NOTES 1:
This review mentions an association between Tellegen’s Absorption Scale and a cognitive inhibitory process called negative priming. Westberry and colleagues, including Anker and Neill, found that people high on the Absorption Scale show an extremely large negative priming effect.
Attention is usually attributed to facilitation (selectively processing stimuli that meet our needs) but might also be due to inhibition of competing stimuli. If, after stimulus S2 has been ignored, we now require a response to either S2 or a new stimulus, S3, according to the facilitation theory S2 should be processed as easily as S3; according to the inhibition theory, processing of the recently ignored stimulus may be hampered by the persistence of inhibition. Dalrymple-Alford provided evidence of inhibition using a Stroop color naming task in which each printed word in a list named the ink color of the next word in the list. Dalrymple-Alford concluded that the response to each word had to be suppressed in order to name its ink color, thereby making it harder to make that same response to the next item. Neill replicated it: color naming was slower when the current color matched the previous distractor (e.g., YELLOW in green ink, after GREEN in red ink) than when the current and previous trial were unrelated (e.g., YELLOW in green ink, after BLUE in red ink).
Tipper, Weaver, Cameron, Brehaut, & Bastedo (1991) had subjects name a picture at fixation, ignoring another picture to the left or right, and Tipper (1985) had subjects ignore picture drawn in another color. If the ignored picture subsequently becomes the target, it is named more slowly than an unrelated target. A particularly interesting finding is that the inhibition generalizes to semantic associates (e.g. if a picture of a dog is ignored, a picture of a cat will then be named more slowly). Yee (1991) demonstrated the effect with ignored words. Tipper (1985) called the inhibitory effects “negative priming”.
Neill used a task in which S is shown a string of five letters, and is instructed to judge the second and fourth letters as “same” (e.g., ABABA) or “different” (e.g., ABACA). Negative priming was shown by slower reaction time to target letters that matched the previous ignored distractors (in case below, ABABA):
ABABA – Reaction times are 779 for CACAC and 766 for CDCDC because the A appears in both ABABA and CACAC.
Negative priming does not appear to be perceptual, since it occurs between physically dissimilar stimuli, e.g. in the Stroop task ignoring a printed word inhibits responding to a color. And Tipper and Driver (1988) found negative priming between pictures and corresponding words. By default, the locus of inhibition appears to be at the level of a central cognitive representation. That is, it occurs at a level in which the word GREEN and the color green are related to the same abstract concept, but have not yet accessed an overt response.
However, in the letter-matching task, negative priming occurred only if the ignored distractor letter and subsequent target shared the same letter case. If the ignored distractor and subsequent target were in opposite case (e.g., ABABA, then cacac), positive priming was obtained instead. Because the letter-matching task could be performed on the basis of perceptual similarity, it appears that inhibition can be specific to the perceptual representation when attention is directed to that level of processing. Individual differences in negative priming appear to be related to more global cognitive effectiveness. N.B. Stroop interference is greatest at age 7, decreasing to adolescence, then plateaus through adulthood (Comalli,
Wapner & Werner, 1962). Children in second grade also show less negative priming than young adults in picture naming task (Tipper et al. 1989). (Same thing was found for the elderly, and it is associated with distractibility).
Negative priming research suggests the inhibition of irrelevant processing that is critical for effective functioning. Beech, Baylis & Claridge, 1989, and Beech & Claridge, 1987, studied schizophrenics and college students with schizotypal traits using negative priming task, where these appear to be associated with a failure to inhibit distracting information.
Broadbent et al’s (1982) Cognitive Failures Questionnaire measures self-reported lapses of perception, memory, and motor function. Tipper and Baylis (1987) found that negative priming was negatively correlated with cognitive failures; i.e. cognitive failures are associated with less inhibition of distracting information.
Westberry, 1984; Westberry, Anker & Neill, in preparation – found that people high on the Absorption Scale show an extremely large negative priming effect, while the effect for “low absorbers” was negligible.
Nelson, Peter L. (1991-92). Personality attributes as discriminating factors in distinguishing religio-mystical from paranormal experients. Imagination, Cognition and Personality, 11, 389-406.
In the first section of this article, an operationalized notion of preternatural experience is described which includes two general classes of experience: religio-mystical (Ontic) and paranormal (Perceptual). The exploratory study which follows uses the personality measures of the complete Tellegen Differential Personality Questionnaire taken from 120 subjects who reported having had spontaneous religio- mystical and/or paranormal experiences at some time in the past. The scores on all eleven primary dimensions, three higher order affect factors, and two validity scales were used individually, in univariate ANOVAs, and together, in a Direct Discriminant Function Analysis, to successfully separate two classes of preternatural experients from non- experients and from each other.
Persinger, M. A.; Makarec, Katherine (1991-92). Interactions between temporal lobe signs, imaginings, beliefs and gender: Their effect upon logical inference. Imagination, Cognition and Personality, 11, 149-166.
Rotton’s Paralogic Test, Wilson-Barber’s Inventory of Childhood memories and Imaginings (ICMI) and the PPI (Personal Philosophy Inventory) were administered to 100 male and 100 female university students. Both sexes displayed moderately strong (0.50) correlations between content-selected and factor analyzed clusters of possible temporal lobe signs, exotic beliefs and the numbers of childhood imaginings. Although there were no sex differences between the accuracy of logical statements that contained paranormal or neutral content, males who displayed more temporal lobe signs were more accurate for logical items that contained paranormal content. Females who displayed more imaginings were more accurate for valid than for invalid items. Accuracy for items with paranormal content increased with exotic beliefs but not with conservative religious beliefs for both sexes. The relationship between exotic beliefs and accuracy for items with paranormal content was especially strong for females. These results suggest: 1) gender differences in the neurocognitive processes that contribute to logical problem solving and 2) accuracy may depend upon the degree to which the subject matter is commensurate with the person’s history of enhanced temporal lobe signs, capacity for fantasy and imaginings and beliefs in exotic concepts.
NOTES 1:
Review of related literature indicates that Personal Philosophy Inventory (PPI) temporal lobe signs are correlated with temporal lobe EEG alpha but not occipital lobe alpha (Makarec & Persinger, 1990), with increased suggestibility (Persinger & DeSano, 1986; Ross & Persinger, 1987), with creativity and proneness towards fantasy (Persinger & DeSano, 1986; Ross & Persinger, 1987; Makarec & Persinger, 1987), and with reports of psi experiences and beliefs in such things as reincarnation and aliens in UFOs (‘exotic themes’) (Persinger & Makarec, 1987; Persinger & Makarec, 1990). This experiment was designed to answer four questions: ” 1) Do imagery and temporal lobe signs emerge from the same source of variance?; 2) Do males and females differ significantly in their incidence of imaginings and temporal lobe signs?; 3) Do males and females differ in their ability to solve logical problems?; and 4) Is the accuracy of problem solving affected by the subject matter of the problem and the problem solver’s temporal lobe signs and capacity for imagery?” (p. 151). The PPI consists of 140 true-false items that were selected with a goal of discerning temporal lobe signs within a normal population. One 30-item subscale has items that are similar to experiences reported by patients with verified electrical foci in the temporal lobes, albeit milder (the TLS or temporal lobe sign scale). Of these 30 items, 16 refer to ictal-like experiences (the CPES, or complex partial epileptic signs), and 14 refer to interictal-like behaviors (ILB). CPES items are items like “Sometimes an event will occur that has special significance for me only,’ and ‘While sitting quietly, I have had uplifting sensations as if I were driving over a rolling road.” ILB items are items like “People tell me I blank out sometimes when people are talking,’ and ‘When I lose an argument I spend a lot of time thinking about what I should have said.” Wilson and Barber’s Inventory of Childhood Memories and Imaginings (ICMI) has 52 true-false items that include reports of paranormal experiences (5 items), moderate imaginings (18 items) such as ‘When I was a child I enjoyed fairytales,’ and extreme imaginings (15 items) such as ‘When I was a child or teenager, at times I was afraid my imagining would become so real to me that I would be unable to stop it.’
