Lesson 28
THE ROLE OF HYPNOSIS IN SPORT
Like imagery 🧠✨, hypnosis 🌀 is a cognitive-behavioral process that has both a cognitive 🧩 and a motivational 🔥 function. In a cognitive sense 🧠, hypnosis is used to restructure the way athletes think 🤔 about themselves and about the way they execute 🏃♂️🏋️ and learn new sport skills 🏀⚽. In a motivational sense 🔥, hypnosis is used to modify emotions ❤️, reduce anxiety 😰➡️😌, increase or decrease arousal ⚡, and increase effort 💪.
In the initial induction phase 🌀, hypnotism is physiologically identical to progressive relaxation 🧘, autogenic training 🧘♂️, and meditation 🕉️. All of these intervention strategies are associated with reductions in oxygen consumption 🫁, respiration rate 🌬️, and heart rate ❤️.
Perhaps because it is poorly understood 🤔❓, hypnosis 🌀 is not a widely utilized intervention strategy in sport 🏆. Nideffer (1992) is one of the few sport psychologists 🧠 who advocate its use on a broad scale 🌍.
A dated but well-known application 📜 of hypnosis took place before the first heavyweight boxing match 🥊 between Muhammad Ali 🥇 and Ken Norton 🥈 in 1973. Norton reportedly hired a professional hypnotist 🌀 to help him bolster his self-confidence 💪 and reduce prematch anxiety 😰. Norton won 🏆 the match in a stunning upset ⚡, effectively calling attention to hypnosis 🌀 as a viable intervention strategy ✅.
While there may be some potential risks ⚠️ associated with the indiscriminate use of hypnosis 🌀 by an untrained therapist ❌, most concerns about hypnosis 🌀 are unfounded ✅. It is probably fair to say that hypnosis 🌀 is more clouded by myths 🧩❓ and misconceptions than any other form of psychological intervention 🧠.
Our discussion of hypnosis 🌀 in sport 🏆 will focus upon the following topics 📋. The first two topics will be discussed in this lecture 📝, and the remaining in the next lecture ⏭️:
- Defining hypnosis 🌀
- Theories of hypnosis 📚
- The hypnotic trait issue 🤔
- Facts about hypnosis 🧠
- Achieving the hypnotic trance 😌
- Self-hypnosis 🌀💪
- Improving effective use of hypnosis ✅
- Hypnosis and athletic performance 🏆
Defining Hypnosis 🌀
The term hypnosis 🌀 comes from Hypnos 😴, the Greek god of sleep 🛌 (Kalat, 1999), even though it has long been known that hypnosis 🌀 is not related to sleep 🛌. Hypnosis 🌀 could be defined as:
- "The uncritical acceptance of a suggestion" 💭✅
- or
- "An induced temporary condition of being 🌀, a state that differs mentally 🧠 and physiologically ❤️ from a person's normal state of being 😌".
Theories of Hypnosis 📚
We will briefly discuss three theories 🧠 of hypnosis 🌀. The first two represent extreme positions ⚖️ on the issue of the existence of a hypnotic state 🌀, while the third represents a compromise ⚖️ that has been embraced by many psychologists 🧠. The theories are:
- Social-cognitive Theory 👥🧠
- Hypnosis as an Altered State of Consciousness 🌀🌌
- Neodissociation Theory 🧩
1. Social-Cognitive Theory 👥🧠
Social-cognitivists believe that subjects carry out hypnotic behaviors 🌀 because they have positive attitudes 😊, motivations 🔥, and expectations 🎯 that lead to a willingness to think 🤔 and imagine 💭 using themes suggested by the hypnotist 🌀.
Therapists 🧑⚕️ who are of the social-cognitive theory school 📚 believe in the use of hypnotism 🌀 as a method of increasing a client's willingness 💪 to accept suggestions ✅, but they do not believe ❌ that this state of uncritical acceptance ✅ represents an altered state of consciousness 🌌.
2. Hypnosis as an Altered State of Consciousness 🌀🌌
At the other extreme ⚖️ are psychologists 🧠 who believe that hypnotized individuals 🌀 enter into an altered state of consciousness 🌌 known as trance 😌. It is believed that the trance-like state 😌 is different from other non-hypnotically induced states 🧘 such as daydreaming 💭 and relaxation 🧘♂️. While in the hypnotic state 🌀 or trance 😌, the individual is susceptible to suggestions 💭 made by the hypnotist 🌀.
3. Neodissociation Theory 🧩
Neodissociation theory 🧩 explains hypnosis 🌀 without suggesting that the hypnotic trance 😌 is responsible for the phenomenon associated with hypnosis 🌀. Daydreaming 💭 and relaxation 🧘 are considered by many theorists 🧠 to be examples of the altered state of consciousness 🌌 that we experience every day 📆.
Example: We drive 🚗 to work each day with our minds 🧠 focused on anything but the drive 🛻️, then suddenly we arrive 🏁 at our destination with little recall 🧩 of the actual drive. This is a form of hypnosis 🌀, or what is referred to as dissociation 🧠🔗.
Neodissociation theory 🧩 is based on two assumptions 📌:
- There is a central control system 🧠 that performs planning 📝 and monitoring 🕵️ functions in the brain 🧠.
- Beneath the central control system 🧠 there are relatively autonomous 🤖 subordinate cognitive-behavioral systems 🧩.
In the hypnotic trance state 😌🌀, however, the two systems 🧠🧩 are dissociated 🔗❌ from each other. Some individuals 🧑🤝🧑 will be more responsive ⚡ to hypnosis 🌀 and hypnotic suggestions 💭 than others. Through proper preparation 🛠️, most individuals 🧑🤝🧑 can benefit ✅ from hypnosis 🌀, but not all ❌.
References 📚
Cox, H. Richard. (2002). Sport Psychology: Concepts and Applications. (Fifth Edition). New York: McGraw-Hill Companies
Lavallec. D., Kremer, J., Moran, A., & Williams. M. (2004). Sports Psychology: Contemporary Themes. New York: Palgrave Macmillan Publishers