Hypnoscope

Hypnoscope is an instrument intended to determine a person's susceptibility to hypnotic influences.[1]

Hypnoscope

History

[edit]
Gessman's Hypnoscope

Plenty of hypnotists, like Mesmer and others, proclaimed that the human body was susceptible to magnetic fields. At the end of the 19th century some psychologists tried to measure human's susceptibility to hypnosis with magnets. Patient had to put the finger inside the magnetic field, and if he had felt any influence he was considered a hypnable person.[2]

Some psychologists, like Julian Ochorowicz[3][4] or Gessman,[5][6] created their original hypnoscopes for testing hypnability of their patients. The instrument and the method met some serious criticism from Frank Podmore[7] and, eventually, psychologists lost their interest.

References

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  1. ^ "The Hypnoscope". Scientific American Supplement. Vol. 19. Munn and Company. 1885. p. 7556.
  2. ^ Richet, Charles (1909). Dictionnaire de physiologie. Tome VIII, G-H / par Charles Richet,... ; avec la collaboration de MM. E. Abelous, André, S. Arloing... Paris. p. 746.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  3. ^ Obarska, Marcelina. "Lewitujące nożyczki w Wiśle Julian Ochorowicz i mediumizm".
  4. ^ Иванов Александр. "Юлиан Леопольд Охорович". Музей Истории Телефона.
  5. ^ Richet, Charles (1909). Dictionnaire de physiologie. Tome VIII, G-H / par Charles Richet,... ; avec la collaboration de MM. E. Abelous, André, S. Arloing... Paris. p. 753.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  6. ^ Fredrik Johan Björnström; Nils Posse (1889). Hypnotism; Its History and Present Development. Humboldt Publishing Company. p. 13. ISBN 9780598387998.
  7. ^ Weaver, Zofia (2019). "Julian Ochorowicz and His Contribution to Psychical Research". The Journal of Parapsychology. 83 (1): 69–78. doi:10.30891/jopar.2019.01.05. S2CID 197714461 – via Gale Academic OneFile.