Rotton’s Paralogic Test [unpublished, at Florida International University, Miami] has 16 syllogisms, each with major premise, minor premise, and conclusion. “The person must decide if the argument is valid (n = 8) or invalid (n = 8). Half of each of the valid and invalid arguments refer to mundane material while the other half of the arguments refer to paranormal-related material. An example of the former is ‘If a president is a crook, he would be impeached; Congress did not impeach Nixon. Therefore Nixon is not a crook’ and ‘If flying saucers really existed, somebody would have photographed one. Nobody has ever photographed a flying saucer. Therefore, flying saucers do not exist'” (p. 153). Correlations were computed separately for males and females. Both groups increased in accuracy for paranormal items as their belief in things like reincarnation and UFOs (‘exotic concepts’) increased. Males with a higher number of temporal lobe signs demonstrated more accuracy for logic test items with paranormal (psi) content than logic test items with mundane content. “The single most important correlation was between exotic beliefs and the interaction term for the Rotton scale; the coefficient was unusually strong (0.54) and highly statistically significant (p<0.001) for females only. Because of the manner in which the interaction term was calculated, this correlation meant that females who reported more exotic beliefs were also more accurate for valid items that contained paranormal content only" (p. 159). In their Discussion, the authors write, "The significant positive correlations between exotic beliefs and the clusters of CPES items and extreme Wilson-Barber imagining items are expected associations according to Bear's concept of sensory-limbic hyperconnectionism [Temporal Lobe Epilepsy: A Syndrome of Sensory-Limbic Hyperconnectionism, Cortex, 15, pp. 357-384. It would predict that concepts (or word trains) that are unusual, strange or infrequent would be charged with emotional significance and personal value. Ideas that generate substantial imagery, such as time- travel, reincarnation and alien intelligence, would be particularly prone to this affective infusion from limbic sources. Induction of such unique or intensified affective states, especially during childhood, would facilitate the development of more frequent or more extreme periods of dissociation in the adult. We have collected (unpublished) clinical evidence to suggest that the emergence of this pattern is found in the propensity for creative thinkers, including writers, poets, musicians, artists and scientists, to have had developmental histories that could have promoted temporal lobe lability without overt seizure activity; clusters of such "promoters" include mild physical abuse, febrile episodes, minor head injuries and likely hypoxic periods during extreme physical exertion (competitive athletics)" (pp. 161-162). Another conclusion of the study is that males and females do not differ in their accuracy in solving syllogisms, but "the neurocognitive processes, as inferred from inventories of temporal lobe signs or childhood imaginings, by which the two sexes arrive at solutions may be quite different" (p. 162).
1991
Radtke, H. Lorraine; Stam, Henderikus J. (1991). The relationship between absorption, openness to experience, anhedonia, and susceptibility. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 39, 39-56.
Examination of the absorption (Tellegen Absorption Scale [TAS] of Tellegen & Atkinson, 1974), openness to experience (OTE Inventory of Costa & McCrae, 1978), and anhedonia (ANH Scales of L. J. Chapman, J. P. Chapman, & Raulin, 1976) scales suggested that they might be conceptually related. Given the reliable relationship between TAS and hypnotic susceptibility, the authors were interested in studying OTE and ANH as possible personality correlates of hypnotic susceptibility. 2 studies, 1 involving a community sample and the other a sample of university students, were conducted to assess the relationships between the TAS, OTE, and ANH scales and hypnotic susceptibility. As predicted, in Study 1 (community sample) the TAS and OTE inventories were positively correlated with one another and both were negatively correlated with the ANH scale. This pattern of correlations was replicated in Study 2 (university sample), but only TAS correlated significantly with hypnotic susceptibility. Factor analyses further confirmed these findings. It was concluded that the conceptual relationship among the TAS and the OTE and ANH scales resides in some dimension other than hypnotic susceptibility.
NOTES 1:
Two studies used Tellegen Absorption Scale (TAS), Costa & McCrae's (1978) Openness to Experience Inventory (OTE), and Chapman, Chapman, & Raulin's (1976) Anhedonia scales (ANH). One involved a community sample, the other involved university students.
OTE and TAS r = .42 and .62
TAS and HGSHS:A r = .22 (p<.10) in one study "Thus, while there is a significant overlap in variability between TAS and the other person variables, the variance shared between TAS and hypnotic susceptibility is unique to those two measures. Further research is needed to determine the role of expectancies in contributing to this pattern of findings and the extent to which item overlap may be responsible for the observed correlations (Nicholls et al., 1982). Inspection of the items included in the three scales indicated that only TAS assesses involvement in experiences; items on the ANH and OTE instruments focus on interest or willingness to engage in various experiences" (p. 51).
"Notably, the correlations between TAS and the 2 subjective indices of hypnotic susceptibility, SUB and O-I, were slightly stronger than the correlations between TAS and the two indices reflecting overt behavior (OBJ and HGSHS:A scores). This pattern of relationships is consistent with recent arguments that objective indices alone do not fully capture the hypnotic experience (e.g., Spanos et al., 1983).
"Interestingly, the correlations among the three personality scales tended to be stronger in Study 1 where a community sample was assessed in a nonhypnotic context than in Study 2 where a sample of university undergraduates was assessed in a hypnotic context. The two samples differed significantly on all three scales both in terms of mean level and variability, indicating possible ceiling effects and restricted range problems in the university sample. Given that almost all of the research on hypnotic susceptibility and its correlates has been conducted on university students, these findings point to the utility of obtaining research participants from a greater cross-section of the population" (pp. 51- 52).
"Of particular importance, these results indicate that the relationships among TAS and the OTE and ANH scales do not depend upon the hypnotic context and are not the product of expectancies generated by the anticipation of being hypnotized. Nevertheless, the conceptual relationship among the three scales resides in some dimension that is unrelated to hypnotic susceptibility. At this point, we can only speculate as to what this dimension might be. One possibility is that TAS and the OTE and ANH scales reflect an openness to various experiences; what absorption and hypnotic susceptibility uniquely share is the willingness to become involved in imaginal and sensory experiences" (p. 52).
