Hypnotism
Encyclopedia article; The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition, 2007
HYPNOTISM hip n tiz m Gr.,=putting to sleep, to induce an altered state of consciousness characterized by deep relaxation and heightened...states of consciousness can be present during hypnosis, such that certain actions may become dissociated from the conscious mind. In the late 19th cent., it was used by a number of medical practitioners, who found that individuals susceptible to hysteria...