Controlling Attention to Optimise Hypnosis

Abstract

Research conducted by Cojan, et al. (2015) identified that susceptibility to hypnosis is closely associated with the Executive Control capabilities within the brain, which manage attentional focus. Similarly, experiments conducted by Jiang, et al. (2016) demonstrated that processes related to the management of attention through the Executive Control Network (ECN), Default Mode Network (DMN), and Salience Network (SN) were highly influential in facilitating a hypnotic state. This paper outlines an integrated framework for understanding how these aspects of attentional control can be managed practically to facilitate hypnotisation, by leveraging exogenous and endogenous factors. This approach builds on the attention management framework explained in Hilliard (2016), which can be used to apply effective top-down and bottom-up controls to influence a person’s perception and cognition. The factors encapsulated in this model include Salience, perceptual/cognitive Recognition, Value & Reward, Tasks & Plans, complexity, and arousal. As this paper demonstrates, each of these factors can influence attentional prioritisation, and they can therefore be applied to facilitate hypnotisation.

Keywords: Hypnosis, Cognition, Perception, Psychophysics, Neuroscience

JEL Classification: I20