Ross, Colin A.; Joshi, S.; Currie, R. (1991). Dissociative experiences in the general population: A factor analysis. Hospital and Community Psychiatry, 42, 297-301.
The 28-item Dissociative Experiences Scale was administered to a stratified cluster sample of 1055 respondents in a general population of Winnipeg. Dissociative experiences were common in the sample and were not related to socioeconomic status, sex, education, religion, or place of birth, although they declined with age in both sexes. A principal components analysis identified three factors accounting for 47.1% of the combined variance of scores. The first factor, absorption-imaginative involvement, is composed of common, benign experiences such as missing part of a conversation, being able to ignore pain, staring into space, absorption in a television program or movie, not being sure if you did something or only thought about it, and remembering things so vividly one seems to be reliving it. The other two factors, activities of dissociated states and depersonalization-derealization, composed of less common experiences such as not recognizing friends or family members and not recognizing one's own reflection in a mirror, may be powerful predictors of DSM-III-R dissociative disorders.
1990
Bartis, Scott P.; Zamansky, Harold S. (1990). Cognitive strategies in hypnosis: Toward resolving the hypnotic conflict. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 38, 168-182.
Two experiments were carried out to assess the relative contributions of dissociation and absorption as cognitive strategies employed by high and low hypnotizability Ss in responding successfully to hypnotic suggestions. Of special interest was the manner in which Ss deal with conflicting information typically inherent in hypnotic suggestions. In the first experiment, Ss rated their attentional focus and the involuntariness of their experience after responding to a number of hypnotic suggestions administered in the usual manner. In the second experiment, the level of conflict was varied by instructing some Ss to imagine a circumstance that was congruent and other Ss to imagine a circumstance that was incongruent with the suggested behavioral response. The results of the 2 experiments were consistent in suggesting that, depending upon the nature of the hypnotic suggestion, high hypnotizability Ss are able to employ dissociation or absorption in order to respond successfully. Low hypnotizability Ss, on the other hand, seem to be relatively ineffective dissociators. When the structure of the hypnotic suggestion precludes the use of absorption, the performance of low hypnotizables deteriorates.
1990-1991
Drake, Stephen D.; Nash, Michael R.; Cawood, Glenn N. (1990-91). Imaginative involvement and hypnotic susceptibility: A re-examination of the relationship. Imagination, Cognition and Personality, 10, 141-155.
Several researchers have reported that significant correlations between hypnotic susceptibility and absorption result from the reactive effects of administering scales immediately before measurement of hypnotizability. The present study was conducted to determine whether interview measures of imaginative involvement are similarly reactive. Three groups of 48, 43, and 43 Ss each were first administered 3 scales of absorption/imaginativeness. This was followed by administration of a hypnotizability scale. Ss in Group 1 who were administered the 3 scales immediately prior to hypnosis evidenced the usual significant positive correlation between each of the 3 scales and hypnotizability. Ss in Groups 2 and 3 were administered the 3 scales 24 to 36 hours prior to hypnosis. Group 2 Ss were informed that administration of these scales was part of a hypnosis experiment. Group 3 Ss were not aware that the scales were part of a hypnosis experiment. No significant correlation between hypnotizability and the 3 measures of imagination/absorption was evidenced for either Group 2 or Group 3. Our findings suggest that any relationship between these two constructs may be quite dependent on how and when the measures are administered.
1990
Freeman, William B., Jr.; Kessler, Marc; Vigne, Jeffery (1990). Random number generation, absorption, and hypnotizability: A brief communication. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 38, 10-16.
Graham and Evans (1977) found that a measure of random number generation (RNG) was related to hypnotizability. In 2 studies, the relationship between hypnotizability and Graham and Evans' RNG (1977) index was examined. In Study 1 Evans' (1981) measures of controlled and automatic absorption were also evaluated. In Study 1 no relationship was found between the measures of absorption or RNG and hypnotizability. Since Study 1 was carried out primarily to evaluate methods for modifying hypnotizability, Study 2 was designed to evaluate RNG measure directly. Study 2 found no consistent relationship between RNG and hypnotizability, or between RNG and measures of the experience of hypnotic depth and nonvolition.
Pekala, Ronald J.; Forbes, Elizabeth J. (1990, Spring). Subjective effects of several stress management strategies: With reference to attention. Behavioural Medicine, 39-43.
This study assessed variations in reported attentional experience associated with several stress management techniques (hypnosis, progressive relaxation, deep abdominal breathing) and baseline (eyes closed) as a function of hypnotic susceptibility. Three hundred nursing students experienced the stress management conditions and afterward completed a self-report inventory, the Dimensions of Attention Questionnaire (DAQ), in reference to each condition. The DAQ quantifies 12 aspects of attentional experience in a reliable and valid manner. The results demonstrated that progressive relaxation, hypnosis, and deep abdominal breathing are characterized by differences in reported attentional experience that are further moderated by an individual's hypnotic susceptibility. The clinical implications of these results are discussed.
NOTES 1:
"Significant main effects were found for conditions for perspicacity, absorption, and control, with progressive relaxation associated with increased perspicacity and absorption, but with decreased control vis-a-vis hypnosis.
"Significant main effects for groups were found for perspicacity, locus, direction of attention, absorption, control, and vigilance. ... [Post-hoc comparisons] revealed that high susceptibles (vis-a-vis low susceptibles) reported increased perspicacity, absorption, a more inward-focused attention, more feelings of being out of their bodies, and decreased control and vigilance. High-mediums were also different from lows (in the same direction) for all of the above comparisons except for direction of attention. Low-mediums, along with lows, were different from highs for absorption and control.
"Significant interactions between conditions and groups were found for absorption, control, and vigilance. Whereas low susceptibles reported significantly increased absorption but significantly decreased control and vigilance during progressive relaxation than during hypnosis, high susceptibles reported no significant differences between relaxation and hypnosis for absorption, control, or vigilance" (p. 41).
The authors describe the differences found for deep abdominal breathing on p. 41.
"The interaction effects suggest that the experience of hypnosis and progressive relaxation are moderated by a person's hypnotic susceptibility--low susceptibles experience significantly greater absorption, but decreased control and vigilance during progressive relaxation than during hypnosis, although there are no such differences for high susceptibles. This suggests that progressive relaxation may be a 'better' procedure than hypnosis to use with low susceptibles, at least if one wants to increase absorption and decrease vigilance and control" (p. 42).
The authors also note that "deep abdominal breathing is associated with increased 'calmness of mind,' in reference to a baseline condition, as demonstrated by increased attentional detachment and equanimity, and decreased vigilance and density (the 'amount' of thoughts going through one's mind)" (p. 42).
Tenenbaum, Steven J.; Kurtz, Richard M.; Bienias, Julia L. (1990). Hypnotic susceptibility and experimental pain reduction. American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, 33 (1), 40-49.
