Fear of hypnosis: the role of labeling in patients' acceptance of behavioral interventions

Hendler, Cobie Susan

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/98467 Copy

Description

Title

Fear of hypnosis: the role of labeling in patients' acceptance of behavioral interventions

Author(s)

Hendler, Cobie Susan

Issue Date

1985-05

Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)

Redd, William H.

Department of Study

Psychology

Discipline

Psychology

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

M.A. (master's)

Degree Level

Thesis

Keyword(s)

• hypnotism
• behavior modification

Language

en

Abstract

Although increasing numbers of physicians, dentists, and health-care professionals employ hypnosis and relaxation techniques to control pain and reduce anxiety, clinicians have reported that many lay people are reluctant to engage in such procedures (Redd, Rosenberger, & Hendler, 1982). This reluctance may be, in part, due to negative attitudes shaped by the popular press. The media have often associated hypnosis with magic or the super- natural, overdramatized its effects, and characterized the hypnotized indi- vidual as dependent and vulnerable. It is unclear whether these negative attitudes are in response to the actual procedure or to the label used to identify it. The aims of the research reported here were: (a) to assess cancer patients' attitudes toward hypnosis and relaxation procedures used to control chemotherapy side effects, (b) to determine the role of procedural labels on patients' beliefs in and their willingness to use the behavioral procedure; and (c) to compare cancer patients' attitudes toward hypnosis with those of undergraduate students.

Type of Resource

text

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http://hdl.handle.net/2142/98467

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