Ernest hilgard biography

The same impulse toward clarifying the past achievements, current situation, and future prospects of psychology spurred his late-career research into the history of psychology. More than a merely avocational interest, his commitment to historical study and understanding spurred his contributions to the establishment of an APA division devoted to the history of psychology as well as the founding and development of the Archives of the History of American Psychology at the University of Akronlater the major depository of historical records and artifacts pertaining to that history.

It also led to a series of publications, including his magisterial history of twentieth-century American psychology, which appeared in as Psychology in America: A Historical Survey. Although the length and comprehensiveness of this work militated against its widespread adoption as a textbook, it was immediately recognized as a valuable addition to the reference shelves of teachers and historians of psychology.

As an academic administrator, both department head and graduate dean, Hilgard played a leading role in bringing Stanford University and its Psychology Department to national prominence in the postwar years. An active participant in professional affairs, he was instrumental in the revision of the bylaws and organization of the APA during World War II, a revision that kept scientists and practitioners under the same umbrella, thus enhancing the possibility of mutually beneficial exchange.

He also served among small groups of leading psychologists and scientists who made long-term plans regarding mental health research, the cognitive turn in psychology, and the future of psychology among the other natural and social sciences. The first was sponsored especially by the Ford Foundation; the last by the National Academy of Sciencesof which he was a member.

Committed to public and community service, Hilgard devoted a good deal of time to different cooperative organizations, served on various policy advisory boards, and donated a significant amount of land for environmental protection at the end of his life.

Ernest hilgard biography

James Quillen in Though always honorable, forthright, and temperate, his liberal political views led to the most unpleasant experience of his professional life, when he concluded that he had to step down from his graduate deanship because his wartime membership in the League Against War and Fascism and other liberal activities resulted in a cancellation of clearance to serve on certain governmental boards.

For his many contributions to psychology, Hilgard received a wide assortment of honors and awards, including election to the presidencies of many professional organizations e. The Ernest R. With Donald G. Conditioning and Learning. New York : Appleton-Century-Crofts, Theories of Learning. Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale. New York: McGraw-Hill, Lincoln: University of Nebraska, Theories of Learning and Instructionedited by Ernest R.

Chicago: University of Chicago Press, Hilgard authored chapters 3, 8 with Pauline S. Sears17, and the Postscript. With Josephine R. Hypnosis in the Relief of Pain. New York: John Wiley, Psychology in America: A Historical Survey. With James H. Cadwallader, pp. American Psychological Foundation. Includes a citation and biographical sketch. Bower, Gordon.

Hilgard — Capshew, James H. He decided that he wanted to study psychology, and he went to Yale, where he was awarded his Ph. His initial area of interest was conditioned responses. He did extensive research with the human eye lid; as part of this research he developed a photographic technique for examining the responses. His work demonstrated the relation between voluntary and involuntary responses, and won him the Warren Medal in Experimental Psychology in Later, Hilgard became intrigued by the mechanism behind hypnosis.

In part, this was not an unusual move: his work on voluntary and involuntary responses focused on the control factor, as does hypnosis. The popular stereotype of hypnosis, in which a person falls into a trance-like state after staring at a moving watch and then involuntarily being made to bark like a dog, is hardly all there is to the process.

Nor is hypnotism some mystical power that channels evil forces. It is true that, under certain hypnotic conditions, patients can be given suggestions that they will follow — moving a limb, for example, or holding it rigid. But to treat hypnotism as nothing more than showmanship misses the point. Hypnosis is a tool that, used under the right circumstances, can be useful and even beneficial.

Hilgard, working with his wife and other colleagues, began experimenting and collecting data on hypnosis as a means of, among other things, treating pain. One of the interesting aspects of Hilgard's research into hypnosis is the concept of what he calls the "hidden observer. That does not mean the pain is not there, however; nor does it mean that the patient's subconscious is not registering the pain.

In one experiment conducted by the Hilgards, subjects were hypnotized and told they would feel no pain or discomfort when an arm was placed in ice water, or when a tourniquet was tied at the elbow to restrict blood flow to the arm. The subjects reported no pain or discomfort during these procedures. When their "hidden observers" were tapped into, however usually by a prearranged sign or suggestion from the experimenterthere were reports of pain and discomfort although not necessarily as severe as would be expected.

In subjects particularly susceptible to hypnotic suggestion — those who could be rendered hypnotically deaf or blind, for example — the "hidden observer" could recall "heard" or "seen" objects. In addition to his important work as a researcher, Hilgard was also a noted author. He wrote a number of books and papers on the specific areas he studied, and his authorship was distinguished by an ability to make complex issues understandable.

After teaching at Yale for three years, Hilgard accepted a position at Stanford in He headed the psychology department at Stanford from to and served as dean of the graduate division from to He became a ernest hilgard biography emeritus in but continued on as head of the laboratory of Hypnosis Research. Bower, Gordon H. Theories of Learning, 5th ed.

Hilgard, Ernest R. Hypnosis in the Relief of Pain. Los Altos, CA: W. Kaufmann, Hilgard Begins ernest hilgard biography on hypnosis, Wins praise for writings. The higher self, the Daemon, acted as a form of guardian angel or higher self over its lower self, the Eidolon. The Stoic philosopher Epictetus wrote: God has placed at every man's side a guardian, the Daemon of each man, who is charged to watch over him; a Daemon that cannot sleep, nor be deceived.

To what greater and more watchful guardian could He have entrusted each of us? So, when you have shut the doors, and made darkness in the house, remember, never to say that you are alone; for you are not alone. It was as if in some way the Daemon had already lived the life of its Eidolon. Hilgard was also the author of three hugely influential textbooks on topics other than hypnosis.

The first, "Conditioning and Learning", jointly authored with Donald Marquiswas very widely cited up until the s. When Gregory Kimble updated a second edition inHilgard and Marquis's names were made part of the title, a distinction, as Hilgard himself noted, usually reserved for deceased authors. A second text, "Theories of Learning"was also widely cited, and lasted for five editions through ; the last three editions involved Hilgard's Stanford colleague Gordon H.

The third textbook was the well written and wide-ranging " Introduction to Psychology "which was, according to his biography on the website of the American Psychological Association, "for a long period, the most widely used introductory psychology text in the world. Atkinson or Richard C. Atkinsonanother colleague at Stanford and later chancellor of the University of California at San Diego and then president and regent of the University of California.

The 15th edition, published inis called "Atkinson and Hilgard's Introduction to Psychology". Contents move to sidebar hide. Article Talk. Read Edit View history. Tools Tools. Download as PDF Printable version. In other projects. Wikidata item. American psychologist — BellevilleIllinois. Palo Alto, California. History of hypnosis Royal Commission on Animal Magnetism.

Key figures. Hilgard Clark L. Related topics. Biography [ edit ]. Hidden observer in hypnosis [ edit ]. Divided consciousness [ edit ]. Duality of personality [ edit ]. Textbooks [ edit ]. Publications [ edit ]. See also [ edit ]. References [ edit ]. III; et al. Review of General Psychology. S2CID American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 10 April