Editing Hypnosis (section)

=== Military ===
A 2006 [[declassification|declassified]] 1966 document obtained by the US [[Freedom of Information Act (United States)|Freedom of Information Act]] archive shows that hypnosis was investigated for military applications.<ref name="Hypnosis in Intelligence">[http://documents.theblackvault.com/documents/mindcontrol/hypnosisinintelligence.pdf Hypnosis in Intelligence] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100816155256/http://documents.theblackvault.com/documents/mindcontrol/hypnosisinintelligence.pdf |date=16 August 2010 }}, ''The Black Vault'', 2008</ref>{{Primary source inline|date=September 2021}} The full paper explores the potentials of operational uses.<ref name="Hypnosis in Intelligence"/> The overall conclusion of the study was that there was no evidence that hypnosis could be used for military applications, and no clear evidence whether "hypnosis" is a definable phenomenon outside ordinary suggestion, motivation, and subject expectancy. According to the document:

{{blockquote|text=The use of hypnosis in intelligence would present certain technical problems not encountered in the clinic or laboratory. To obtain compliance from a resistant source, for example, it would be necessary to hypnotise the source under essentially hostile circumstances. There is no good evidence, clinical or experimental, that this can be done.<ref name="Hypnosis in Intelligence"/>}}

Furthermore, the document states that:

{{blockquote|text=It would be difficult to find an area of scientific interest more beset by divided professional opinion and contradictory experimental evidence... No one can say whether hypnosis is a qualitatively unique state with some physiological and conditioned response components or only a form of suggestion induced by high motivation and a positive relationship between hypnotist and subject... [[Theodore X. Barber|T. X. Barber]] has produced "hypnotic deafness" and "hypnotic blindness", analgesia and other responses seen in hypnosis—all without hypnotising anyone... Orne has shown that unhypnotised persons can be motivated to equal and surpass the supposed superhuman physical feats seen in hypnosis.<ref name="Hypnosis in Intelligence"/>}}

The study concluded that there are no reliable accounts of its effective use by an intelligence service in history.<ref name="Hypnosis in Intelligence"/>

Research into hypnosis in military applications is further verified by the [[Project MKUltra]] experiments, also conducted by the [[CIA]].<ref>[http://community.theblackvault.com/articles/entry/CIA-MKULTRA-Collection- MKULTRA Program], ''The Black Vault'', 2008 {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120323173042/http://community.theblackvault.com/articles/entry/CIA-MKULTRA-Collection- |date=23 March 2012}}</ref>{{Primary source inline|date=September 2021}} According to Congressional testimony,<ref name="Congressional Hearing by MKULTRA">[http://www.theblackvault.com/documents/mindcontrol/hearing.pdf Congressional Hearing by MKULTRA] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080618041653/http://www.theblackvault.com/documents/mindcontrol/hearing.pdf |date=18 June 2008 }}, ''The Black Vault''</ref> the CIA experimented with utilising [[LSD]] and hypnosis for [[Brainwashing|mind control]]. Many of these programs were done domestically and on participants who were not informed of the study's purposes or that they would be given drugs.<ref name="Congressional Hearing by MKULTRA"/>