Accuracy of Time Estimation during Hypnosis

An experimental group of subjects experienced in self-hypnosis and highly hypnotizable was told to estimate a period of 2 min. and 11 sec. during hypnosis on two different occasions and once again during the awake state in a subsequent (“imagination”) session. Another (random) sample of subjects was told to estimate an identical period while awake in a single (“imagination”) session. These subjects had never been hypnotized and proved to be significantly lower in waking suggestibility than the experimentals. Both groups underesrimated the 131-sec. period by up to about 40%. The mean time estimates of the experimental group did not differ significantly between the two hypnosis sessions or between either hypnosis session and the “imagination” session. The random control group appeared to underestimate the time to a greater extent than the experimentals, but the differences between pairs of groups were not statistically significant. The results suggest that hypnosis does not improve the accuracy of estimating short periods of time. </jats:p