We exposed 24 subjects high in hypnotic susceptibility and 24 subjects low in hypnotic susceptibility to a cold-pressor pain stimulus under either hypnotic or waking conditions, using each of two pain-reduction strategies (analgesia and distraction) separately. Trance depth level was held constant for hypnotized subjects. We used pain- tolerance levels as measures of pain, and we analyzed them by survival analysis. High susceptibles reported significantly lower pain ratings and kept their hands immersed longer in the cold water than low-susceptible subjects. There were no significant differences between hypnotic and waking condition subjects or between the different strategies. We have discussed the results in terms of a relationship in the literature between choice of experimental design (between-subjects or within-subjects) and the effectiveness of a hypnotic induction for suggested pain reduction.
NOTES 1:
High hypnotizable Subjects scored 25 or above on the Wilson & Barber (1977) Creative Imagination Scale--the CIS (out of 40) and 4 or above on the Morgan & Hilgard (1979) Stanford Hypnotic Clinical Scale--SHCS (out of 5); Lows scored 15 or lower on the CIS and 2 or lower on the SHCS. Depth ratings during hypnosis were 7.4 for Highs, 2.3 for Lows; Tellegen Absorption scores were 25 and 18, respectively.
Subjects were assigned to either waking suggestion group or hypnosis group to avoid carryover effects across sessions, hence there were four groups: highs/waking procedure, highs/hypnotic procedure, lows/waking procedure, lows/hypnotic procedure. Each group was taught two strategies--analgesia or distraction--in a counterbalanced order, with administration of the Absorption Scale during a 15 minute rest in between the two procedures.
For hypnotic inductions, Experimenters provided an audiotape of an induction based on the SHCS, and had Ss report trance depth. When self-reported depth became less than baseline, following either strategy training period, deepening procedures were used to re-establish the earlier depth level. Analgesia testing was not done blind as to subgroup membership and/or susceptibility.
The analgesia condition involved a suggestion of numbness in the hand and arm exposed to the cold pressor (Bassman & Wester, 1983). The distraction condition involved a suggestion to imagine a pleasant beach scene (Turk, Meichenbaum, and Gnest, 1984).
The number of individuals dropping out (removing their hands from the bath) at any one time period was measured, providing'survival curves.' Pain tolerance was the same for Highs and Lows during baseline; also pain tolerance was the same for the hypnotic group as for the waking group. However, Low hypnotizable Ss removed their hands from the cold water faster than High hypnotizables: after 90 seconds only 60% of Lows, compared with 85% of Highs, remained. The same results occurred for distraction.
"In summary, both treatments allowed subjects to tolerate the cold pressor longer. There were no significant differences between subjects receiving or not receiving a hypnotic induction, and high-susceptibility subjects appeared to derive significantly greater benefit from treatment than did low-susceptibility subjects, as reflected by their tendency to tolerate exposure to the cold bath for greater lengths of time" (p. 46).
"High-susceptible subjects appeared to derive significantly greater benefit from treatment than did low-susceptible subjects, as reflected by their tendency both to tolerate exposure to the cold bath for greater lengths of time and to produce lower pain ratings" (p. 46).
"One issue that remains unresolved concerning the relationship between susceptibility and pain reduction is whether susceptibility is a transituational capacity that is accessed by suggestion, or as Spanos, Hodgins, Stam, and Gwynn (1984) have asserted, simply an expectancy effect created by the susceptibility screening process, in which susceptibility screening appeared to act as a 'primary effect,' generating a successful experience related to hypnosis. The hypothesis that susceptibility is a capacity that can be accessed by suggestion is supported by the bulk of the literature on susceptibility and pain reduction, including research generated by both social-cognitive and neo-dissociation theorists (e.g., Hilgard, 1975; Spanos & Hewitt, 1980). In addition, susceptibility has proved to be a relatively stable trait, resistant to clinically significant modification (Crouse & Kurtz, 1984; Hilgard, 1975).
"Empirical resolution of this question would seem to require extension and replication of the Spanos, Hodgins, Stam, and Gwynn (1984) study, including exploration of whether screening at the end of the treatment phase of a suggestion experiment wipes out the relationship between susceptibility and successful suggestion for other hypnotic phenomena, such as amnesia, hallucination, time distortion, and so forth" (pp. 47-48).
1989
Balthazard, Claude G.; Woody, Erik Z. (1989). Bimodality, dimensionality and the notion of hypnotic types. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 37 (1), 70-89.
The notion of hypnotic types -- of qualitative differences in the mechanisms by which people respond to hypnotic suggestions -- is examined with respect to the kind of evidence that has traditionally been seen to support it. Bimodality in the distribution of hypnosis scores has been taken as evidence for two "types" of hypnotizability. It is argued that little can be said about the nature of underlying processes from the distribution of raw scores. The relationship of factor analytic results to possible underlying typologies is examined. It is concluded that the present evidence simply does not allow an evaluation of the merits of current typological formulations.
Carlson, Eve Bernstein; Putnam, Frank W. (1989). Integrating research on dissociation and hypnotizability: Are there two pathways to hypnotizability?. Dissociation, 2, 32-38.
Attention to the relationship between hypnotizability and dissociation has been limited to date. Reviews recent studies implying a relationship between "dissociativity" and hypnotizability, and places in context of J. Hilgard's theory of two developmental pathways to hypnotizability (imagination/absorption and punishment). This might imply two subsets of hypnotizable persons, as Nadon et al. (1988) postulate--one with a dissociative style and one with an absorption style. Also, high capacity for imaginative involvement may be a necessary condition for a dissociative response to trauma. Branscomb (1988; unpublished) posits a genetic-stressor model for PTSD in which a history of dissociative-proneness and child abuse predispose one to PTSD when a trauma occurs in a non-supportive environment. Relates this theory to hidden observer research and to dissociative patients.
Hoyt, Irene P.; Nadon, Robert; Register, Patricia A.; Chorny, Joseph; Fleeson, William; Grigorian, Ellen M.; Otto, Laura; Kihlstrom, John F. (1989). Daydreaming, absorption and hypnotizability. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 37, 332-342
. NOTES 1:
NOTES: It appears that the consistent correlation between hypnotizability and positive-constructive day dreaming is carried largely by three subscales--Acceptance of Daydreaming, Positive Reactions to
Day dreaming, and Problem-Solving. Number other subscales consistently correlated with hypnotizability. When absorption was taken into account, daydreaming activity made no independent contribution to the prediction of hypnotizability. "The present results differ from Crawford's (1982) somewhat, however, in terms of the specific aspects of daydreaming activity that are associated with hypnosis. Crawford found that hypnotizability correlated consistently (i.e., in both men and women) with three subscales tapping imagery variables: the presence of visual and auditory imagery in daydreams and the hallucinatory vividness of daydream imagery. In the present study, the imagery subscale, including both visual and auditory items, did not correlate significantly with hypnotizability; unfortunately, the hallucinatory vividness subscale is not represented on the short form (SIPI) of the daydreaming questionnaire used in this study. Crawford (1982) did not find consistent correlations between hypnotizability and scales measuring acceptance, positive reactions, and problem solving--the subscales that consistently yielded significant correlations in the present study. Not too much interpretive weight should be given to any of the correlations between hypnotizability and daydreaming subscales, until a full replication with reliable subscale measurements (such as those provided by the long, original IPI) has been completed. The important point made by Crawford (1982), and confirmed in the present study, is that hypnotizability is related to positive-constructive rather than guilty-dysphoric daydreaming" (p. 338). The two studies agree that absorption and hypnosis are not correlated with daydreaming scales reflecting poor attentional control. Given the theoretical emphasis in both domains on the narrowing of attention and exclusion of potentially distracting input, negative correlations with this aspect of daydreaming might have been expected.
