Post-hypnotic suggestion improves confidence and speed of memory access with long-lasting effects

Schmidt, Barbara; Böhmer, Justin; Schnuerch, Martin; Koch, Tobias; Michelmann, Sebastian

doi:10.1016/j.actpsy.2024.104240

Cited by 3 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 36 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…We performed an a priori power analysis. Based on the effect size of post-hypnotic suggestions on subjective ratings in previous studies conducted in our laboratory [17,18,23], an effect of d= .7 (Cohen's d) was assumed for the effect of post-hypnotic strength suggestions on subjective strength. A power analysis with the program G*Power [24] showed that a sample size of 24 participants per group is required to measure effects of this size.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Unleash your inner power: Improving handgrip strength via post-hypnotic suggestions with long-lasting effects

Nieft,

Schlütz,

Schmidt

2024

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In our study, we investigated whether hypnosis can affect muscle strength. As a measure, we used handgrip strength that we assessed via a hand dynamometer. In addition, we obtained subjective ratings of strength with a visual analogue scale. We developed a hypnosis intervention to make participants feel strong. In the intervention, we tied the feeling of strength to a post-hypnotic power anchor, so participants could evoke the feeling of strength again. We also had a randomized control group that did not receive hypnosis. We tested the effect of the post-hypnotic power anchor on two experimental sessions separated by one week. Our data show that participants in the hypnosis group felt significantly stronger with their post-hypnotic power anchor compared to their own baseline, both in the first and second experimental session. In addition, participants in the hypnosis group showed a significant increase in objective strength compared to their own baseline in the second experimental session. We found no statistically significant differences in objective strength between groups. We conclude that our hypnosis intervention primarily improved strength perception and secondary objective strength. Our intervention can help patients to regain their health after a medical intervention and athletes to improve their sport performance.

show abstract

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Unleash your inner power: Improving handgrip strength via post-hypnotic suggestions with long-lasting effects

Nieft,

Schlütz,

Schmidt

2024

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Based on the effect size of post-hypnotic suggestions on subjective ratings in previous studies conducted in our laboratory ( Böhmer and Schmidt, 2021 ; Schmidt et al, 2024a , b ), we performed a power analysis with G*power resulting in a required sample size of 17 participants to detect an effect of d = 0.7 in a within-subjects design (( Faul et al, 2007 ); d = 0.7, alpha = 0.05, power = 0.85). Via social networks (Instagram), we recruited downhill Mountainbike athletes who participated in two consecutive downhill Mountainbike races.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To illustrate this, participants can tie the feeling of safety to a piece of paper where they write the letter S for safety on it during hypnosis. When they are facing a challenge afterwards, they can use the S paper to elicit the feeling of safety again ( Böhmer and Schmidt, 2021 ; Schmidt et al, 2024a ). In another study, we tied the feeling of remembering easily to a piece of paper where participants write the letter E for easy remembering on during hypnosis.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In another study, we tied the feeling of remembering easily to a piece of paper where participants write the letter E for easy remembering on during hypnosis. When they had to remember the words they just learned, they could use the E paper to make it easier to remember ( Schmidt et al, 2024a ). In our study, we let participants of the hypnosis group listen to an audio-recorded hypnosis session at home before the race started.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Starting in your mental pole position: hypnosis helps elite downhill Mountainbike athletes to reach their optimal racing mindset

Hoffmann,

Strahler,

Schmidt

2024

Front. Psychol.

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

IntroductionDownhill Mountain Biking is an extreme sport requiring high mental strength to perform on the best level in a competition with only one run to win the race. The substantial challenge here is to control automatic processes like competitive anxiety and stress. Hypnosis can address these automatic processes. We developed and evaluated a hypnosis audio-intervention to activate the optimal racing mindset.MethodsIn our study, 19 elite Downhill Mountainbike athletes registered at two consecutive races of the IXS Downhill Cup. After the first race, athletes listened to the hypnosis audio-intervention. In this intervention, we instructed the athletes how to activate their optimal mental state before the second race. At both races, we measured competitive anxiety, stress, self-confidence, state resilience, and flow with validated questionnaires and assessed resting heart rate variability as physiological measure of resilience.ResultsRace-related somatic anxiety and subjective stress decreased significantly while self-confidence increased significantly from first to second race after athletes listened to the hypnosis. Heart rate variability was significantly increased at the second race indicating elevated vagal activity. When comparing race results of our participants to a control group of other elite athletes competing in the races but not listening to the hypnosis, we found that our study participants generally performed better in both races.ConclusionThe study shows that our hypnosis intervention was effective in reducing competitive anxiety and stress while increasing perceived resilience and self-confidence: After a self-administered hypnosis session, athletes were able to improve automatic processes responsible for putting them in their mental pole position.

show abstract

Increasing handgrip strength via post-hypnotic suggestions with lasting effects

Nieft,

Schlütz,

Schmidt

2024

Sci Rep

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In our study, we suggested participants to feel strong during hypnosis and tested if that affected their handgrip strength. Handgrip strength is measured via a hand dynamometer and indicates muscle strength and participants’ general medical condition. In addition, we obtained subjective ratings of strength via a visual analogue scale. We developed a hypnosis intervention to increase strength and tied the feeling of strength to a post-hypnotic power anchor. Participants could activate this power anchor afterwards to feel strong again. We also had a randomized control group that read Arnold Schwarzenegger’s autobiography instead of hypnosis. We tested the effect of the post-hypnotic power anchor on two experimental sessions separated by one week. Our data show that participants in the hypnosis group felt significantly stronger when they activated their post-hypnotic power anchor compared to their own baseline, both in the first and second experimental session. In addition, participants in the hypnosis group showed a significant increase in objective handgrip strength compared to their own baseline one week after the hypnosis session. We conclude that our hypnosis intervention primarily improved strength perception and secondary objective handgrip strength. Our intervention can help patients to improve their medical condition and athletes to improve their sport performance.

show abstract

Post-hypnotic suggestion improves confidence and speed of memory access with long-lasting effects

Cited by 3 publications

References 36 publications

Unleash your inner power: Improving handgrip strength via post-hypnotic suggestions with long-lasting effects

Unleash your inner power: Improving handgrip strength via post-hypnotic suggestions with long-lasting effects

Starting in your mental pole position: hypnosis helps elite downhill Mountainbike athletes to reach their optimal racing mindset

Increasing handgrip strength via post-hypnotic suggestions with lasting effects

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About