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response at all. In fact, at an earlier demonstration the even more dramatic test of firing a starting-pistol
near the Subject had been used, also with no effect. Naturally there was no response either to any
questions asked of him.
The particular significance of the experiment that day was that another student was motivated to wonder
if, despite the lack of overt response, there might be "some part" of the Subject which continued to be
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Principles of hypnosis (17). Dissociated systems and their role in hypnotherapy.
aware of what was being said. The reasoning was that since there was no malfunction of the ears
themselves, the words might be getting some distance into the brain. The instructor agreed to test this
hypothesis and did so in the following way.
He spoke quietly to the Subject, who had proved unresponsive to the loudest noises. He began with the
general observation that there are many internal systems of which there is no conscious awareness, such
as those that control circulation and digestion. He then added that there might be mental processes of
which there may also be no awareness. Next he suggested that there might be a part of the Subject that
was able to listen to his voice and process information. Finally he asked for the ideo-motor response of
the lifting of an index finger if this last suggestion was in fact the case.
Apparently both the instructor and his class were surprised when the finger rose. So was the Subject, who
immediately spoke to remark on the fact that he had felt his finger move for no reason and wanted to
know what had happened.
The instructor therefore restored the Subjects's normal sense of hearing by touching him on the shoulder.
The Subject's account of events was that he recalled the initial instructions about going deaf at the count
of three, and being able to hear again on being touched. There was then only a silence, which was rather
boring, and so he had occupied his time with a mathematical problem. While thus employed he had felt
his finger lift, and so asked about it.
The Subject was then told what had happened and then the initial suggestions were reversed so that he
was able to hear again without a hand on his shoulder.
The next step taken was to use an analogue of the phenomenon of "automatic writing". This is a
phenomenon which has been reported at various times in the history of Hypnosis, and had been used by
this instructor. It involves the recovery of material not accessible to consciousness by means of one hand
being placed "out of awareness" by Hypnotic techniques, and then being allowed to write in response to
questions. (This is discussed further in Chapter 18.)
The instructor again went through his Hypnotic induction and talked explicitly of there being two parts of
the Subject, and that a certain touch on the arm would put the instructor in touch with that part which had
known what was going on when he was hypnotically deaf. He further suggested that that part would be
able to answer questions, while the other part - presumably the conscious mind - would be unaware even
of the fact of talking until "out of hypnosis" again. At that stage he was to be consciously aware of
everything.
The instructor then touched the Subject in the specified way and asked questions. The results were very
much those which would have been expected if automatic writing had been used instead. The Subject
spoke freely of the experiences which had occurred when he had been "deaf", such as the conversations
between the instructor and the other students, and the banging of the blocks. But when the touch was
removed the Subject reported no conscious awareness of what he had just said.
Finally when all the suggestions were reversed the Subject was able, as suggested, to remember
everything that had happened.
The conclusion drawn from this little experiment was that it is possible for one part of the brain to
register incoming information even if there is no conscious awareness of it. Furthermore it may be
possible to recover such information. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]