Johnson, Blair; Eagly, Alice H. (1989). Effects of involvement on persuasion: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 106 (2), 290-314.
Defines involvement as a motivational state induced by an association between an activated attitude and the self-concept. Integration of the available research suggests that the effects of involvement on attitude change depended on the aspect of message recipients' self-concept that was activated to create involvement: (a) their enduring values (value-relevant involvement), (b) their ability to attain desirable outcomes (outcome-relevant involvement), or (c) the impression they make on others (impression- relevant involvement). Findings showed that (a) with value-relevant involvement, high- involvement subjects were less persuaded than low-involvement subjects;
Kihlstrom, John F.; Register, Patricia A.; Hoyt, Irene P.; Albright, Jeanne Sumi; Grigorian, Ellen M.; Heindel, William C.; Morrison, Charles R. (1989). Dispositional correlates of hypnosis: A phenomenological approach. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 37, 249-263.
Attempted to construct and validate a questionnaire measure of hypnotic- like experiences based on Shor's (1979) 8-dimension phenomenological analysis of hypnosis. Separate item pools were developed to measure each disposition: Trance, Nonconscious Involvement, Archaic Involvement, Drowsiness, Relaxation, Vividness of Imagery, Absorption, and Access to the Unconscious. Based on preliminary testing (total Number - 856), a final questionnaire was produced containing 5 items measuring normal, everyday experiences in each domain. Results from a standardization sample (Number - 468) showed that each of the subscales, except for Archaic Involvement, possessed satisfactory levels of internal consistency and test-retest reliability. Factor analysis indicated that 6 subscales loaded highly on a common factor similar to the absorption construct (Tellegen & Atkinson, 1974), while items pertaining to Relaxation and Archaic Involvement formed separate factors. Validation testing on 4 samples receiving the Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility, Form A (HGSHS:A) of Shor and E. Orne (1962) (total Number = 1855) showed that the Absorption and Trance dimensions correlated most strongly with HGSHS:A; the correlations with Drowsiness, Relaxation, and Nonconscious Involvement approached 0. The scales derived form Shor's analysis, however, did not improve the prediction of hypnotizability over that obtained with the absorption scale (Tellegen & Atkinson, 1974).
Rhue, Judith W.; Lynn, Steven Jay (1989). Fantasy proneness, hypnotizability, and absorption--a re-examination: A brief communication. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 37, 100-106.
In a previous study (Lynn & Rhue, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1986) of fantasy-prone persons, "fantasizers" participated in an 8-10 hour, multi-session study. Group selection was based on scoring in the upper 4% of the college population on the Inventory of Childhood Memories and Imaginings (ICMI) of Wilson and Barber (1981) and conforming to the fantasy-prone personality syndrome (Wilson & Barber, 1981) during an interview. Fantasizers differed from nonfantasizers (lower 4% of population) and medium range scorers on measures of hypnotizability (Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility, Form A, Shor & E. Orne, 1962) and absorption (Tellegen Absorption Scale, Tellegen, 1976). In the current study, Subject were selected on the basis of their ICMI scores and participated in a 1-session experiment. As in our first study (Lynn & Rhue, 1986), fantasizers differed from both comparison groups on the measure of absorption and from the nonfantasizers on the measure of hypnotizability. Further, the correlations among fantasy proneness, absorption, and hypnotizability were stable across studies. Fantasy proneness and absorption were not found to be truly discriminable constructs. Unlike our initial study (Lynn & Rhue, 1986), fantasy-prone and medium range Subjects were equally hypnotizable. Methodological differences across studies provide a plausible explanation for the disparate results obtained.
Ronnestad, Michael Helge (1989). Hypnosis and autonomy: A moderator analysis. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 37, 154-168.
The study focused on autonomy as a moderator variable in the prediction of subjectively reported hypnotic depth. Ss in the experimental part of the study were 56 undergraduate psychology and education majors classified as either high or low in autonomy. Ss who were equated on capacity for absorption were individually administered 1 of 3 hypnotic inductions: an authoritarian induction, a permissive hetero- induction, or a self-hypnosis induction. The study had a double-blind design. The data suggest that situational manipulation has greater impact on low than on high autonomy Ss. Individual-difference variables such as absorption, have greater impact on hypnotic depth for high than for low autonomy Ss. The data indicate that the hypnotic behavior of high autonomy Ss is more likely to be self-congruent and less likely to be demand-congruent. A factor-analytic inquiry of absorption confirmed the importance of affective/regressive capacity for hypnotic functioning for high autonomy Ss. The study supported the alternate-path perspective of hypnosis.
NOTES 1:
There is very little research on autonomy and hypnosis. The authors cite studies showing only a modest relationship between hypnotizability and locus of control.
In this study, 176 students were assigned to the high autonomy group if they were in the upper 1/3 of two of 3 autonomy scales (Rotter's Locus of Control Scale, the Inner- Directedness Subscale of the Shostrom Personal Orientation Inventory, and the Autonomy subscale of Jackson's Personality Research Form) and not in the lower 1/3 of the third scale. Ss were designated as low autonomy if the obverse obtained. This procedure yielded 27 high and 29 low autonomy Ss.
Ss were hypnotized with one of three inductions: authoritarian with many motor items (Barber Suggestibility Scale), permissive with mostly imagery (Barber & Wilson's Creative Imagination Scale), or guided self-hypnosis with mostly imagery (taken from Fromm et al, 1981). After hypnosis, Ss rated their own hypnotic depth on a 1-10 scale, and their perception of E or the procedure as authoritarian and directive. Ss' attitude, expectations, motivation, and experienced effortlessness were measured. E rated Ss for pre-hypnosis rapport and post-hypnosis rapport.
The results indicated that there was no difference in hypnotizability level between high and low autonomy Ss. The correlation between effortlessness of experience and hypnotic depth was high for low autonomy Ss (.51) but not significant for high autonomy Ss (.12). In general the two groups were very similar in terms of mean scores on most variables. The differences appeared in the correlations between self-reported hypnotic depth and the other variables. For low autonomy Ss correlations were not significant between depth and pre-hypnotic variables (rapport-pre, absorption, expectation) but for highs the same correlations were significant (rapport-pre .47, absorption .54, expectation .48).
