Unravelling the Mysteries of Hypnotizability: A Componential Approach

1:00-2:00 PM PDT Keynote

Amanda J. Barnier, PhD, FASSA, Fellow SCEH, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research Performance) and Professor of Cognitive Science, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia

1 CE

In hypnosis, mere words can have remarkable effects on some people and deliver important therapeutic benefits. But despite over two centuries of clinical and scientific practice and investigation, our understanding of this fascinating cognitive capability remains incomplete. I describe a “componential” approach that has helped practitioners and researchers better understand other cognitive abilities such as reading, and discuss how and why this approach might be useful in our intrinsic, instrumental and applied work with hypnotizability and hypnosis.

Learning Outcomes:

• Describe historical approaches to individual differences in hypnotic ability across clinical and scientific contexts.

• Describe the relevance of “componential” approaches to individual differences in other cognitive skills such as learning to reading. • Differentiate the ways in which a componential approach to hypnotizability and hypnosis might assist our hypnotic practice and research.

2:00 PM Conference Adjourns

See you again next year!