hypnosis

n. (pl. hypnoses) the procedure, or the state induced by that procedure, in which suggestion is used to evoke changes in sensation, perception, cognition, emotion, or control over motor behavior. Subjects appear to be receptive, to varying degrees, to suggestions to act, feel, and behave differently than in an ordinary waking state. The exact nature of hypnotic suggestibility, and its possible therapeutic uses, are still being studied and debated. As a specifically psychotherapeutic intervention, hypnosis is referred to as hypnotherapy. See also altered state of consciousness; heterohypnosis; posthypnotic suggestion; self-hypnosis; waking hypnosis.

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Psychology term of the day

January 24th 2025

butabarbital

n. an intermediate-acting barbiturate used in the treatment of insomnia and for daytime and preoperative sedation. Like other barbiturates, it is a nonselective CNS depressant and therefore quite toxic in overdose. Because tolerance to its sedative and hypnotic effects accrues much more rapidly than tolerance to its CNS depressant effects, its therapeutic index drops and its potential lethality increases as the dose is increased. These factors, plus its potential for abuse, have caused a decline in its clinical use. U.S. trade name: Butisol Sodium.