Hypnosis, attention, and time cognition

This study examined the influence of hypnotic susceptibility (high vs. low), hypnotic condition (hypnotic vs. nonhypnotic), and attentional demands (high vs. low) on the verbal estimates (N = 510 undergraduates) of 30- and 60-second time intervals under both prospective (aware of timing) and retrospective (unaware of timing) paradigms. It was expected that prospective judgments would be greater than retrospective judgments across all factors. Consistent with existing literature, strong support was found for this hypothesis. Hypotheses generated within the trait-state paradigm were not supported. No effects were found for hypnotic susceptibility in any form. Partial support was found for the sociocognitive model. The hypnotic context, independent of level of susceptibility, apparently utilizes the attentional resources of participants and as a by-product leads to underestimation of time. Longer time intervals (60 s) were also underestimated in comparison to shorter intervals (30 s).