Hypnosis and the Experience of Nonvolition

Abstract

Consistent with theoretical perspectives on hypnosis and the experience of nonvolition (e.g., Arnold, 1946; Hilgard, 1977, 1979; Spa-nos, 1981, 1982), hypnotic Ss, when faced with a conflict between experiencing motoric suggestions and inhibiting movements, resolved the conflict by following the hypnotist's suggestions. Imagining and simulating Ss, by and large, showed no movements. Hypnotic Ss' reports of their experience reflected more conflict, sensations, imaginative involvement, and involuntariness than simulating Ss. Arnold's (1946) theory was not supported in that imagining Ss reported feeling as absorbed and involved in imaginings as hypnotic Ss but resisted responding to suggestions. The findings were more compatible with theoretical accounts which emphasize dissociation (Hilgard, 1977, 1979) and the importance of the experimental context in determining the experience of nonvolition (Spa-nos, 1981).