Ernest Hilgard

Sometimes psychological laws are discovered ... and sometimes they're enforced.

Summary

Ernest Hilgard (1904 - 2001) was an American psychologist who became famous in the 1950s for his research on hypnosis.

He is specifically known for his work in finding a hidden observer in the brain while hypnosis is taking place. His theory asserts that several distinct states of consciousness can be present during hypnosis, such that certain actions may become dissociated from the conscious mind.

His work was influential in the area of Psychological Aspects of Aggression (see Psychological Aspects of Biodanza).

Ideas

• Hilgard developed the Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale, a scale to measure depth of hypnosis, or how susceptible people were to hypnosis,
• He also proposed the theory of Neodissociationism, to re-explain earlier ideas of dissociation and automatism (dating from the 1890's) in more contemporary psychological language.