But for post-hypnosis variables, low autonomy Ss had significant correlations between depth and the two variables measured from post-hypnosis interviews (perceived authoritarian/directiveness .40, effortlessness .51) and the highs did not have significant correlations. The multiple correlation between these variables and depth was R = .28 for low autonomy Ss (with no contribution from rapport-pre) and R = .72 for high autonomy Ss, with absorption contributing most. The more they perceived the induction as authoritarian or directive, the greater depth reported by low autonomy Ss. Although low and high absorption Ss did not differ on the Absorption Scale, absorption predicted hypnotic depth better for the highs.
The author divided the Absorption Scale into four rational factors: Affective/Regressive, Perceptual/Cognitive, Dissociative, and Mystical. Low and high autonomy Ss scored at approximately the same level on these categories, but correlations between these categories and depth for low and high autonomy Ss were somewhat different. (See Table.)
Correlations between Categories of Absorption and Hypnotic Depth for Low and High Autonomy Ss
Absorption Low Autonomy High Autonomy All Ss Category r r r
Affective/Regressive .14 .56** .33** Perceptual/Cognitive .25 .33* .29* Dissociative .32* .57** .47** "Mystical" .07 .16 .11
In their discussion, the authors note that one might assume that high autonomy Ss would be less affected by variations in hypnosis procedures than low autonomy Ss. The differences found in depth scores for these two groups were supportive of this expectation. "Fluctuations in subjectively reported depth scores for low autonomy Ss only, clearly suggest autonomy to be a moderator variable" (p. 163).
Moreover, the results indicate "that high autonomy Ss in comparison to low autonomy Ss are more likely to express their inner dispositions, such as absorption and expectation, in the hypnotic setting. High autonomy Ss may be more reflective of and attuned to individual predisposing characteristics and less influenced by situational demands. ... the hypnotic behavior of high autonomy Ss is more likely to be self- congruent and less likely to be demand-congruent. Low autonomy Ss, however, are more likely to be demand congruent and less likely to be self-congruent. The latter finding was suggested both by the significant F ratio for low autonomy Ss across treatments, and also by the stronger relationship found for this group between depth and how authoritarian/directive they perceived the procedure to be" (p. 163).
[Paradoxically, among low autonomy Ss an authoritarian approach yields less depth but greater suggestibility (higher hypnotizability scores).] "The tendency for low autonomy Ss to have a higher behavioral score on the authoritarian procedure is consistent with Tellegen's (1979) assumption that there are two pervasive dimensions in current hypnotizability measures--a compliance dimension and a true hypnotic responsiveness dimension. According to Tellegen, motor items may be more saturated with compliance, while cognitive items may be more saturated with true hypnotic responsiveness. The BSS has a motor emphasis, and the higher behavioral scores for the low autonomy group of Ss may be interpreted as an expression of compliance.
"In addition to the inner-directedness and self-congruence hypothesis of why autonomy may be a moderator variable, another possible explanation is related to accuracy of self-perception. The intercorrelational and multiple regression data showed repeatedly that a stronger relationship existed between prehypnotic variables and hypnotic depth for high autonomy than for low autonomy Ss. The relational capacity, as tapped by the rapport-pre variable, absorption, which may be conceptualized as a personality trait; and expectation, a cognitive variable, were all related to depth for high autonomy Ss. For low autonomy Ss, none of these variables were individually related to depth. Differences in Ss' accuracy of self-reporting may explain this. According to ego-psychology theory, highly individuated Ss, with clear self-other differentiation and congruence in self-perception, are better able to make accurate statements about themselves. The self-assessments of Ss with low differentiation capability may be less accurate and possibly more affected by demand characteristics and response set. In other words, their self-assessments have more error. The generally lower correlations for the low autonomy Ss may reflect this" (p. 164).
"A report of subjectively reported hypnotic depth following CIS and the self- hypnosis scales may reflect clarity of imagery, while a report of depth following BSS may reflect experiences of kinesthetic/bodily changes" (p. 165).
Snodgrass, M.; Lynn, Steven Jay (1989). Music absorption and hypnotizability. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 37, 41-54.
The present study investigated differences between high (N = 15), medium (N = 20), and low (N = 16) hypnotizable Ss' involvement in imaginative versus nonimaginative music. Ss were first screened for hypnotizability with the Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility, Form A (Shor & E. Orne, 1962). In a second session presented as a study of music appreciation, Ss listened to classical music of high- and low-rated music imaginativeness. Ss' involvement was indexed by absorption, imagery elaboration reported in open-ended essays, and reaction time to a pure tone. High hypnotizable Ss reported more absorption than low hypnotizable Ss, regardless of the imaginativeness level of the music. Ss reported more imagery elaboration in the imaginative than in the low-imaginative passages. High hypnotizable Ss tended to differ in their imagery elaboration in response to the imaginative passages but not in response to the nonimaginative passages. Reaction time results were nonsignificant. No sex differences were found. Medium hypnotizable Ss were indistinguishable from both high- and low-hypnotizable Ss. The findings are generally compatible with J. R. Hilgard's (1970, 1974) construct of imaginative involvement.
Spanos, Nicholas P.; Flynn, Deborah M. (1989). Compliance, imaginal correlates and skill training. [Comment/Discussion] .
NOTES 1:
The authors defend the Carlton skill training program against accusation that the trained Ss are simply complying in the context of social pressure. They also discuss characteristics of high hypnotizables (absorption and imagery), noting that the majority of lows do not have low absorption/imagery scores (citing de Groh, 1988, and noting the research on context dependency for absorption).
"Despite all of this, it is worth noting that the results of our modification studies are not inconsistent with the hypothesis that high hypnotizability requires imaginative skills that some subjects do not possess in sufficient degrees. For example, two recent studies (Spanos et al., 1987; Cross and Spanos, 1988) found that the extent to which low hypnotizables showed gains following administration of the CSTP was predicted by their pre-tested levels of imagery vividness. Lows with good imagery benefitted substantially more from the CSTP than did lows with poor imagery ability. When it is kept in mind that most low hypnotizables do not score low on measures of imagery/absorption (de Groh, 1988), then the findings that substantial numbers of low hypnotizables can be taught to attain high hypnotizability is not at all inconsistent with the notion that high hypnotizability requires at least moderate levels of imagery/absorption ability" (p. 14).
Zamore, Neal; Barrett, Deirdre (1989). Hypnotic susceptibility and dream characteristics. Psychiatry Journal of the University of Ottawa, 14 (4).
This study examined the relationship of hypnotic susceptibility to a variety of dream characteristics and types of dream content. A Dream Questionnaire was constructed synthesizing Gibson's dream inventory and Hilgard's theoretical conceptions of hypnosis. Several dream dimensions correlated significantly with hypnotizability as measured by the Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility and the Field Inventory. For Ss as a whole, the strongest correlates were the frequency of dreams which they believed to be precognitive and out-of-body dreams. Ability to dream on a chosen topic also correlated significantly with hypnotic susceptibility for both genders. For females only, there was a negative correlation of hypnotizability to flying dreams. Absorption correlated positively with dream recall, ability to dream on a chosen topic, reports of conflict resolution in dreams, creative ideas occurring in dreams, amount of color in dreams, pleasantness of dreams, bizarreness of dreams, flying dreams, and precognitive dreams.
de Groh, Margaret (1989). Correlates of hypnotic susceptibility. In Spanos, Nicholas P.; Chaves, John F. (Ed.), Hypnosis: The cognitive-behavioral perspective (pp. 32-63). Buffalo, NY: Prometheus Books.
