Barber and Calverley

Theodore Xenophon Barber (1927–2005) and David Smith Calverley (1937–2008) were American psychologists who studied "hypnotic behaviour". They measured how susceptible patients were to hypnotic induction. One result of their research was showing that the hypnotic induction was not superior to motivational instructions in producing a heightened state of suggestibility. The Barber Suggestibility Scale, a product of their research, measures hypnotic susceptibility with or without the use of a hypnotic induction.

Barber was the author of Hypnosis: A Scientific Approach (1969). He argued in this work that hypnosis and related constructs are "unnecessary and misleading and that the phenomena that have been traditionally subsumed under these terms can be better understood by utilizing a different set of concepts that are an integral part of present-day psychology." It was positively reviewed by the scientific community. Psychologist Theodore R. Sarbin noted that the work "demystifies and demythologizes" the subject, "the construction of hypnosis as a special mental state ha[s] no ontological footing."

Barber was a fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI). At a meeting of the executive council of CSI in Denver, Colorado in April 2011, Barber was selected for inclusion in CSI's Pantheon of Skeptics. The Pantheon of Skeptics was created by CSI to remember the legacy of deceased fellows of CSI and their contributions to the cause of scientific skepticism.