ANTH 540 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: White Coat, Confabulation, Tummo
22 Jun 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Jay’s Lectures – Weeks 7 & 8
Week 7
Confabulation
US 2018 Election Study
oUsed suggestion to manipulate political beliefs
oPeople will confabulate to explain manipulated views
2 faces - which do you find more attractive?
oSame thing - no matter which actually chosen will confabulate to explain
reported choice
Why do we confabulate?
oEither mechanisms or reinforcer
Hypnosis
*The dulcet tones of Jay's baritone narrate the class into self-induced mild hypnosis*
Class experiences: some random similarities, but also obviously varying experience
Using suggestion: when hypnotizing, don’t want to be overly constrictive in instructions
oE.g. try to imagine descending stairs or a path in nature
We are often susceptible to suggestion without even realizing e.g. not realizing we’re
cold until someone points it out
Hypnotist will often enter a hypnagogic state themselves, and words will "just come"
demonstrating power of mind over body, similarities between meditative & hypnogogic
states
oTummo: meditation in which you wrap yourself in a damp towel and control
your body temperature to raise it and dry the towel
oExperiment: guy maxed out at 40 reps bench press normally, when hypnotized
did at least 100 without showing signs of tiring
Expectation
Is hypnosis a cultural placebo?
Sham hypnosis: playing with expectations
oE.g. Jay has reached a point with a friend where he just has to say a phrase and
snap his fingers and she enters hypnosis
Mindfulness vs hypnosis
oWhen only difference of a relaxation exercise is framing, people report deeper
relaxation with hypnosis - more mystique/influence associated with hypnosis
Week 8
Cultural symptoms of mental health disorder vary
Thought insertion - distorted sense of agency
Feeling lack of control
oSchizophrenia
oPsychedelic drugs
oSelf-awareness while falling asleep
Sham Sense of control
oMagic
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