Secondary Identity Enactments During Hypnotic Past-Life Regression: A Sociocognitive Perspective

In 4 studies, Ss received hypnotic suggestions to regress beyond birth to a previous life. In Study 1, the development of a past-life identity was unrelated to indexes of psychopathology. Studies 2 and 3 demonstrated that Ss developed past-life identities that reflected hypnotist-transmitted expectations. In Study 4 the credibility that Ss assigned to their past-life experiences was influenced by whether the hypnotist defined such experiences as real or imagined . Combined data from the first 3 studies indicated that hypnotizability predicted the subjective intensity of past-life experiences but not the credibility assigned to these experiences. Alternatively, beliefs, attitudes, and expectations concerning reincarnation predicted the degree of credibility assigned to these experiences. Implications of these findings are discussed.