The harvard group scale of hypnotic susceptibility and related instruments: Individual and group administrations

The purported relationship between hypnotizability and speed of information transfer from iconic to short-term memory was studied in a comparison of 12 low and 12 high hypnotizable Ss. As in Ingram, Saccuzzo, McNeill, and McDonald (1979), high hypnotizable Ss showed less interference from a visual mask in the report of a briefly presented item than did low hypnotizable Ss when the mask delays were predictable. When the delay of the mask could not be anticipated, however, differences between high and low hypnotizable Ss disappeared. It is suggested that differences in information processing related to hypnotizability may be due to differences in strategy, skills, or other factors, rather than underlying information processing speed.     

Group Hypnotizability Of Inpatient Adolescents

This study investigated group hypnotizability in 167 adolescents (ages 13-17) in an inpatient behavioral healthcare setting through use of the Waterloo-Stanford Group Scale, Form C. It also investigated the influence of hypnotic inductions on group hypnotizability. Adolescents were randomly assigned to either a group session of hypnosis (n = 84) with a hypnotic induction or a comparison “no-induction” group (n = 83) that received identical suggestions without a hypnotic induction. Adolescents’ imaginative absorption and dissociation were measured to examine their influence on hypnotizability. A between-group comparison showed the induction condition had a significantly higher score than the no-induction group on both behavioral and subjective measures of hypnotizability.     

Attitude differences of volunteers and nonvolunteers and of susceptible and nonsusceptible hypnotic subjects

A form of the Semantic Differential, containing 9 concepts related to hypnosis and research, was administered to 96 hypnotically inexperienced male Ss. The Ss were later asked to volunteer for a hypnotic experiment, and the hypnotic susceptibility of all volunteers (N = 51) was then determined. Semantic Differential responses of volunteers and nonvolunteers and of highly susceptible and unhyp-notizable Ss were compared. Differences between groups, in both comparisons, were generally not statistically significant, a finding which suggests that there is no simple relationship between paper-and-pencil measures of attitudes and volunteering for hypnotic experiments or hypnotizability.     

An experimental study of the nature of hypnotic deafness: Effects of delayed speech feed-back

The purpose of this investigation was to assess the ability of hypnotic Ss to voluntarily resist a neutral suggestion when a monetary reward is offered for resistance. 19 of 40 Ss (47.5%) successfully resisted after money was offered by the “resistance instructor.” The correlation between resistance/compliance and hypnotizability was – .44 (high hypnotizables were more likely to comply). Ss' impressions of the hypnotist tended to be positive; impressions of the resistance instructor tended to be neutral. There was a tendency for nonresistors to have a more positive view of the hypnotist but it is not as marked as was found in an earlier study (Levitt &; Baker, 1983).     

Finding the Hypnotic Virtuoso

Measures of hypnotizability based on the Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility, Form A (HGSHS:A) correlate only moderately with those based on Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale, Form C(SHSS:C). Ss(N = 148) scoring in the high range (10-12) on HGSHS:A were classified according to whether they scored in the “virtuoso” range (11-12) or not on a subsequent administration of SHSS:C. Significant group differences were found on items comprising the cognitive distortion subscale of HGSHS:A, whether assessed in terms of overt behavior or subjective impressions of success. The 2 groups also differed on global self-ratings of hypnotic depth and on those subscales of Field's Inventory Scale of Hypnotic Depth concerned with subjective feelings of loss of control, automaticity, transcendence of normal functioning, and fluctuating depth. Assessments of hypnotizability are enhanced when investigators consider subjective involvement as well as behavioral measures of hypnotic response. This is particularly important when the more dissociative aspects of hypnosis are under scrutiny.     

The spontaneous self-portrait in hypnoandysis

The Maudsley Personality Inventory was administered to 349 male college students. 9 male Ss were chosen to represent each of the 4 possible combinations (total N = 36) of extreme high and low extraversion and introversion scores. An attempt was made to hypnotize each S by means of the Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale, Form C. Analysis of variance indicated no significant relationship between either extraversion or neuroticism and hypnotizability, although the relationship between extraversion and hypnotizability approached significance.     

Facilitation of Suggested Sleep After Repeated Performances of the Sleep Suggestibility Test

The sleep suggestibility test (SST) was individually administered on several occasions to a group of 48 young volunteer soldiers. An increasing percentage of Ss attained suggested sleep with each successive SST administration. A subgroup of 25 Ss took the SST 18 times. During the last SST performance, it was possible to transform suggested sleep into somnambulistic hypnosis in 19 Ss. Suggested sleep shows facilitation or increased susceptibility after repeated performances. Additional observations suggest the participation of structural factors in obtaining suggested sleep.     

