Safety on demand: Post‐hypnotic suggestions of safety reduce neural signals of reward sensitivity with long‐term beneficial effects

Böhmer, Justin; Schmidt, Barbara

doi:10.1111/psyp.14015

Cited by 11 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 111 publications

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“…This result was interpreted as indicating less impulsive unhealthy choices under the influence of the PHS, which were implemented through effortful choice suppression. Further, our results showed qualitative and quantitative persistence of the PHS effects, at least over a period of 1 week, which is in line with other findings (Bohmer and Schmidt, 2022 ). Finally, our results revealed correlations between the PHS effects and hypnotizability, a multifactorial construct (Zahedi and Sommer, 2022 ).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

“…Interestingly, our Bayesian results confirmed that the observed effects of the PHS were not diminishing over a period of more than 1 week. Even though some anecdotal reports suggest the longevity of PHS effects (for review, see Zahedi et al, 2017 ; Bohmer and Schmidt, 2022 ), few studies have investigated the question. For instance, Bohmer and Schmidt (Bohmer and Schmidt, 2022 ) have shown that a safety-promoting PHS was effective over several weeks ( Median = 49 days, Range = 7169 days ) after hypnosis induction.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Even though some anecdotal reports suggest the longevity of PHS effects (for review, see Zahedi et al, 2017 ; Bohmer and Schmidt, 2022 ), few studies have investigated the question. For instance, Bohmer and Schmidt (Bohmer and Schmidt, 2022 ) have shown that a safety-promoting PHS was effective over several weeks ( Median = 49 days, Range = 7169 days ) after hypnosis induction. In line with previous reports, our results not only show the longevity of PHS effects but also revealed that these effects are not qualitatively or quantitatively altered.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The nature and persistence of the effects of posthypnotic suggestions on food preferences: The final report of an online study

et al. 2023

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The persistence of food preferences, which are crucial for diet-related decisions, is a significant obstacle to changing unhealthy eating behavior. To overcome this obstacle, the current study investigates whether posthypnotic suggestions (PHSs) can enhance food-related decisions by measuring food choices and subjective ratings. After assessing hypnotic susceptibility in Session 1, at the beginning of Session 2, a PHS was delivered aiming to increase the desirability of healthy food items (e.g., vegetables and fruit). After the termination of hypnosis, a set of two tasks was administrated twice, once when the PHS was activated and once deactivated in counterbalanced order. The task set consisted of rating 170 pictures of food items, followed by an online supermarket where participants were instructed to select enough food from the same item pool for a fictitious week of quarantine. After 1 week, Session 3 mimicked Session 2 without renewed hypnosis induction to assess the persistence of the PHS effects. The Bayesian hierarchical modeling results indicate that the PHS increased preferences and choices of healthy food items without altering the influence of preferences in choices. In contrast, for unhealthy food items, not only both preferences and choices were decreased due to the PHS, but also their relationship was modified. That is, although choices became negatively biased against unhealthy items, preferences played a more dominant role in unhealthy choices when the PHS was activated. Importantly, all effects persisted over 1 week, qualitatively and quantitatively. Our results indicate that although the PHS affected healthy choices through resolve, i.e., preferred more and chosen more, unhealthy items were probably chosen less impulsively through effortful suppression. Together, besides the translational importance of the current results for helping the obesity epidemic in modern societies, our results contribute theoretically to the understanding of hypnosis and food choices.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The nature and persistence of the effects of posthypnotic suggestions on food preferences: The final report of an online study

et al. 2023

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“…The interval between Session 2 and Session 3 appears to be justified considering the effects of PHS in other contexts. For instance, Böhmer and Schmidt ( 32 ) have shown that a safety-promoting PHS was effective even over several weeks (Median = 49 days, Range = 7–169 days) after the hypnosis induction.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Nature and Persistence of Posthypnotic Suggestions' Effects on Food Preferences: An Online Study

et al. 2022

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Food preferences are crucial for diet-related decisions, which substantially impact individual health and global climate. However, the persistence of unfavorable food preferences is a significant obstacle to changing eating behavior. Here we explored the effects of posthypnotic suggestions (PHS) on food-related decisions by measuring food choices, subjective ratings, and indifference points. In Session 1, demographic data and hypnotic susceptibility of participants were assessed. In Session 2, following hypnosis induction, PHS aiming to increase the desirability of healthy food was delivered. Afterward, a task set was administrated twice, once when PHS was activated and once deactivated. The order of PHS activation was counterbalanced across participants. The task set included a liking-rating task for 170 pictures of different food items, followed by an online supermarket where participants were instructed to select enough food for a fictitious week of quarantining from the same item pool. After 1 week, Session 3 repeated Session 2 without hypnosis induction in order to assess the persistence of PHS. The crucial dependent measures were food choices, subjective ratings, and the indifference points as a function of time and PHS condition.

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“…After these encouraging results, I decided to link the feeling of safety to a post-hypnotic trigger ( Böhmer and Schmidt, 2022 ). I wanted to investigate whether this could trigger the feeling of being in a safe place in the long term without the need for another therapeutic session.…”

Section: Feeling Safe With Hypnosismentioning

confidence: 99%

Feeling Safe With Hypnosis: Eliciting Positive Feelings During a Special State of Consciousness

Schmidt

2022

Front. Psychol.

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Our state of consciousness is crucial for our ability to follow suggestions. Suggestions in turn are a powerful tool to induce positive emotional states. In my research, I suggest positive feelings of safety during hypnosis. This is a positive emotional state of low arousal and low anxiety. Both arousal and anxiety affect our decision-making. However, when we feel safe due to hypnotic suggestions of safety, we do not act riskier. Instead, EEG brain activity shows that monetary rewards get less important and delayed rewards are less devalued compared to immediate rewards when we feel safe. These results open promising perspectives for the use of hypnosis to reduce impulsive behavior, for example, in substance abuse. Therapeutic suggestions of safety even work in highly stressful environments like the intensive care unit. I showed that patients tolerate non-invasive ventilation much better when they get the suggestion to feel safe. The effects of positive therapeutic suggestions delivered during hypnosis even persist over time. Post-hypnotic suggestions are associations between a certain emotional state and a trigger that elicits this emotional state after hypnosis is over. I showed that post-hypnotic suggestions of safety are effective weeks after the therapeutic session. Therefore, I present a therapeutic technique that uses a special state of consciousness, hypnosis, to induce positive emotional states. The effects of this technique are very strong and long lasting. My goal is to provide scientific evidence for the use of hypnotherapeutic techniques to increase the number of people who apply and profit from them.

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Safety on demand: Post‐hypnotic suggestions of safety reduce neural signals of reward sensitivity with long‐term beneficial effects

Abstract: This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Cited by 11 publications

References 111 publications

The nature and persistence of the effects of posthypnotic suggestions on food preferences: The final report of an online study

The nature and persistence of the effects of posthypnotic suggestions on food preferences: The final report of an online study

The Nature and Persistence of Posthypnotic Suggestions' Effects on Food Preferences: An Online Study

Feeling Safe With Hypnosis: Eliciting Positive Feelings During a Special State of Consciousness

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