Effects of Different Types of Hypnotic Suggestions upon Physical Performance

Abstract

Ten young men in excellent physical condition and trained to meet specified criteria of trance depth (including ability to experience vivid visual and auditory hallucinations, to move about skillfully and naturally in the trance state, to carry out posthypnotic suggestions and, as the basic criterion, to undergo spontaneous posthypnotic amnesia) performed a standardized large-muscle exercise to exhaustion. The exercise: at set cadence pressing a 47-pound barbell from a supine position on a narrow bench. Performance was after receiving hypnotic suggestions in four conditions: (A) stereotyped suggestions in trance, performance in hypnosis; (B) pep-talk suggestions (urgent but not hysterical) in trance, performance in hypnosis; (C) suggestions in the trance to be activated post-hypnotically by signal during exercise; and (D) posthypnotic failure suggestions to reduce performance out of hypnosis. The subjects had no conscious awareness of what, if any, suggestions were given to them in any of the conditions. Only condition D was significantly different from the others (1% level of confidence) and these scores were consistently worst. Of the remaining three conditions, best individual performance occurred in B (pep-talk) and no worst scores occurred in this condition. In the various hypnosis-fatigue studies attempted to date, only the failure-type suggestions seem to get results consistently.