hidden observer
an intrapsychic entity with awareness of experiences that occur outside of an individual’s consciousness, hypothesized to explain the dissociative phenomenon in which a hypnotized person who has been told to block certain stimuli (e.g., pain induced by ice-cold water) still registers the blocked sensation via hand signals even while verbally denying it. It is as if a dissociated observer is registering the stimuli that the hypnotized person has successfully blocked. Posthypnotically, such individuals may recall auditory, visual, or tactile stimuli to which they appeared oblivious at the time. See also neodissociation theory. [investigated by Ernest R. Hilgard]