46 PsyPAG Quarterly H YPNOSIS is a fascinating area of research, as not only can hypnosis itself be investigated (intrinsic research) but it can also be used as a tool (instrumental hypnosis) to research other areas (Oakley & Halligan, 2009). There are currently so many conflicting hypnosis theories that it isn’t possible to give a clear definition of hypnosis itself, rather it is described in terms of the process conducted (Wagstaff, 2014). Hypnosis starts with an induction, where the participant is encour- aged to focus their attention and relax, ready for the suggestions. Suggestions, which are proposed instructions for the participant to experience behaviours (e.g. feeling like their arm is so heavy that they can’t lift it up) or cognitions (e.g. hearing music which isn’t actually being played) are then made. Finally the person in brought back out of hypnosis. During my PhD I organised the screening of participants for hypnotic susceptibility. For the three years I did this; we screened roughly 200 people per year and recorded their susceptibility on the University of Sussex hypnosis database. This is used to recruit participants for hypnosis research. My partic- ular area of investigation is hypnotic synaes- thesia. Synaesthesia is where a percept or concept in one modality (such as a grapheme) induces a concurrent experience in another modality (such as a colour) (Grossenbacher & Lovelace, 2001). As part of my research, I gave highly susceptible participants suggestions to have synaesthesia like experiences (e.g. to see colours when looking at numbers) and tested whether this causes them to behave like natural synaesthetes (Anderson, Seth, Dienes & Ward, 2014). Here I will be sharing some tips from my experience of using hypnosis. Be the guinea pig first Before conducting any research, it is best to be a participant yourself, and preferably in a hypnosis screening session so that you can experience a range of suggestions. This allows you to experience firsthand the process that participants go through. Responding to suggestions without a sense of control over your actions can be strange, and I found that by partaking myself first, I was able to relate to the participants questions or comments both before and after hypnosis to put them at ease. After being a participant, try to observe someone else using hypnosis so that you are aware of how participants react to a hypnosis session. You will then be a lot more comfortable with what it feels like, how to interact with participants and how to conduct hypnosis sessions. What to tell participants… or not If using a control and hypnosis condition in a repeated measures design, holdback needs to be considered. This is where the partici- pant does not perform to their full capabili- ties in the control block and unconsciously ‘holds back’ (Orne, 1962; Spanos, 1986). The order of conditions, what perceptions participants have of the experimenters’ aims, and whether participants are informed that hypnosis shall be used when recruited can therefore affect results. I once conducted a study where there was a (coun- terbalanced) baseline and experimental block, but participants were not informed of hypnosis use until they were about to complete it. This required an extra consent form, but did allow holdback to be controlled for. Hints and tips: Tips for conducting hypnosis research Hazel Anderson