Hypnosis: wherefore art thou?

The present paper focuses on the influences of social-political needs of various groups with interests in hypnosis (i.e., stage hypnotists, lay hypnotists, licensed practitioners, and researchers). While hypnosis is a specific topic of interest to groups with varying needs, it also serves as an example for other topics in psychology that may overlap the needs of other groups--especially practitioners and researchers. The identity given to hypnosis varies depending upon which particular group of persons is offering the identity, and the nature of the identity reflects each group's biases and needs. These various identities, however, are not always acceptable, in part or in whole, by the other groups, as the needs of one or more may be in conflict with those of others.