Introduction (01:18)

FREE PREVIEW

Dr. Ernest R Hilgard is a well-known professor of psychology and served as a president of the American Psychological Association. He has also significantly contributed to the study of conditioning and learning theory.

History of Hypnosis (05:59)

The interviewer begins his conversation with Hilgard by asking him about his experience and study of hypnosis for use in therapy sessions. Hilgard gives the interviewer a brief history of the study of hypnosis, pointing out several influential leaders in the field, including Sigmund Freud, and explains why the process is not popular in American psychology.

Experimental Hypnosis (06:25)

Hilgard explains how a pain study is conducted, using human subjects, within his laboratory at Stanford, and how hypnosis is incorporated into this research. The interviewer expresses concern over the use of human subjects, but Hilgard explains the university takes great precautions to inform and keep their volunteers safe, and their studies have been quite popular.

Drugs Versus Hypnosis (05:13)

The interviewer asks Hilgard about how hypnosis and drug treatments compare and when they should be used together or separately when treating a patient. They then go on to discuss several popular recreational drugs of the day, including LSD, and how they would like to study hypnosis in conjunction with similar hallucinogens.

Training Hypnosis Techniques (04:37)

The interviewer points out that untrained, uneducated people can induce a trance almost just as well as an expert; Hilgard responds by saying untrained people should not conduct such experiments and it should not be used in stage productions. Hilgard states one of the problems within the field is that it is too easy to hypnotize, making a real branch of experts irrelevant.

Future Use of Hypnosis (05:19)

The interviewer moves Hilgard into a discussion on whether hypnosis can be included in contemporary areas of research such as dissonance, imitation, or conditioning theories. Hilgard talks about what he prefers to include in an introductory psychology course and his opinions on whether students should move forward into a career in the field.

Credits: Dr. Ernest R Hilgard (00:21)

Credits: Dr. Ernest R Hilgard