Which pseudoscientific claim was used throughout the reading? (Over reliance on anecdotes, meaningless psychobabble, Talk of proof instead of evidence) 

 

1. Describe the warning sign 

 

2. Provide an example of the warning sign that suggests the research is related to pseudoscience (ex. What anecdotes are mentioned in the research

Today, The Society of Hypnotherapists is offering its services to those hoping to quit smoking in 2022. The society is run by a Certified Master Hypnotherapist. Hypnosis is a hyper-receptive learning state in which behaviors, habits, and triggers can be sculpted and changed. This hyper-receptive state is controlled by invisible magnetic energies in our brains that can be influenced through hypnosis. While explaining the phenomenon, the clinic's website gives the metaphor that the mind is like a dry clay pot. Hypnosis is akin to adding water to it, making it soft and malleable, allowing it to be shaped and changed based on the needs of the individual. The clinic claims that contrary to popular belief, anyone can be hypnotized, it is just a matter of how many sessions it takes. It claims that people slip in and out of hypnosis all the time. According to the website, hypnosis is an extremely relaxing, dream-like state of mind that mimics the foggy feeling that occurs just before falling asleep at night. The most common description from most clients is: "It's like I'm dreaming, but I'm completely awake." To support the power of hypnosis, The Society of Hypnotherapists conducted several studies led by their Director of Science and Research, Dr. Antonio Mesmer. Dr. Mesmer recruited participants who were serious about quitting smoking and offered free hypnotherapy sessions. Dr. Mesmer himself then conducted the hypnotherapy himself. What Dr. Mesmer found was that most people see dramatic improvements in only 1 session! 80-90% of participants never smoked again after their first session and remained smoke-free! Our clients often tell us that they've tried so many other methods of quitting smoking including patches and gums, and nothing worked for them. They never knew that quitting smoking can be so easy! Dr. Mesmer also found that the more hypnotherapy sessions a participant undertook, the greater their success. Dr. Mesmer concluded that these results suggested hypnotherapy worked in helping people stop smoking and that these results are significantly better than leading evidence-based treatments for smoking cessation such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. The results we saw were marvelous and it supports our hypothesis that hypnotherapy helps people stop smoking. We saw a relationship between the number of hypnotherapy sessions and smoking cessation. The more sessions people had of hypnotherapy, the better they got! If that doesn't suggest the amazing power of hypnotherapy, then I don't know what is. Why put in the work in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy when you can unconsciously get better through hypnosis?!" To once again demonstrate the power of hypnotherapy, Dr. Mesmer and his team conducted several additional studies and found the same results. This time, they also wanted to show how hypnotherapy worked. Once again, they found similar results