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Biomedical subjects

W C Coe

Publications and source records attributed to W C Coe.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1995

Expectations and sequelae to hypnosis: initial findings.

As part of the introduction to an experiment using the Harvard Group Scale, subjects were given one of three brief instructions before being hypnotized: (1) no mention of negative or positive aftereffects, (2) vague warning of negative aftereffects, i.e., "some mildly unpleasant experiences", plus, "most persons report their experiences to be pleasurable and interesting", (3) specific warning of negative aftereffects, i.e., "approximately one half subjects have reported mild, short-term aftereffects such as headache", etc. (no positive information). The "specifically warned" Ss showed more negative aftereffects than both of the other groups, and the "no mention" Ss showed more than the "vaguely warned" Ss. The positive suggestions in the "vaguely warned" Ss instructions may have confounded the expectation for negative effects. A follow up study used instructions varying only in the degree of expectations for negative aftereffects (no mention of positive aftereffects). The results did not show group differences in negative aftereffects as predicted, however, correlational results suggested some interesting interactions among subject variables and the type of prehypnotic instructions administered.

Humans↗
PubMed1994

Nonverbal signs of deception during posthypnotic amnesia: a brief communication.

The question of hypnotic subjects complying with instructions, perhaps even purposely deceiving the hypnotist or deceiving themselves, has arisen from the state-nonstate (skeptical-credulous) theoretical controversy. However, experimental testing of competing hypotheses has been difficult. The current report offers methodological procedures that may prove useful. Subjects who were given posthypnotic amnesia instructions were tested on free recall and implicit recall of a 20-word list. To detect the possibility of deception, videotapes of real subjects and simulating subjects during and after posthypnotic amnesia were rated for nonverbal signs of deception, signs taken from the works of Ekman, Ekman and Friesen, and Zuckerman et al. Preliminary results were gathered on a small pilot sample, and recommendations for procedural improvements are proposed.

Awareness↗
PubMed1994

Retrieval inhibition in directed forgetting and posthypnotic amnesia.

In Experiment 1, subjects received either by word or by list directed forgetting or posthypnotic amnesia instructions. Recall and recognition performance of subjects who received directed forgetting instructions was consistent with previous findings reported by Basden, Basden, and Gargano (1993), with subjects who received by word instructions showing both recall and recognition deficits for to-be-forgotten items. By contrast, subjects who were given by list instructions showed recall but no recognition deficits, which suggests that although differential encoding underlies word method directed forgetting, retrieval inhibition underlies list method directed forgetting. Subjects who received posthypnotic amnesia instructions (irrespective of method of delivery used) showed recall deficits but no recognition deficits, which suggests that retrieval inhibition underlies posthypnotic amnesia. In Experiment 2, recognition scores were lower with public (oral) tests than with private (written) tests, and recovery was equivalent for to-be-forgotten and to-be-remembered items. The results are interpreted as inconsistent with the differential tagging mechanisms proposed by Huesmann, Gruder, and Dorst (1987).

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Hypnosis: wherefore art thou?

The present paper focuses on the influences of social-political needs of various groups with interests in hypnosis (i.e., stage hypnotists, lay hypnotists, licensed practitioners, and researchers). While hypnosis is a specific topic of interest to groups with varying needs, it also serves as an example for other topics in psychology that may overlap the needs of other groups--especially practitioners and researchers. The identity given to hypnosis varies depending upon which particular group of persons is offering the identity, and the nature of the identity reflects each group's biases and needs. These various identities, however, are not always acceptable, in part or in whole, by the other groups, as the needs of one or more may be in conflict with those of others.

Awareness↗
PubMed1990

Physiological responsiveness during hypnosis.

4 physiological measures--electromyogram, respiration rate, heart rate, and skin conductance--were recorded for 11 high and 11 low hypnotizable Ss. It was hypothesized (a) that physiological responsiveness during hypnosis would vary depending on the nature of the task instructions, and (b) that high hypnotizable Ss would show more physiological responsiveness than low hypnotizable Ss. The first hypothesis was substantiated across all 4 measures. Only heart rate levels supported the second hypothesis. The results are discussed as they relate to the 2 hypotheses and to future research.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Directed forgetting and posthypnotic amnesia: information processing and social contexts.

In three experiments we compared posthypnotic amnesia (PHA) with directed forgetting (DF), evaluating subjects' hypnotic susceptibility, hypnotized or not. Experiment 1 suggested that the memory processes in PHA and DF were not the same. Low and high susceptibility subjects responded differently in the two contexts. Experiment 2 demonstrated a context effect for highly susceptible subjects: They showed the usual DF response outside hypnosis but not during hypnosis. Experiment 3 showed that high and low susceptibility subjects responded similarly to DF instructions outside hypnosis, eliminating the susceptibility as an important variable in the DF response. We concluded: (a) The interaction of context and susceptibility was the important determinant of unusual DF responses for high susceptibles, and (b) information processing concepts are too limited to explain PHA and perhaps DF. Theories that include interactions appear necessary for an accurate understanding of hypnotic phenomena and perhaps some phenomena usually focused on by cognitive psychology.

