Suggestion strategies in the management of psychophysiological arousal: The effect of instructions and suggestibi

This paper reviews the experimental evidence related with the changes in the psychophysiological arousal produced by techniques of suggestion and hypnosis, especially regarding to the types of instructions administered and the level of suggestibility of the subjects as well as the interaction of both topics. Main results with differents psychophysiological measures are addressed: electrodermal response, heart rate, peripheral skin temperature, respiration measures, muscle tone, EEG-brainwaves measures, evoked potentials and hemipheric specificity. It is concluded that (1) there are no differential psychophysiological criteria for hypnosis per se; (2) there is no enough empirical evidence on the relationship between psychophysiological responses and hypnotic depth; and (3) changes in psychophysiological arousal are mainly due to the level of suggestibility of the individuals and the type of instructions administered during hypnosis than to the supposed hypnotic state.