| The purpose of this qualitative, interpretative-phenomenological study was to explore the limino-hermeneutic essence of hypnotic experiencing inclusive of individual pre-hypnotic attitudes and post-hypnotic ascriptions of meaning. In order to ensure data variability and the yielding of thick descriptive data, a maximum variation purposive sample of 8 individuals presenting variations in age, gender, education level, and employment, marital, and parental status was employed. Data collection centered upon pre- and post-hypnotic, semi-structured interviews wherein participants shared attitudes related to hypnosis prior to and following hypnotic experiencing. Transcribed interview data were analyzed via interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) in order to isolate emergent thematic elements. The analysis revealed that cultural priming, transformational expectancies, ritualistic context, and attentional regulation may be instrumental in the occurrence and operation of hypnosis. Study data also revealed that while hypnosis may be associated with dreamlike experiencing, it is not analogous with sleep-state dreaming. More precisely, anomalous sensory and perceptual experiences encountered during events sometimes associated with altered states (i.e., ganzfeld experiments) are not hypnagogic, but rather, hypnagoidal in nature. Thus, anomalous sensory and perceptual experiences encountered during hypnosis may operate via a sustained hypnagoidal stasis characterized by dramaturgical, imaginative processes sometimes associated with a liminal crossing. The hypnotist performs the role of trusted guide during this crossing, and provides a socially-sanctioned ritualistic context wherein psychological transformation may occur. While findings support the viability of expanding the employment of hypnosis as an adjunct to traditional interventions, additional research may continue to clarify the essence of hypnosis, thereby bolstering clinical application. Specifically, research considering the degree to which individuals perceive hypnosis as a ritualistic context for liminal transformation, hypnosis as a "non-intellectualized" experience, the operation of hypnosis within a sustained hypnagoidal stasis, and hypnosis as consciousness-changing or spiritual experience is recommended to expand clinical knowledge. Although findings appear to indicate a sociocognitive framework within which hypnosis may occur and operate, neurological correlates underlying hypnotic experiencing have not been fully explicated. Consequently, additional neurological research incorporating insights drawn from other theoretical perspectives could be further developed in conjunction with sociocognitive theory in order to provide a multi-faceted explication of the hypnosis phenomenon. |
