MAY 2009, VOLUME 37 NUMBER 1, Abstract 2
NINETEENTH-CENTURY HYSTERIA AND HYPNOSIS: AN HISTORICAL NOTE ON BLANCHE WITTMANN
Carlos S. Alvarado, University of Virginia
There were many patients and hypnotic subjects in the nineteenth century who influenced the development of psychology. An example was Blanche Wittmann, one of the star hysterical patients and hypnotic subjects at the Salpêtrière. In addition to producing phenomena for Jean-Martin Charcot, Wittmann performed for others such as Gilbert Ballet, Alfred Binet, Charles Féré, Jules Janet, and Paul Richer. Wittmann produced phenomena such as muscle contractions, transfer of symptoms from one side of the body to another, hysterogenic zones, hallucinations, and apparent secondary states or personalities. The performances of such individuals, together with the actual work of clinicians and researchers, contributed to the spread clinical and theoretical views of psychological phenomena. In fact, they worked together complementing each other.