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Eliminating stroop effects with post-hypnotic instructions: Brain mechanisms inferred from EEG.
Anoushiravan Zahedi1, Birgit Stuermer2, Javad Hatami1
1University of Tehran, Iran.
Neuropsychologia
|January 13, 2017
Summary
Post-hypnotic suggestions effectively reduce the Stroop effect by inhibiting word meaning access. Hypnosis alone did not impact this cognitive task, but EEG data revealed increased frontal theta and beta power under suggestion, suggesting enhanced cognitive control.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Psychology
Background:
- The Stroop task reveals automatic word meaning processing, which is difficult to inhibit.
- Post-hypnotic suggestions may offer a method to suppress automatic cognitive processes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of hypnosis and post-hypnotic suggestions on the Stroop effect.
- To explore the neural mechanisms underlying these effects using electroencephalography (EEG).
Main Methods:
- Highly hypnotizable participants performed the Stroop task under three conditions: post-hypnotic suggestion, hypnosis alone, and a control.
- EEG data were analyzed for changes in frontal theta and beta power.
Main Results:
- Post-hypnotic suggestions significantly abolished the Stroop effect, including its facilitation and interference components.
- Hypnosis alone did not alter the Stroop effect or overall performance.
- EEG showed increased frontal theta and beta power during the post-hypnotic suggestion condition.
Conclusions:
- Post-hypnotic suggestions, not hypnosis alone, can elicit top-down control, effectively inhibiting automatic word meaning access.
- Increased frontal theta and beta power during suggestions may indicate the engagement of additional cognitive control resources.
