Executive Control Without Conscious Awareness: The Cold Control Theory Of Hypnosis
Open accessAbstract
Control and awareness seem intimately related (e.g. Norman and Shallice 1986; Jacoby 1991). Of course, some forms of control occur quite unconsciously (plausibly, for example, the detailed configuring of motor movements; Milner and Goodale 1995). However, there are some forms of control, such as planning or overcoming strong response tendencies (the ‘executive tasks ‘ of Norman and Shallice) that are so commonly associated with conscious awareness that it would seem bizarre if they occurred without it. In fact, unconscious executive control is not possible in the theories of Norman and Shallice and Jacoby. In this chapter, we argue for the theoretical possibility of unconscious executive control, based on the higher order thought (HOT) theory of Rosenthal (1986, 2002, 2005), and then argue that hypnosis provides an example of executive control without conscious awareness (cf. Hilgard 1977; Spanos 1986; Oakley 1999).
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One proposal that has begun to gain traction as a model of hypnotic suggestion is that distortions in the sense of agency in response to suggestions arise from aberrant metacognition in the form of reduced or delayed awareness of intentions.
“One proposal that has begun to gain traction as a model of hypnotic suggestion is that distortions in the sense of agency in response to suggestions arise from aberrant metacognition in the form of reduced or delayed awareness of intentions (Dienes and Perner, 2007) see also (Kirsch and Lynn, 1998;Woody and Sadler, 2008).”
From Hypnotic suggestibility in dissociative and related disorders: A meta-analysis (2022) · cites this paper as Dienes and Perner, 2007
Responsiveness to hypnotic suggestions is facilitated by reduced awareness of one's intentions, resulting in the classical suggestion effect.
“The latter results are broadly consistent with the proposal that responsiveness to hypnotic suggestions is facilitated by reduced awareness of one's intentions (Dienes & Perner, 2007), resulting in the classical suggestion effect (i.e., the subjective experience that the response is automatic; Weitzenhoffer, 1974).”
From Myths and misconceptions about hypnosis and suggestion: Separating fact and fiction (2020) · cites this paper as Dienes & Perner, 2007
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Brain correlates of hypnosis: A systematic review and meta-analytic exploration
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Timmermann, C., Bauer, P. R., Gosseries, O., Vanhaudenhuyse, A., Vollenweider, F., Laureys, S., Singer, T., Antonova, E., & Lutz, A. (2023) · Trends in Cognitive Sciences · doi:10.1016/j.tics.2022.11.006 · Cited by 150 · see citing works
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Hypnotic suggestibility in dissociative and related disorders: A meta-analysis
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Hypnotic Responsiveness and Dissociation: A Multi-Variable Analysis
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- Authors
- Dienes, Z., & Perner, J.
- ORCID
- Perner, Josef
- Venue
- Hypnosis and Conscious States: The Cognitive Neuroscience Perspective
- Publisher
- Oxford University PressOxford
- Published
- 2007-01-18
- Pages
- 293-316
- OpenAlex
- W37446888
- Cited by
- 102
- References
- 6
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 15 · 2021: 11 · 2020: 9 · 2019: 10 · 2018: 15 · 2017: 7 · 2016: 3 · 2014: 3 · 2013: 4 · 2012: 3
- FWCI
- 1.95
- Type
- book chapter
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- figshare.com
- Licence
- cc-by
- Locations
- Figshare (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Philosophy and Theoretical Science
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Free Will and Agency
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Pain Management and Placebo Effect
- Keywords
- hypnosis, higher-order thought theory, conscious awareness
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