EEG Correlates of Virtual Reality Hypnosis

The study investigated hypnosis-related electroencephalographic (EEG) coherence and power spectra changes in high and low hypnotizables (Stanford Hypnotic Clinical Scale) induced by a virtual reality hypnosis (VRH) induction system. In this study, the EEG from 17 participants (Mean age?=?21.35, SD?=?1.58) were compared based on their hypnotizability score. The EEG recording associated with a 2-minute, eyes-closed baseline state was compared to the EEG during a hypnosis-related state. This novel induction system was able to produce EEG findings consistent with previous hypnosis literature. Interactions of significance were found with EEG beta coherence. The high susceptibility group (n?=?7) showed decreased coherence, while the low susceptibility group (n?=?10) demonstrated an increase in coherence between medial frontal and lateral left prefrontal sites. Methodological and efficacy issues are discussed.     

The management of dissociative reactins with hypnosis

The 16 Ss in the control and experimental groups were female college-freshman volunteers 18 to 22 years old. It was hypothesized that a brief period of sensory restriction would enhance hypnotizability in the experimental group. The differences between the groups were statistically significant in the hypothesized direction. Theoretical implications for behavior modification and their possible applicability to psychotherapy are discussed.     

RECALLED PARENTAL REARING STYLE AND DIMENSIONS OF HYPNOTIC RESPONSE

So far, only a few studies have investigated how memories of parental rearing style are associated with hypnotic response, and these were either qualitative or confined to the behavioral aspect of hypnotizability. The present study aims to employ standardized, quantitative measures to investigate the associations between recalled parental rearing style and the behavioral, phenomenological, and emotional dimensions of hypnotic response. Two samples of healthy adult subjects (N = 438) completed a questionnaire on their parents’ behavior and participated in a standard group hypnosis session in which their hypnotizability score, hypnotic experiences, and archaic involvement were assessed. Memories of cold and punishing parental behavior were associated with negative experiences related to the hypnotic state and negative emotions toward the hypnotist. The authors conclude that assessing parental behavior may be important in planning hypnotherapeutic interventions.     

Report of the commissioners charged by the king with the examination of animal magnetism

The revised form of the Absorption Scale extracted from Tellegen's Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire (Tellegen, 1981; Tellegen fit Atkinson, 1974) and the Short Imaginal Processes Inventory (Huba, Aneshensel, &; Singer, 1981), a self-report questionnaire concerned with daydreaming activity, were administered to 2 samples of Ss (N = 479, N = 476), who also received the Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility, Form A (Shor &; E. Orne, 1962). In both samples, hypnotizability was significantly correlated with absorption (average r = .24) and with a subscale measuring positive-constructive daydreaming (average r = .13). Absorption and positive-constructive daydreaming were also highly correlated (average r = .57). Of the subscales of the positive-constructive daydreaming scale, only those relating to positive reactions to daydreaming, and problem solving in daydreaming, consistently correlated with hypnotizability. Daydreaming and absorption each share some features in common with hypnosis, but they appear to have more in common with each other.     

Hypnotizability Is Associated With a Protective but Not Acquisitive Self-Presentation Style

Self-presentation refers to the behavioral strategies a person adopts to convey desired social images of oneself to other people. The Concern for Appropriateness Scale (CAS) measures a defensive and fearful social approach aimed at avoiding social threats whereas the Revised Self-Monitoring Scale (RSMS) measures an active and flexible social approach aimed at gaining power and status. In this study, a significant correlation was found between hypnotizability, as measured by the Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale, Form C (SHSS:C) scores and CAS (r = .43, p = .002) but not between hypnotizability and RSMS (r = .070, p = .631). These results suggest that a protective self-presentation style may incline certain individuals to cooperate with hypnotic suggestions.     

A Review of: “Spiegel,Herbert, & Spiegel,David. Trance and Treatment: Clinical Uses of Hypnosis (2nd edition). Washington,DC: American Psychiatric Publishing, 2004. Pp. xxvii + 545. $57.00 U.S.”

The authors review the literature relating hypnotizability and posttraumatic stress. Sixty-seven abstracts containing the key terms ASD, acute stress, trauma, traumatic, or PTSD in combination with either hypnotic susceptibility or hypnotizability were reviewed. Six articles were found containing data on hypnotizability and posttraumatic stress symptoms. Each of the studies showed some relation between hypnotizability and posttraumatic stress, but, in all of them, hypnotizability was measured after the potentially traumatizing event. High hypnotizability might be a risk factor for both acute and chronic posttraumatic symptoms. However, this cannot be determined until prospective studies measure hypnotizability in individuals before and after a potentially traumatizing event, perhaps by targeting populations that are at risk for experiencing trauma.     

Cognitive Strategies in Hypnosis: Toward Resolving the Hypnotic Conflict

2 experiments were carried out to assess the relative contributions of dissociation and absorption as cognitive strategies employed by high and low hypnotizable 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 hypnotizable Ss are able to employ dissociation or absorption in order to respond successfully. Low hypnotizable 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.     

