
C M
CM
Ohio University, USA.
Lynn
S J
SJ
Pinnell
J P
JP
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003674:Defense Mechanisms; D004325:Dreams; D005201:Fantasy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006990:Hypnosis; D007092:Imagination; D007206:Individuality; D008297:Male; D011574:Psychoanalytic Theory; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology; D013404:Suggestion