Hypnosis and Meditation: A Neurophenomenological Comparison

A necessary first step in collaboration between hypnosis research and meditation research is clarification of key concepts. The authors propose that such clarification is best advanced by neurophenomenological investigations integrating neuroscience methods with phenomenological models based on first-person reports. Focusing on absorption, they argue that previous treatments of hypnosis and meditation as equivalent are incorrect, but they can be fruitfully compared when characteristic features of the states are examined. Using the phenomenological and neurocognitive matrix of mindfulness (PNM), they compare focused attention meditation and open monitoring meditation with hypnosis across its dimensions, interpreting empirical research on hypnosis and shedding light on debates about meta-awareness in hypnosis and the role of suggestion in meditation.

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Abstract

A necessary first step in collaboration between hypnosis research and meditation research is clarification of key concepts. The authors propose that such clarification is best advanced by neurophenomenological investigations that integrate neuroscience methods with phenomenological models based on first-person reports of hypnotic versus meditative experiences. Focusing on absorption, the authors argue that previous treatments of hypnosis and meditation as equivalent are incorrect, but that they can be fruitfully compared when characteristic features of the states described by these concepts are examined. To this end, the authors use the “phenomenological and neurocognitive matrix of mindfulness” (PNM), a multidimensional modelrecently proposed by Lutz and colleagues. The authors compare focused attention meditation and open monitoring meditation with hypnosis across the dimensions of the PNM, using it to interpret empirical research on hypnosis, and to shed light on debates about the role of meta-awareness in hypnosis and the role of suggestion in meditation.