Hypnotic analgesia and stress inoculation in the reduction of pain

The influence of hypnotic ability on three methods of reducing cold-pressor pain was investigated. Following a baseline immersion, 30 high and 30 low hypnotizable undergraduates were randomly assigned to one of three treatment groups: stress inoculation training, stress inoculation training defined as hypnosis, or hypnotic analgesia. Analysis of pain reports indicated a significant Hypnotic Ability X Treatment interaction. Among subjects receiving hypnotic analgesia, high hypnotizables reported significantly less intense pain than lows. There was no differential response for high and low hypnotizable subjects receiving stress inoculation training, whether or not it was defined as hypnotic. Moreover, subjects in the stress inoculation condition (whether or not defined as hypnosis) reported using cognitive strategies to reduce pain, whereas this was not the case for subjects in the hypnotic analgesia condition. The present findings seem inconsistent with the social psychological account of hypnosis and are discussed from a dissociation perspective, which views hypnosis as involving changes in the way information is processed.