Wark 1996
Wark 1996
Wark 1996
To cite this article: David M. Wark (1996) Teaching College Students Better Learning
Skills Using Self-Hypnosis, American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, 38:4, 277-287, DOI:
10.1080/00029157.1996.10403352
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00029157.1996.10403352
DavidM. Wark
Untversity of'Minnesota
This paper reports the effects of self-hypnosis used by 51 college
students enrolled in a 10-week course on efficient learning skills. All
students were administerd the Creative Imagination Scale.
Subsequently, they learned to enter and deepen alert self-hypnosis.
They gave themselves personal suggestions and then studied in
hypnosis. They reported their depth of hypnosis and satisfaction
with each session. Grades were collected the quarter before, during
and after the course. Satisfaction and depth data indicated the
students were involved all through the course. Statistical testing
showed that students who scored highest on the CIS had the lowest
initial GPA, improved most during the course, and significantly
increased their GPA in the quarter after.
277
WARK
these and other reports on learning three groups: (1) The experimental
under hypnosis. He notes 2% to 40% group, on two different days, received
increases in verbal learning from hypno- an hour of induction and deepening, and
sis. Thus there is evidence that hypno- four quarter-hour sessions of post
sis and suggestions can improve labora- hypnotic suggestions to improve their
tory learning task efficiency, concentra- study. (2) The active control group
tion and motivation to study, and that listened to two hours of recorded humor,
the effects may be greater for the more and received the same suggestions
hypnotizable students.
without hypnosis. (3) The inactive
On the other hand, there are some control group members were identified
arguments against the general use of but received no special treatment.
hypnosis for improving learning skills Beyond that, the students in all three
by college students. Fowler (1961) gave groups were given the same instruction
suggestions for reading and test taking and practice exercises in learning skills
improvement in trance or in the waking (rapid reading, comprehension, listenstate. Testing immediately after hypno- ing) as the non-volunteering students in
sis seemed to lower scores, but his the class.
hypnotized subjects reported subjecCole (1979) evaluated his treatments
tively better concentration when study- by changes in scores on standardized
ing, even after "many weeks." Oetting tests. The McGraw Hill Basic Skills tests
(1964) opined that relaxation needed for (Raygor, 1970) covered reading, spelling
a traditional trance was antithetical to and other study skills and were systemactive study, and students in deep atically designed to measure changes
trance may become dependent on the produced by the self-instructional books
therapist to solve their study problems and tapes used in the course. Cole (1979)
magically. Oetting described a tech- found no evidence the suggestions for
nique in which concentration is sug- better study had any effect on any test
gested without mention of hypnosis, scores significantly greater than the
relaxation or drowsiness. He presented curriculum alone. He does not mention
no data. Porter (1978) and Krippner any relation between hypnotizability
(1963) also encouraged treating study and any other variables. Cole (1979)
problems with hypnosis when students concluded that hypnosis has no special
expect it. Again, neither offered con- impact on learning or using study skills.
trolled data.
There are factors that weaken Cole's
On balance, it seems reasonable to (1979) conclusions. All the subjects
expect some impact by hypnosis on were students in a validated training
learning, concentration and grades. course, so the impact of the carefully
However, a computer search of the constructed teaching materials may
hypnosis and education literature pro- have hidden the effects of the one hour
duced only two controlled studies of of hypnosis. Nor was there any measure
college students using hypnosis to of students' involvement in the project
improve learning skills.
throughout the sessions.
Cole (1979) taught a traditional
In a later study, Cooper (1990) also
semester-long learning skills class. Vol- taught learning skills using self-hypnounteers were randomized into one of sis. Subjects were 167 volunteers self278
Method
The students enrolled in a lO-week,
credited, learning skills course. All who
registered were fully informed and
confirmed they wanted to participate in
self- hypnosis rather than a traditional
Amer J Clin Hypn 38:4, April 1996
Instrumentation
Each student filled out the Learning
and Study Skills Inventory (LASSI) by
Weinstein & Palmer (1987) during the
first week of the course. The LASSI has
10 scales, five of which measure
orientation (attitude toward college,
motivation to get tasks done, time
management, anxiety control and concentration) and five measure specific
study skills (information processing,
selecting the main idea, study aids from
books, self testing, and test-taking
strategies). Coefficient Alpha ranges
from .68 to .86 and test-retest correlations from. 72 to .85. The results were
used by each student to plan an
individual set of suggestions for personal change.
Students were assessed for hypnotic
skill by the Creative Imagination Scale
(CIS) ofWilson & Barber (1978). The CIS
contains 10 items involving ideomotor
behavior and imagery. The CIS has been
shown to have 24-hour test-retest
reliability of r = .82, a Spearman-Brown
split half r = .89, and measure a single
factor, on which all 10 items have
loadings from .55 to .72, with a mean
loading of. 67 (Wilson and Barber, 1978).
In a sample of Polish female students,
Siuta (1987) found a lO-month test-retest
r=.79anda Spearman-Brownr= .50. He
also found a single factor that accounted for 47.9% of the variance.
Sheehan, McConkey & Law (1978)
concluded that the test has a single
underlying factor, strongly related to
imagery vividness and imagery control.
279
WAR!(
Other studies have qualified the because unlike the HGSHS:A, it can be
interpretation of the CIS. McConkey et validly and comfortably administered in
aI. (1979) found a correlation ofr = .28 a single 50-minute class session.