NOTES 1:
The author describes a non-linear relationship between imagery and hypnotizability and between absorption and hypnotizability. People good at imagery may be high or low on hypnotizability scales; the same is true for people high on absorption trait. However, people low on those traits generally are low on measured hypnotizability.
1988
Houle, M.; McGrath, Patricia Anne; Moran, Greg; Garrett, Owen J. (1988). The efficacy of hypnosis- and relaxation-induced analgesia on two dimensions of pain for cold pressor and electrical tooth pulp stimulation. Pain, 33 (2), 241-251.
This study evaluated hypnosis- and relaxation-induced suggestions for analgesia for reducing strength and unpleasantness of pain (noxious tooth pulp stimulation; cold pressor stimulation). The Tellegen Absorption Questionnaire was used to assess hypnotic susceptibility for 28 subjects in order to match treatment groups according to sex and susceptibility scores. Tooth pulp stimulation consisted of a 1 sec train of 1 msec pulses at a frequency of 100 Hz, applied at 20 sec intervals to the central incisor. Six stimuli, selected between S's pain and tolerance thresholds, were presented 3 times each in random order. Cold pressor stimulation consisted of forearm immersion in a circulating water bath maintained at 0-1 degrees C. Subjects made threshold determinations of pain and tolerance and used Visual Analogue Scales to rate the strength and the unpleasantness of both noxious stimuli before and after receiving either hypnosis- or relaxation-induced analgesia.
There were no significant differences between hypnosis- and relaxation-induced interventions. However the percent reduction in both strength and unpleasantness varied as a function of type of pain. Both hypnosis and relaxation significantly. reduced the strength and unpleasantness of tooth pulp stimulation, but only the unpleasantness of cold pressor pain. The pain reductions were not correlated with subjects' hypnotic susceptibility levels.
The results indicate that the extent and the quality of the analgesia produced by these cognitive-based therapies vary not only according to subjects' characteristics and the efficacy of the intervention, but also according to the nature of the noxious stimuli. Tooth pulp and cold pressor stimulation represent qualitatively different stimuli with respect to both the type of nerves activated and the mode of stimulus application. Discrete, randomly presented levels of noxious electrical stimulation to the teeth activate predominantly small fibers and produce brief pain sensations that vary unpredictably in intensity. In contrast, continuous cold stimulation to the forearm activates a variety of nociceptive and non-nociceptive fibers and produces progressive cold and pain sensations with a predictable increase in intensity from cold sensations to paresthesia and severe pain.
NOTES 1:
In this investigation, when the authors conclude that "pain reductions were not correlated with subjects' hypnotic susceptibility levels" (p. 241), it must be noted that hypnotizability was estimated from scores on the Tellegen Absorption scale, which is not actually a measure of hypnotic susceptibility level.
Kumar, V. K.; Pekala, Ronald J. (1988). Hypnotizability, absorption, and individual differences in phenomenological experience. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 36, 80-88.
The phenomenological effects associated with a baseline condition of eyes- closed and a hypnotic induction condition were compared across individuals of differing absorption capacity and hypnotizability. The results indicated that individuals of differing absorption capacity and hypnotizability reported different intensities of phenomenological experience during the baseline eyes-closed condition. The induction further augmented intensity differences for low, medium, and high absorption and hypnotizable Ss, but more so for high (and medium) than low hypnotizable Ss. The results support both a trait and state interpretation of hypnotizability, and highlight the importance of the interaction between these factors on the resulting hypnotic experience of S.
NOTES 1:
Based on a review of relevant literature, the authors predicted that (1) during hypnosis and a baseline condition (eyes-closed), high absorption and high hypnotizable Ss will report the phenomenological effects at greater intensity relative to low absorption and low hypnotizable Ss, respectively; (2) hypnotic induction will be associated with increased absorption; greater alterations in awareness and experience; and decreased volitional control, rationality, and memory; (3) phenomenological intensity differences (hypnosis compared to eyes-closed) will be significantly greater for high than for low hypnotizable Ss.
They used the Phenomenology of Consciousness Inventory (PCI) developed by Pekala (1982), which is a 53 item self-report instrument that is completed retrospectively in reference to a preceding stimulus condition. The PCI measures the following dimensions and subdimensions: internal dialogue; self-awareness; state of awareness; imagery (amount, vividness); positive affect (joy, sexual excitement, love); negative affect (anger, fear, sadness); altered experience (time sense, body image, perception, unusual meanings); attention (absorption, direction); memory; rationality; volitional control; and arousal.
The 217 Ss were administered the Tellegen Absorption Scale, then sat quietly with eyes closed for four minutes, then completed the PCI, Form 1, relative to that 4-minute period. They were administered a slightly shortened version of the Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility, Form A (HGSHS:A); before the posthypnotic suggestion and amnesia suggestion they experienced another 4-minute silent period during which they were told to 'continue to experience the state you are in right now.' After the HGSHS:A they completed PCI, Form 2, in reference to the silent period during the HGSHS:A, before they completed the 11-point questionnaire on the HGSHS:
A. Subjects who did not have reliable PCI response forms were removed from the sample, leaving 173 Ss who were divided into high, medium, and low Absorption groups, and high, medium, and low hypnotizability groups. The statistical analysis employed MANOVA on intensity scores for first the major PCI dimensions and then the 14 subdimensions using Conditions (eyes closed, hypnosis) and Groups. There were significant main and interaction effects. Subsequent ANOVAs for each (sub)dimension, Conditions by Hypnotizability Groups (2 x 3) were then performed. Hypnosis "was associated with significantly less positive affect (joy, sexual excitement, love); negative affect (anger, sadness); visual imagery (amount, vividness); self-awareness, internal dialogue, rationality, volitional control, and memory; and significantly more altered experience (time sense, perception) and altered state of awareness.
"Significant main effects for Hypnotizability Groups were found for positive affect (joy, love); altered experience (body image, time sense, perception, meaning); attention (direction, absorption); self-awareness; altered state of awareness; rationality; volitional control; and memory.
"Post-hoc comparisons for the eyes-closed condition revealed that high relative to low, hypnotizables reported significantly greater alterations in body image, time sense, meaning, and altered state of awareness. Medium hypnotizable Ss, compared to low hypnotizables, reported significantly increased alterations in body image and state of awareness.
