What happened to the social in contemporary accounts of hypnosis?

Historically and continuing into the present, the field of hypnosis has been divided into proponents of ‘state’ or ‘special-state’ and ‘non-state’ or ‘sociocognitive’ accounts of hypnosis. Although many investigators now dispute this distinction, it can still be used as a rough guide to views of the phenomenon. The sociocognitive view, at least in the last 20 years, has emphasized social and cognitive processes in the explanation of hypnosis and its effects, but increasingly – and consistent with social cognition in general – the social too has been theorized in cognitive terms. This paper reviews these theoretical developments with the aim of exploring the implications of the loss of the social in ‘non-state’ accounts. As a historical, cultural and ultimately social phenomenon, at what cost is hypnosis reduced to its strictly cognitive dimensions? Copyright © 2008 British Society of Experimental & Clinical Hypnosis. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.