The CIS was modified in the present
with the HGSHS:A, when using "think
with" instructions (Barber and Wilson, study for two reasons. First, the
1977). In that induction there is no students expected a hypnotic induction
mention of "sleep," "drowsiness," or ritual. The "think-with" instructions,
"hypnosis." McConkey, Sheehan and typically used with the CIS, mentioned
White (1979) concluded that the CIS neither hypnosis nor trance experience.
using that induction is a valid and Second, the high correlations with the
reliable measure of imagery ability, but HGSHS:A reported by Monteiro,
probably not the dissociative skills McDonald and Hilgard (1980) suggest
tapped by the Harvard Group Scale of that the CIS might be a better measure of
Hypnotic Susceptibility: Form A hypnotic disassociation if it were pre(HGSHS:A) of Shor and Orne (1962) ceded by a more traditional induction. In
when subjects are openly inducted into the study, the CIS was preceded by the
traditional and standardized induction
hypnosis.
Later Monteiro, McDonald and Hil- from the Stanford Clinical Scale (Morgan
gard (1980) studied the CIS along with and Hilgard, 1978/79). (The five items,
theHGSHS:A,(ShorandOme 1962),the ideomoter, dream, regression, amnesia
Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale and post hypnotic suggestions, were
form C, (WeitzenhofIer and Hilgard, not administered).
1962), the Tellegen-Atkinson Absorption Scale (Tellegan and Atkinson, 1974) Content of the course
and the Questionnaire Upon Mental
In the second week of the term,
Imagery (Sheehan, 1967). They report a following the modified CIS, the students
correlation ofr =.55 between the CIS and learned to induce an alert trance (Banyai
the HGSHS:A, using the "think with" & Hilgard (1976); Banyai, Zseni & Tury
induction. Their analysis of the intercor- (1993), deepen the trance, give themrelations among these tests of motor selves a suggestion for study improveresponse, imagery, absorption and am- ment, open their eyes and begin to study
nesia concluded that the CIS loaded on while hypnotized. The induction they
two subfactors, those tapping ideo learned is as follows:
motor skills or cognitive illusion.
"This is a practical technique to
In a companion study, Hilgard, quickly bring your mind to a state of
Sheehan, Monteiro and McDonald (1981) focused tension and your body to a
concluded that the CIS seemed to be state of efficient relaxed calmness. The
weighed on two factors, (1) Hypnotic technique is called the LEVER because
responsiveness that seems related to you lift your mind to a state of sharp
ideo motor skill and (2) absorption! focus and relax your body while holding
imagery that seems related to cognitive your mind's tension. Then you lever up
illusions. Thus both studies support the your mental focus a bit higher, and again
conclusion that the CIS is a measure of relax your body. And then a third time
hypnotic-like behavior and imagery. A you raise your mental focus, and relax
modified CIS was used in this study your body. In that alert state you give
280
Figure 1
Circle the number that indicates your feeling about the session
Very
Disappointed
Very
Disappointed
What I
Expected
Satisfied
Satisfied
281
WARK
Figure 2
10
9
...
:0.
......
4.5
...
..
4.0
3.0
A
C
2.0
T
I
uN
2
1
1.0
12345678910111213141516171819
12345678910111213141516171819
DAYS
- - - DEPTH
Results
In the published CIS norms (Wilson
and Barber, 1978), standardization subjects had M = 20.8 and SD = 8.70. Fiftyone students in the self-hypnosis
classes had m = 22.7 and sd = 6.67, not
significantly different.
Mean reported depth of trance for
each day of practice is presented in
Figure 2. Note the change at Day 4. That
was the session in which the students
began to create their own personal
suggestions. Following that change,
students continued to report a consistant
depth even when using self-hypnosis
for different study skills.
The daily journals show how students regarded self-hypnosis. The re282
T
I
3.5
2.5
3
S
A
SATISFACTION .
Discussion
What is distinctive about students in
this study who scored high on the CIS?
The reviews summarized above suggested that the CIS is a measure of both
hypnotic-like behavior and absorption
in imagery. That analysis would lead to
the speculation that the high CIS
scoring students in this study were
deeply absorbed in their imagery. It is
tempting to speculate that these students create many internal responses
during their study. The teacher or author
moves from topic to topic in an
organized, inductive or deductive pattern. The students may start to track but
soon follow their own associative
fantasy to the detriment of their grades.
The High CIS student's thinking may be
more responsive to internal associations
than the structure of the lecturer's leads
and cues. Such students may not know
how to control their imagery. Subjectively, they would report difficulty
concentrating. Those are the high
mental image, low achieving students
who took the learning skills course.
Perhaps during the course students
learn some image control. They find
ways to focus their attention, give task283
WAR!(
Figure 3
Grade Point Average (GPA) for the quarter before, during and
after learning hypnosis for three levels of hypnotizability
<> <>
3.00
2.50
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Before
During
After
Quarter
~ Cis
Low 1-20
- -. -
relevant self talk, create personal structures to recall important learning, and
make positive associations to reduce
test anxiety. For example, recall the
student who in hypnosis directed
himself to solve a math problem as if he
were fixing his motorcycle. Another
student improved astronomy grades by
imaging herself orbiting around each
planet, focusing minutely and storing
data for analysis and retrieval on exams.
In other words, they learned to control
their imagery using self-hypnosis. The
relation between the CIS and GPA
supports the speculation that imagery
and hypnotic-like behavior accounts for
some part of the effect.
It is possible to draw conclusions
about why the high CIS students make
284
Figure 4
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