Altered States of Consciousness within a General Evolutionary Perspective: A Holocultural Analysis

Bourguignon, Erika; Evascu, Thomas L.

doi:10.1177/106939717701200303

Cited by 67 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…For the purpose of the present discussion, however, we define culture as referring to the unifying beliefs, customs, and arts of a particular group of people. Culture mediates the ability to imagine a suggested experience, which further depends on the interaction between neurocognitive predispositions and socio-cultural beliefs about altered states of consciousness (Bourguignon & Evascu, 1977;Krippner, 2000). For example, labeling an induction procedure as hypnosis rather than relaxation increases participant response to subsequent suggestions (Hylands- White & Derbyshire, 2007;Oakley & Gandhi, 2005).…”

Section: The Role Of Culture In Altered States Of Consciousnessmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These activities resemble hypnotic practices in the sense that altered cognition and personal beliefs co-determine the desired experience. Moreover, such practices prevail globally; approximately 89% of 488 studied societies socially approve and promote altered states of consciousness (Bourguignon & Evascu, 1977). This social encouragement primes certain populations for hypnotic phenomena by ingraining in them a sense of familiarity with such psychological experiences.…”

Section: The Role Of Culture In Altered States Of Consciousnessmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Transcultural Factors in Hypnotizability Scales: Limits and Prospects

Champigny

Raz

2015

American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis

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Hypnotic suggestibility--loosely termed hypnotizability--is difficult to assess across cultures. Investigators often use translated research instruments to guide their inquiry in disparate geographic locations. Present-day hypnosis researchers rely heavily on two primary scales that are more than half a century old: the Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale: Form C (SHSS:C) (Weitzenhoffer & Hilgard, 1959) and the Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility: Form A (HGSHS:A) (Shor & Orne, 1962). Scholars typically translate these scales to measure hypnotizability transculturally. This approach, however, operates under the specious assumption that the concept of hypnotizability is largely monolithic or universal across cultures. Whereas translations likely conserve the linguistic content, they may arguably imply different cultural meanings and historical subtexts. Whereas social scientists acknowledge the importance of qualitative and phenomenological accounts in the study of altered consciousness, including suggestibility, researchers interested in hypnotizability consider the impact of findings from anthropology and ethnography too little. Clinicians and scholars of hypnosis would stand to benefit from incorporating the insights afforded by transcultural research in the overarching investigation of a concept as nuanced as hypnotizability.

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Section: The Role Of Culture In Altered States Of Consciousnessmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Role Of Culture In Altered States Of Consciousnessmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transcultural Factors in Hypnotizability Scales: Limits and Prospects

Champigny

Raz

2015

American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis

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“…This is due, in part, to the fact that alterations in consciousness (i.e., observed or experienced changes in people's patterns of perception, cognition, and/or affect at a given point in time) are not only sanctioned but are also deliberately fostered by virtually all indigenous groups. For example, Bourguignon and Evascu (1977) read ethnographic descriptions of 488 different societies, finding that 89% were characterized by socially approved alterations of consciousness. The ubiquitous nature of hypnotic-like procedures in native healing (e.g., Bowers, 1961) is also the result of the ways in which human capacities --such as the capability to strive toward a goal and the ability to imagine a suggested experience --can be channeled and shaped, albeit differentially, by social interactions (Murphy, 1947, chap.…”

Section: Historical and Cross-cultural Issuesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Indigenous Healing Practitioners and Their Use of Hypnotic-Like Procedures

Krippner

2009

Act Nerv Super

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According to Division 30 of the American Psychological Association, "hypnosis" typically involves an introduction to the procedure during which a subject, client, or research participant is told that suggestions for imaginative experiences will be presented. The so-called "hypnotic induction" is an extended initial suggestion for using one's imagination, and may contain further elaboration of the introduction. The subsequent "hypnotic procedure" is used to encourage and evaluate the subject's responses to suggestions. When using hypnosis, one person (the subject) is guided by another (the hypnotist) to respond to suggestions involving changes in subjective experience, as well as alterations in perception, sensation, emotion, thought or behavior. In addition, persons can also learn self-hypnosis, which is the act of administering hypnotic procedures on one's own. If the subject responds to hypnotic suggestions, it is generally inferred that hypnosis has been induced. Many practitioners, but not all practitioners, believe that hypnotic responses and experiences are characteristic of a so-called "hypnotic state." While some practitioners think that it is not necessary to use the word "hypnosis" as part of the hypnotic induction, others view it as essential. In other words, there are agreements and disagreements concerning the definition and description of hypnosis even by researchers, theoreticians, and practitioners who have given considerable thought to this topic. In addition, the details of hypnotic procedures and suggestions will differ depending on the goals of the practitioner and the purposes of the clinical or research endeavor. Procedures traditionally involve suggestions to relax, although relaxation is not necessary for hypnosis and a wide variety of suggestions can be used including those to become more alert. Suggestions that permit the extent of hypnosis to be assessed by comparing responses to standardized scales can be used in both clinical and research settings. While the majority of individuals are responsive to at least some suggestions, scores on standardized scales range from high to negligible. Traditionally, scores are grouped into low, medium, and high categories. As is the case with other positively scaled measures of psychological constructs such as attention and awareness, the salience of evidence for having achieved hypnosis increases with the individual's score. The term "hypnosis" was coined by James Braid (1795-1860), an English physician. Braid disliked the term "mesmerism," which had been named after its originator, Franz Anton Mesmer (1734-1815), an Austrian physician. Braid concluded that Mesmer's purported cures were not due to "animal magnetism" as Mesmer had insisted, but to suggestion. He developed the eye-fixation technique (also known as "Braidism") of inducing relaxation and called the process "hypnosis" (after Hypnos, the Greek god of sleep) because he thought that hypnotic phenomena were a form of sleep. Later, realizing his error, he tried to change the name to ...

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“…3 Aside from these modern industrial societies, roughly 90% of traditional societies seek out and value experiences had in ASCs, and especially in dreams (Bourguignon, 1973;Bourguignon & Evascu, 1977). These traditional societies are called polyphasic cultures, meaning that they value experiences had in the dream-life and in other ASCs (see Locke & Kelly, 1985).…”

Section: International Journal Of Transpersonal Studies 65mentioning

confidence: 99%

Dreaming and Reality: A Neuroanthropological Account

Laughlin

2013

IJTS

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Altered States of Consciousness within a General Evolutionary Perspective: A Holocultural Analysis

Cited by 67 publications

References 20 publications

Transcultural Factors in Hypnotizability Scales: Limits and Prospects

Transcultural Factors in Hypnotizability Scales: Limits and Prospects

Indigenous Healing Practitioners and Their Use of Hypnotic-Like Procedures

Dreaming and Reality: A Neuroanthropological Account

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