From catalepsy to psychical research: The itinerary of Timothée Puel (1812–1890).

Évrard, Renaud; Pratte, Erika Annabelle

doi:10.1037/hop0000048

Cited by 6 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…In addition to possible unconscious influence, there was the possibility that hypnotized subjects might have hypersensory abilities, and from there it was not such a leap to wonder if they might respond to "mental suggestion," or even to hypnotism at a distance. Several leading hypnotism researchers in Britain, France, Germany, and the United States conducted psychical research, and made explicit claims about psychic and supernatural abilities, while sceptics continued to draw the line by appealing to unconscious influence, dissociation, and hyper-sensory (but not "psychic") abilities as scientific explanations for seemingly psychic or supernatural phenomena (Brower, 2010;Coon, 1992;Evrard & Pratte, 2017Lamont, 2013Oppenheim, 1988;Plas, 2012;Sommer, 2012;Williams, 1985;Wolffram, 2009). Such boundaries, even when constructed in the discourse of experts, were often rather fuzzy.…”

Section: The "Golden Age" Of Hypnotismmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hypnotism and Suggestion: A Historical Perspective

Lamont¹

2020

Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Psychology

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Franz Anton Mesmer’s theory of “animal magnetism” proposed that living organisms possess an invisible magnetic fluid, which can be influenced by a “magnetizer” and, by doing so, a variety of illnesses can be cured. Contemporaries, such as the Marquis de Puysegur, took a more psychological view, claiming that a state of “artificial somnambulism” could be induced, through which alternate states of consciousness, and clairvoyant powers, could be exhibited. Public demonstrations of mesmeric phenomena, from insensibility to pain to clairvoyance, convinced many that there was something to it, whether as a medical tool or, perhaps, as evidence of supernatural powers. The distinction between mesmerism and hypnotism, made explicit in the writings of James Braid, distinguished between such phenomena, attributing the latter to fraud, and the former to suggestion. With the decline of mesmerism, facilitated in part by Braid’s theory and the introduction of chemical anesthesia, the more extraordinary phenomena of mesmerism, and the concept of a mysterious force, became part of the spiritualist and mind-cure movements, and the basis of psychical research. In the last quarter of the 19th century, a revival of scientific interest in hypnotism in France led to a dispute between two schools of thought: in Paris, hypnosis was explained in terms of an inherited pathological disposition; in Nancy, it was regarded as a normal process, and the product of suggestion. Hypnosis was used to explore the “dissociation” of personality and “sub-conscious” processes, provoking various theories about alternate selves in the normal and abnormal mind. At the turn of the 20th century, while clinical interest continued, experimental interest turned to the concepts of suggestion and suggestibility, which had practical educational, political, legal, and commercial relevance. A new line of hypnosis research, based on experimental, quantitative methods with normal subjects, began in the United States in the 1920s, and concluded that hypnosis was nothing more than suggestion. In the second half of the century, renewed scientific interest led to competing theories that explained hypnosis either in terms of a hypnotic state or else in terms of social roles. The dispute between “state” and “no state” theories was accompanied by a debate over the existence of a stable individual trait that might explain individual differences in hypnotizability. Meanwhile, as the effects of social influence became a significant topic of study, the implications for psychology experiments were considered in terms of “demand characteristics” and “experimenter effects.” In the last quarter of the 20th century, there was significant interest in legal issues relating to hypnosis, particularly concerning “recovered memory,” and the accusation that false memories and multiple personalities were the product of suggestion. As debates about the nature of hypnosis continue, the descendants of mesmerism, from “anomalous cognition” to “social priming,” which provoked recent debates about the limits of psychological methods, demonstrate the ongoing relevance of studying the boundaries of the mind.

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Section: The "Golden Age" Of Hypnotismmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hypnotism and Suggestion: A Historical Perspective

Lamont¹

2020

Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Psychology

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“…The study of "animal magnetism" and its derivative, "artificial somnambulism," experienced a peak in France in the late 18th century after its proposal by F. A. Mesmer and its practice by many others. However, many contradictory debates, including critical reports commissioned by Louis XVI, prevented it from obtaining a stable scientific recognition (Evrard & Pratte, 2017). In 1842, its official banishment by the French Academy of Medicine did not completely prevent the pursuit of studies on magnetism, but they were relegated to the margins of official science.…”

Section: The Experiments At Le Havrementioning

confidence: 99%

Pierre Janet and the enchanted boundary of psychical research.

Évrard¹,

Pratte²,

Cardeña³

2018

History of Psychology

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Among the founders of French psychology, Pierre Janet (1859-1947) is recognized for both his scientific and institutional roles. The psychology born at the turn of the 20th century was initially partly receptive to, but then engaged in, a battle with the "psychical marvelous," and Janet was no exception. He was involved in the split between psychology and parapsychology (or "metapsychics" in France), developed at that time, playing several successive roles: the pioneer, the repentant, and the gatekeeper. At first, he was involved in so-called experimental parapsychology, but quickly chose not to engage directly in this kind of research any longer. Janet seemed to become embarrassed by his reputation as psychical researcher, so he increased his efforts to side with the more conventional thought of his time. Janet's attitude, in this, is an example of how French nascent psychology has explored "marvelous phenomena" before recanting. Yet this aspect of Janet's work has been rarely commented on by his followers. In this article, we describe the highlights of his epistemological journey. (PsycINFO Database Record

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“…Four years later, in 1889, the society organized The First International Congress of Physiological Psychology. The adjective “physiological” was supposed to stress the scientific nature of the event (see Evrard & Pratte, 2017). The program of the first congress was much more limited than the one initially proposed by Ochorowicz (see Sabourin & Cooper, 2014).…”

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confidence: 99%