Throughout history, hypnosis has been a widely accepted practice said to cure everything from psychological disorders to weight loss. Almost no research had been conducted on the effectiveness of hypnosis. That is until Nicolas Spanos (1982) published his findings compiled from sixteen separate studies on hypnosis. Spanos' theory was that hypnosis was not an altered state of consciousness, but actually voluntary actions performed by hypnotic patients. He stated that because patients were convinced that hypnosis was real, they voluntarily followed all instructions given by the hypnotist. Spanos (1982) generated his theory of hypnosis based on sixteen studies conducted before 1982 in which he was directly involved. Different groups of people participated in these studies. They ranged from college students to casual volunteers. In most of his studies, control groups were used who were told different things about hypnosis or not told about it at all. These control groups were crucial for Spanos (1982) in concluding that hypnosis relied heavily on prior opinions and perceptions about hypnosis. The control groups were subjected to the same studies as the other groups, but reacted more normally than the groups with the expectation of being hypnotized. Several methods were used by Nicholas Spanos (1982) to support his theory of the nonexistence of altered consciousness. The first notable method was to use two groups and provide them with different types of instruction. One group was given instructions using a suggestive method, such as “your arm is very light and is going up.” The second group was given a more direct instruction, such as “raise your arm.” (Spanos 1982) These results showed that using...... half of the paper......, I particularly remember one episode of That's So Raven where one of the characters was forced to undergo a hypnotic state. Believe it or not, that specific episode convinced me for many years that hypnotism was a real and powerful phenomenon. Although the idea of ​​hypnotism is one that perceives a change in consciousness, in reality, it may be nothing more than a fantasy. When Nicholas Spanos (1982) revealed his findings on hypnotism, he shocked psychologists and overturned their previous beliefs. Although Spanos was unfortunately killed in a plane crash in 1994, his research will live on as a series of studies that first questioned a two-hundred-year-old ideology. Works Cited Spanos, NP (1982). Hypnotic behavior: A cognitive, social, and psychological perspective. Research communications in psychology, psychiatry, and behavior, 7, 199-213.