Clinical evidence for the effectiveness of hypnosis in the treatment of acute procedural pain was critically evaluated based on reports from randomized controlled clinical trials (RCTs). Results from the 29 RCTs meeting inclusion criteria suggest that hypnosis decreases pain compared to standard care and attention control groups and that it is at least as effective as comparable adjunct psychologi

Exploring autonomic nervous system (ANS) changes during hypnosis is critical for understanding the nature and extent of the hypnotic phenomenon and for identifying the mechanisms underlying the effects of hypnosis in different medical conditions. To assess ANS changes during hypnosis, electrodermal activity and pulse rate variability (PRV) were measured in 121 young adults. Participants either rec

In this pilot study, the authors introduce a new system to assess hypnosis style. The Feature-Based Coding System (FBCS) comprises 24 standard individual hypnosis sessions, which were videotaped and coded according to both a previous and the new coding system. In addition, both subjects and hypnotists filled the Archaic Involvement Measure (AIM), the Phenomenology of Consciousness Inventory (PCI),

Since the discovery of the mirror neuron system, it has been proposed that the automatic tendency to copy observed actions exists in humans and that this mechanism might be responsible for a range of social behavior. A strong argument for automatic behavior can be made when actions are executed against motivation to do otherwise. Strategic games in which imitation is disadvantageous serve as ideal

This paper argues that studying why and when people call certain actions stupid should be the interest of psychological investigations not just because it is a frequent everyday behavior, but also because it is a robust behavioral reflection of the rationalistic expectations to which people adjust their own behavior and expect others to. The relationship of intelligence and intelligent behavior ha

Objective: This paper describes a randomized controlled single blind study testing the effects of a patient education intervention combined with positive therapeutic suggestions on anxiety for cataract surgery patients. Methods: 84 patients participated in the study. Physiological and behavioral indicators of anxiety were compared between a regularly treated control and an intervention group recei

Changes in oxytocin and cortisol levels were tested in healthy volunteers during hypnotic interactions in standardized laboratory sessions. Preto posthypnosis changes of oxytocin and cortisol were related to the hypnotic susceptibility of subjects and the relational experiences reposted by subjects and hypnotists on several paper-and-pencil tests. Results show that the changes in oxytocin are not

BACKGROUND: Suggestive interventions such as hypnosis and therapeutic suggestions are frequently used to alleviate surgical side effects; however, the effectiveness of therapeutic suggestion intervention has not yet been systematically evaluated. In the present study, we tested the hypotheses that (1) suggestive interventions are useful for reducing postoperative side effects; (2) therapeutic sugg

Introduction: There is an ever reoccurring question in medical practice: Does the positive attitude and communication of the medical staff make any diff erence Aim: Our aim is to present a comprehensive overview of the medically relevant eff ects of positive suggestions by reviewing the recent literature. Methods: We will review the studies measuring the eff ects of suggestive communication of the

There is a reoccurring question in medical practice: do positive attitude and communication of the medical staff make any difference? Aim: Our aim is to present a comprehensive image of the medically relevant effects of positive suggestions by reviewing the recent literature. Methods: We review the studies measuring the effects of suggestive communication of the past 20 years. In cases of studies

System-thinking and related systemic methods enhance traditional risk and hazard assessments and accident analysis, as well as system design. The Functional Resonance Analysis Method (FRAM) is a recently developed method for systemic analysis. FRAM facilitates descriptions of the functional relations among system elements. In case of large systems (e.g. several agents, multiple procedures, many te