The Response Set Theory of Hypnosis

Abstract

The response set theory of hypnosis (Kirsch & Lynn, 1997) is an extension of response expectancy theory (Kirsch, 1985), which is rooted in social cognitive approach to understanding human experience and behavior. Although the idea of a uniquely hypnotic altered state of consciousness is rejected, so too are compliance-based explanations of hypnotic behavior. Suggestions, in or out of the social context of hypnosis, can produce profound alterations in experience, including dissociative experiences, and these can be verified through corresponding changes in brain physiology. Response expectancies play a major, but not exclusive, role in the production of suggested experiences as well. Because of widespread cultural beliefs about hypnosis, the hypnotic context intensifies the effects of suggestion for most people, and this is the primary source of its therapeutic effects.