"Post-hoc comparisons for the hypnotic induction condition revealed that high, viz-a-viz low, hypnotizables reported significantly increased absorbed attention; greater altered experience (body image, time sense, perception, meaning); and increased alterations in state of awareness. High hypnotizables also reported significantly less imagery vividness, self-awareness, rationality, volitional control, and memory. Medium hypnotizable Ss, vis-a-vis low hypnotizables, reported significantly more altered experience (body image, time sense, perception, meaning); absorbed attention; and altered state of awareness; and significantly less imagery vividness, self-awareness, rationality, volitional control, and memory. High hypnotizable Ss, relative to medium hypnotizables, reported significantly more altered experience (perception, meaning) and absorption, and significantly less rationality, volitional control, and memory.
"Concerning the significant interactions (alpha = .01), graphs of the means indicated significant ordinal interactions between Conditions and Hypnotizability Groups for altered experience (perception), imagery (vividness), self-awareness, altered state of awareness, rationality, volitional control, and memory. For all of the PCI (sub)dimensions, the hypnotic induction condition (compared to eyes-closed) was associated with a significantly greater increase in altered experience (perception), and altered state of awareness; and a significantly greater decrease in imagery (vividness), rationality, volitional control, and memory for the high (and medium) hypnotizable groups relative to the low hypnotizable group.
"Significant disordinal interactions were found for absorption and unusual meanings. Whereas high hypnotizable Ss reported a more absorbed attentional focus and more unusual meaning during hypnosis, low hypnotizable Ss reported being less absorbed (or more distracted) during the induction than eyes-closed. Low hypnotizables reported more unusual meanings in reference to eyes closed" (pp. 84-85).
Correlations among the major PCI dimensions, absorption, and hypnotizability differ between the two conditions. In hypnosis, the hypnotizability correlations that reached the .001 level were: --Self Awareness -.55 --State of Awareness .60 --Altered Experience .56 --Inward Absorbed Attention .44 --Rationality -.41 --Volitional control -.65 --Memory -.41 --Arousal -.28
In the eyes closed condition, the only PCI variables that Hypnotizability correlated with, at the .001 level, were: --Positive Affect .26 --Altered Experience .32
MANOVAs and ANOVAs were computed for Absorption groups in a similar fashion. Main effects but not interaction effects were significant. Results are not abstracted here.
In their Discussion, the authors note that "The three hypotheses were supported by the results. Several of the absorption group comparisons obtained in previous research (Pekala et al., 1985) involving alterations in subjective experience (body image, perception, meaning); state of awareness; and volitional control were replicated in the present research" (p. 85).
Lynn, Steven Jay; Weekes, John R.; Matyi, Cindy L.; Neufeld, Victor (1988). Direct versus indirect suggestions, archaic involvement, and hypnotic experience. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 97 (3), 296-301.
This study examined the effects of direct (Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility; Shore & Orne, 1962) versus indirect (Alman-Wexler Indirect Hypnotic Susceptibility Scales; Pratt, Wood, & Alman, 1984) suggestions on archaic involvement (Nash & Spinler, in press) with the hypnotists, objective responding, and subjective involvement and involuntariness ratings, when the scales were administered in all possible combinations (direct/indirect, N = 61; indirect/direct, N = 61, direct/direct, N = 57; indirect/direct, N = 95), across two sessions. At the initial testing, subjects who received indirect suggestions reported a greater emotional bond with the hypnotist and increased fear of negative appraisal than subjects who received direct suggestions. Repeated testing resulted in response decrements on measures of objective responding, subjective involvement, and involuntariness that were paralleled by diminished involvement with the hypnotist. The most stable relation between scales was evident when scales were defined as direct hypnosis across both sessions. Although direct and indirect suggestions produced comparable effects in the first session, in the second session, direct suggestions fostered greater subjective involvement and feelings of involuntariness.
1987
Chaves, John; Brown, Jude (1987). Spontaneous cognitive strategies for the control of clinical pain and stress. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 10 (3), 263-276.
The spontaneous cognitive strategies employed by 75 patients undergoing dental extractions or mandibular block injections were elicited using a structured interview. Interest focused on the relationship between these strategies and several personality variables, including state and trait anxiety, locus of control, and absorption. In addition, the effect of strategy utilization on perceived pain and stress was assessed. Fourty-four percent of the patients employed cognitive strategies designed to minimize pain and stress, while 37% catastrophized, engaging in cognitive activity which exaggerated the fearful aspects of their experience. Only 19% of the patients denied any cognitive activity during the clinical procedure, and many of these used noncognitive coping strategies. Discriminant analysis revealed that situational anxiety was associated with the use of cognitive coping strategies. Catastrophizing was associated with increasing age, past dental stress, and higher levels of stress vulnerability (high trait anxiety and external locus of control). Copers reported less stress than catastrophizers but not less pain.
Nadon, Robert; Laurence, Jean-Roch; Perry, Campbell (1987). Multiple predictors of hypnotic susceptibility. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 53, 948-960.
Report two experiments in which various measures thought to be related to hypnotizability were analyzed by stepwise discriminant analysis. Absorption and preference for an imagic style of thinking predicted hypnotizability. Addition of 2 other variables in Experiment 2--a Sleep-Dream score derived from Evans's Cognitive Control of Sleep Mentation subscale and Gibson's Dream Questionnaire, and the Belief in the Supernatural subscale of the Taft Experience Questionnaire--increased the correct classification of the medium-hypnotizable subjects from chance levels to 74%. Argue for a confirmatory and hierarchical approach in future studies to explore correlates of hypnotizability more fully.
NOTES 1:
The following notes were made at an SCEH presentation: [Robert Nadon, Hypnotizability: A Correlational Study Involving Experiential, Imagery, and Selective Attention Variables.]
Author used a number of variables that have related to hypnotizability in single measure studies to predict with a multiple r. 30 male and 30 female Ss, given Harvard (?) then screened on Form A, and finally on Form C. Classed as Low (0-2), Medium (5-10 without amnesia), and High (11-12 with amnesia).
Independent Variable Triserial r % Correctly Classified Sheehan (1967) short Betts -.69** 57 Preference for Imagery Mode of Thought
(Isaacs 1982) .64** 57 Tellegen's Absorption .58** Personal Experience Questionnaire .51** 80
(Evans 1982) Concordia Fantasy Questionnaire Pavio Stroop Random Number Generation Task Modified Van Nuys Meditation Task 8 Auditory attention tasks
1986
Belicki, Kathryn; Belicki, Denis (1986). Predisposition for nightmares: A study of hypnotic ability, vividness of imagery, and absorption. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 42 (5), 714-718.
The relationships of nightmare frequency to hypnotic ability, vividness of visual imagery, and the tendency to become absorbed in fantasy-like experiences were examined. Subjects were 841 undergraduate university students who participated in group tests of hypnotic ability, after which they estimated the number of nightmares that they had experienced in the prior year. In addition, 406 of the subjects completed Marks' Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire, and Rotenberg and Bowers' Absorption scale. Of the subjects, 76% reported experiencing at least one nightmare in the prior year; 8.3% indicated one or more per month. Individuals with frequent nightmares scored higher on hypnotizability, vividness of visual imagery, and absorption.
NOTES 1: