This work investigates the psychological mechanisms of hypnosis by challenging traditional trance-based theories in favor of a model centered on imagination and cognitive expectancy. Theodore X. Barber, a prominent researcher in the field of hypnotic phenomena, utilizes decades of experimental data to argue that hypnotic effects are not the result of an altered state of consciousness. Instead, he posits that these behaviors are products of goal-directed striving, cognitive sets, and the subject's capacity for imaginative involvement. The text provides a rigorous framework for understanding how suggestion influences human performance and subjective experience.

This text is regarded as a foundational challenge to the classical view of hypnosis, emphasizing a cognitive-behavioral approach that remains influential in contemporary psychological research. The material provides a dense, evidence-based exploration of human suggestibility that serves as a primary resource for specialists in clinical psychology and cognitive science.