Amnesia↗
PubMed1989

Increasing contextual pressures to breach posthypnotic amnesia.

The study investigated conditions that produce strong social pressures on posthypnotically amnesic Ss to remember more before being given the cue to remove amnesia. Highly susceptible Ss who passed posthypnotic amnesia were classified as voluntary or involuntary (having high or low control over recall). Test Ss were serially subjected to 3 pressure situations before being given the cue to lift amnesia: (a) instructions to be honest, (b) lie detection, and (c) a replay of a video of the session. Control Ss sat for the same amount of time and were only asked if they could remember anything else while the experimental Ss received the pressure recalls. All but 1 S breached in the experimental condition. Only the voluntary Ss breached in the control condition. Results are discussed as they relate to breaching amnesia and the voluntary dimension.

Amnesia↗
PubMed1989

More on volitional experiences and breaching posthypnotic amnesia.

3 experimental conditions using a mock lie detector were employed to investigate further the type of manipulations that lead posthynotically amnesic Ss to breach their amnesia before the reversibility cue is given. 1 condition told Ss they were telling the truth, another that they were lying, and another only that the physiological apparatus could tell whether they were telling the truth. Ss in the "lie" condition breached more than Ss in the other 2 conditions, which did not differ. Ss who rated their recall as in their control (voluntary) were more likely to report more material after breaching manipulations than Ss who reported their recall as not in their control (involuntary). The results are discussed as they relate to breaching conditions and the voluntary/involuntary dimension.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Volitional experiences associated with breaching posthypnotic amnesia.

Highly responsive hypnotic subjects classified as having control over remembering (voluntaries) or not having control over remembering (involuntaries) during posthypnotic amnesia were compared during posthypnotic recall. Subjects rerated their voluntariness after the experiment. Two contextual conditions were employed (2 X 2 design): a lie detector condition meant to create pressure to breach amnesia and a relax control condition. In contrast to earlier findings, the recall data showed that both voluntary and involuntary subjects breached under the lie detector condition compared with their counterparts in the relax condition; however, the degree of breaching was not great in any condition. The results are discussed as they relate to studies attempting to breach posthypnotic amnesia and characteristics of the voluntary-involuntary dimension.

Amnesia↗
PubMed1984

Minimal interventions for weight control: a cost-effective alternative.

Two studies were conducted to evaluate simpler, less intensive interventions for weight control which presumably would be more cost-effective and efficient than a "full-length" behavioral treatment program. In Study 1, participants in a minimal intervention (MI1) program who attended no regularly scheduled meetings and initially only received three simple verbal instructions about how to lose weight, lost an average of 11.1 lb. by 7-month follow-up. Subjects in three variations of a shortened, less intensive, 6-week behavioral weight loss program lost 7.8, 6.5 and 6.3 lb. but did not significantly differ from MI1 subjects in the amount of weight lost. In Study 2, MI2 subjects lost 5.5 lb. compared to subjects in two variations of a full-length program who lost 8.1 and 11.1 lb. by 6-month follow-up. Again, none of the groups significantly differed from each other in the amount lost. It was concluded that a minimal intervention program seems to produce weight loss and to be a cost-effective and efficient method for some subjects. The difference between the two minimal intervention programs may be related to the payment of a monetary deposit; a model for future research was presented to investigate simpler, less intensive interventions in combination with more complex ones in a "stepped-care" fashion.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1981

A physiological investigation of volitional and nonvolitional experience during posthypnotic amnesia.

Highly responsive hypnotic subjects, who were classified as having control over remembering (voluntaries) or not having control over remembering (involuntaries) during posthypnotic amnesia, were compared with each other on four physiological measures (heart rate, electrodermal response, respiration rate, muscle tension) during posthypnotic recall. Two contextual conditions were employed: One was meant to create pressure to breach posthypnotic amnesia (lie detector instructions); the other, a relax condition, served as a control. The recall data confirmed earlier findings of Howard and Coe and showed that voluntary subjects under the lie detector condition recalled more than the other three samples that did not differ from each other. However, using another measure of voluntariness showed that both voluntary and involuntary subjects breached under lie detector conditions. Electrodermal response supported the subjects' reports of control in this case. Physiological measures were otherwise insignificant. The results are discussed as they relate to (a) studies attempting to breach posthypnotic amnesia, (b) the voluntary/involuntary classification of subjects, and (c) theories of hypnosis.

Arousal↗