Stage hypnosis and public lecture effects on attitudes and beliefs regarding hypnosis

Stage hypnosis shows, designed to entertain and amaze, and public lectures, designed to explain and educate, provide dramatically different introductions to hypnosis. This study examined how audience members' attitudes and beliefs regarding hypnosis are affected by these two different experiences. Two hundred and five college students completed pretest measures before either watching a stage hypnosis show, or attending a lecture on hypnosis, or participating in a control group. Subjects completed posttest measures between one to three weeks later. Both the stage hypnosis show and the lecture increased attendees' motivation to use hypnosis in treatment and decreased their belief that hypnotizability reflects lower intelligence. Moreover, the lecture also increased beliefs that hypnotizability reflects creativity and inner strength. Finally, while the lecture reduced the belief that a hypnotized person is robotlike and automatically acts on all suggestions, the stage hypnosis show increased this attitude among its audience members.