What is hypnosis?
When people are hypnotized, they are more willing to accept and follow suggestions, and more clearly answer questions from the hypnotist. Hypnosis is similar to day-dreaming where you are totally aware of what is going on around you, but are very relaxed. It has also been compared to yoga, meditation, and bio-feedback states. When in hypnosis , respondents are able to access their subconscious where their memories and emotions are stored.
Why conduct focus groups and one-on-ones using hypnosis?
It is only with hypnosis that you can access respondents’ subconscious minds where the driving force of their conscious actions resides. Hypnosis is an improvement over conventional focus groups and one-on-ones and can provide new insights compared with traditional research. Hypnosis research gets more truthful responses, eliminates "dominant respondent" problems, enhances memories of past events such as advertising, category usage and brand "imprinting," elicits greater emotional response, and generates greater respondent creativity and brainstorming.
What are the hypnotist’s qualifications?
The hypnotist is Hal Goldberg. He has conducted over 1,500 hypnosis focus groups and one-on-ones during the past 40+ years. His hypnosis certification is from The National Guild of Hypnotists and the American Board of Hypnotherapy, the largest hypnosis organizations in the U.S. He has had articles written about him in many newspapers and magazines such as the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, American Demographics Magazine, the New Scientist and The Financial Times. Hal has also appeared on television programs in the U.S., Canada and England. He has been a featured speaker at organizations such as the Advertising Research Foundation, the American Marketing Association, the Qualitative Research Consultants Association (QRCA), and the Association of National Advertisers. He has also taught many seminars on hypnosis .
Is it difficult to get respondents for a hypnosis research project?
Hypnosis is very well-known in today’s culture. In every major city in the country there are hundreds of hypnotists who provide stop-smoking and weight-loss clinics for the public. Hypnosis is recognized by the American Medical Association as a therapeutic technique and doctors and dentists refer their patients to hypnotists for a wide variety of treatments including pain-reduction and psychological counseling. Because of the public’s awareness it is relatively easy to find respondents who are interested in participating in Hypnosis Focus Groups or one-on-ones.
Can everyone be hypnotized?
Yes. A hypnotist really acts as a facilitator or instructor for respondents to do “self-hypnosis.” Therefore, respondents who participate in the focus groups have indicated their willingness to follow the hypnotist’s instructions and become “hypnotized.” No one can be hypnotized against their will.
What is the process used to hypnotize the respondents?
Respondents can be hypnotized as a group or one-on-one. The hypnosis method is basically a relaxation technique. After some suggestions about relaxing their body and mind, the hypnotist tells the respondents to close their eyes. By listening to his voice and relaxing they drift into the hypnosis state. The hypnotist then uses various visualization techniques to “deepen” the hypnosis state.
How long does it take to be hypnotize the respondents ?
The hypnosis process takes about 30 to 40 minutes.
When conducting Hypnosis Focus Groups, is there interaction between respondents ?
Yes. However, respondents won’t all talk at the same time as in a conventional focus group (which can be very confusing). In hypnosis focus groups we can more easily control the amount of interaction we would like to have. As an example, after each general question has been answered by each respondent in turn, the other respondents will be asked to comment about what they have heard.
Can respondents open their eyes and view advertising materials in hypnosis?
Yes. Respondents can be told to open their eyes and stay in the hypnosis state in order to view ads or commercials, fill out questionnaires, sample products, or make a collage.
Are Hypnosis Focus Groups better for certain product categories?
Hypnosis Focus Groups and One-on-ones have provided improvements over traditional research in a wide variety of categories from food and cosmetics to automobiles and television programming and everything in between. They have been conducted with teens, senior citizens, high level executives, physicians, men and women. Its benefit is obtaining better information from respondents to help clients make better decisions in any category of interest.
Are Hypnosis Focus Groups better for certain types of projects?
Hypnosis Focus Groups are an improvement over conventional focus groups, so the technique can be used successfully with any project requiring focus group research. Focus groups using hypnosis have been used in many different types of projects including advertising strategy development, new product development, and package design.
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