Hypnotic Suppression of Pain In this classic photo taken at the Stanford Laboratory of Hypnosis Research, psychologist Ernest Hilgard (1904–2001) instructs this hypnotized young woman that she will feel no pain in her arm. Her arm is then immersed in circulating ice water for several minutes, and she reports that she does not experience any pain. In contrast, a nonhypnotized subject perceives the same experience as extremely painful and can keep his arm in the ice water for no more than a few seconds.

Jose Mercado/Stanford News Service