The disappearing hypnotist: The use of simulating subjects to evaluate how subjects perceive experimental procedures

This study examines the effects of a temporary power failure while S was hypnotized during a tape-recorded session. It was necessary that the power failure be perceived by S as an accident and not as an experimental deception. In a previous study (Orne & Evans, 1966), Ss simulating hypnosis with a “blind” E continued faking throughout the “power failure,” apparently suspecting they were being observed. Therefore, no conclusions could be drawn about the behavior of the hypnotized Ss. After the procedure was modified, simulating Ss ceased faking as soon as the hypnotist left the room, thereby demonstrating that they believed that a power failure had actually occurred and that they were not being watched. Hypnotized Ss spontaneously, although slowly and with subjective difficulty, terminated hypnosis by themselves. The spontaneous behavior of the hypnotized Ss in the absence of a hypnotist seems inconsistent with predictions based on motivational or role-taking theories of hypnosis.     

A subjective report of inadvertent hypnosis

Hypnotic susceptibility scores were compared in a crosssectional sample of 1,232 Ss, ranging in age from 5 to 78 years. The sample was comprised of 579 high school and college students, and a family sample of 653 parents and children. A peak of hypnotizability in the age interval 9-12 years, with a gradual decline thereafter, confirms earlier studies. A comparison of scores by age and sex showed a significant difference (p = .001) for ages 21-32; this difference was produced by a significant rise in scores for the young mothers of the family sample and was not found for students at the same age level. It was concluded that this finding demands replication before too much can be made of it.     

The fantasy of hypnotic time obliteration with related literary allusions

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the effectiveness of a new training procedure on the modification of hypnotic susceptibility. 10 Ss were scored on their objective and subjective performances on the Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale, Forms A and C, both before and after training. Training consisted primarily of (1) providing the circumstances necessary for a clear conception of the appropriate sensory experiences, (2) allowing S to proceed by self-paced successive approximations, (3) structuring the procedure in order to place S in a double-bind situation, and (4) providing verbal reinforcement and opportunities for S's self-reinforcement. The results indicate that both the objective and subjective post-training changes in hypnotic susceptibility are statistically significant. Ss maintained a significant increase when tested by a new hypnotist, although the scores were slightly but significantly reduced. The increased performance on items not included in the training sessions revealed significant generalization. This investigation provides evidence that hypnotic susceptibility can be modified.     

Comparing the effects of music and exercise with music for older adults with insomnia

AimTo examine the effects of a soothing music intervention before bedtime and a treadmill brisk walking exercise combined with music in the evening on sleep quality of sedentary older adults with chronic insomnia.BackgroundThere is evidence to support the use of complementary interventions to improve sleep. They are rarely applied in Taiwanese elderly population.MethodsUsing a crossover controlled trial, 38 participants aged 50 to 75 years were randomly assigned to a music intervention/brisk walking sequence or a brisk walking/music intervention sequence. Each participant completed two intervention sessions (separated by 1 week). Each intervention lasted 30 min. An actigraph extended with electroencephalography (EEG) and questionnaires were used to assess the sleep quality.ResultsBoth interventions exhibited beneficial effects on subjective sleep quality in adults with insomnia. Also listening to soothing music before bedtime significantly shortened the wake time after sleep onset measured by EEG, compared with brisk walking in the evening.ConclusionsThe interventions applied in this study could be applied as the evidence-based nursing interventions for insomnia older adults.     

The chronic pain skills study: Protocol for a randomized controlled trial comparing hypnosis,mindfulness meditation and pain education in Veterans

ObjectivesTo describe the protocol of a randomized controlled trial to evaluate the effectiveness and mechanisms of three behavioral interventions.MethodsParticipants will include up to 343 Veterans with chronic pain due to a broad range of etiologies, randomly assigned to one of three 8-week manualized in-person group treatments: (1) Hypnosis (HYP), (2) Mindfulness Meditation (MM), or (3) Education Control (EDU).Projected outcomesThe primary aim of the study is to compare the effectiveness of HYP and MM to EDU on average pain intensity measured pre- and post-treatment. Additional study aims will explore the effectiveness of HYP and MM compared to EDU on secondary outcomes (i.e., pain interference, sleep, depression, anxiety and PTSD), and the maintenance of effects at 3- and 6-months post-treatment. Participants will have electroencephalogram (EEG) assessments at pre- and post-treatment to determine if the power of specific brain oscillations moderate the effectiveness of HYP and MM (Study Aim 2) and examine brain oscillations as possible mediators of treatment effects (exploratory aim). Additional planned exploratory analyses will be performed to identify possible treatment mediators (i.e., pain acceptance, catastrophizing, mindfulness) and moderators (e.g., hypnotizability, treatment expectations, pain type, cognitive function).SettingThe study treatments will be administered at a large Veterans Affairs Medical Center in the northwest United States. The treatments will be integrated within clinical infrastructure and delivered by licensed and credentialed health care professionals.