Hypnotic susceptibility

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Hypnotic susceptibility measures how easily a person can be hypnotized. Several types of scales are used; the most common are the Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility (administered predominantly to large groups of people) and the Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scales (administered to individuals).

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No scale can be seen as completely reliable due to the nature of hypnosis. It has been argued that no person can be hypnotized if they do not want to be; therefore, a person who scores very low may not want to be hypnotized, making the actual test score averages lower than they otherwise would be.

Hypnotic depth scales

Hypnotic susceptibility scales, which mainly developed in experimental settings, were preceded by more primitive scales, developed within clinical practice, which were intended to infer the "depth" or "level" of "hypnotic trance" on the basis of various subjective, behavioural or physiological changes.

The Scottish surgeon James Braid (who introduced the term "hypnotism"), attempted to distinguish, in various ways, between different levels of the hypnotic state. Subsequently, the French neurologist Jean-Martin Charcot also made a similar distinction between what he termed the lethargic, somnambulistic, and cataleptic levels of the hypnotic state.

However, Ambroise-Auguste Liébeault and Hippolyte Bernheim introduced more complex hypnotic "depth" scales, based on a combination of behavioural, physiological and subjective responses, some of which were due to direct suggestion and some of which were not. In the first few decades of the 20th century, these early clinical "depth" scales were superseded by more sophisticated "hypnotic susceptibility" scales based on experimental research. The most influential were the Davis-Husband and Friedlander–Sarbin scales developed in the 1930s.

Hypnotic susceptibility scales

Friedlander–Sarbin Scale

A major precursor of the Stanford Scales, the Friedlander–Sarbin scale was developed in 1938 [1] by Theodore R. Sarbin and consisted of similar test items to those used in subsequent experimental scales.

Stanford Scales

The Stanford Scale was developed by André Muller Weitzenhoffer and Ernest R. Hilgard in 1959. The Scale consists of three Forms: A, B, and C. Similar to the Harvard Group Scale, each Form consists of 12 items of progressive difficulty and usually takes fifty minutes to complete. Each form consists of motor and cognitive tasks but vary in their respective intended purpose. The administrator scores each form individually.

Form A

Based upon the scale developed by Joseph Friedlander and Theodore Sarbin (1938), this form was developed to measure susceptibility to hypnosis with items increasing in difficulty in order to yield a score. The higher the score, the more responsive one is to hypnosis. Following a standardized hypnotic induction, the hypnotized individual is given suggestions pertaining to the list below.

Item numberTest suggestion and responses
1Postural sway
2Eye closure
3Hand lowering (left)
4Immobilization (right arm)
5Finger lock
6Arm rigidity (left arm)
7Hands moving together
8Verbal inhibition (name)
9Hallucination (fly)
10Eye catalepsy
11Post-hypnotic (changes chairs)
12Amnesia

Form B

Form B was designed to be used as a follow-up to Form A when doing experiments involving a second session of hypnosis. The items are similar but are changed somewhat (e.g. the use of the opposite hand in a particular item). The changes were made to "prevent memory from the first exerting too great an influence upon the recall of specific tasks..." [2]

Form C

Created a few years after Forms A and B, Form C contains some items from Form B, but includes more difficult items for "when subjects are being selected for advanced tests in which knowledge of their capacity to experience more varied items is required" (pgs v-vi Weitzenhoffer & Hilgard 1962). Following a standardized hypnotic induction, the hypnotized individual is given suggestions pertaining to the list below.

Item numberTest suggestion and responses
0Eye closure (not scored)
1Hand lowering (right hand)
2Moving hands apart
3Mosquito hallucination
4Taste hallucination
5Arm rigidity (right arm)
6Dream
7Age regression (school)
8Arm immobilization
9Anosmia to ammonia
10Hallucinated voice
11Negative visual hallucination (Three Boxes)
12Post-hypnotic amnesia

In more modern experiments, a scent such as peppermint has been used in place of ammonia for Item 9.

Harvard Group Scale

Ronald Shor and Emily Carota Orne developed the Harvard Group Scale in 1962. It consists of 12 items of progressive difficulty (as defined, psychometrically, by the percentage of subjects in a normative sample that report experiencing each particular item) and usually takes around forty-five minutes to complete. The items usually consist of motor tasks and cognitive tasks with the motor tasks being easier to complete. The average score is 5 out of 12. The test is self-scored leaving it open to criticism concerning the validity of the scores.

Hypnotic Induction Profile

The Hypnotic Induction Profile (HIP) or the eye roll test, first proposed by Herbert Spiegel, [3] is a simple test to loosely determine if a person is susceptible to hypnosis. A person is asked to roll their eyes upward. The degree to which the iris and cornea are seen is measured. The less of these parts of the eye observed, the more hypnotically susceptible a person is. Research has shown that the scale may not carry as strong a relationship with other hypnotic scales as originally thought.[ citation needed ] More recent research has found significant correlations with absorption scales, [4] and dissociative experiences. [5]

Other scales

Many other tests are not widely used because they are usually seen as less reliable than the Stanford Scale and Harvard Group Scale. Many professionals think that these tests produce results because they involve attentional control, and that a certain level of concentration is required to be hypnotized.

Conversely, concentration can be something induced through the use of hypnosis instead of a "fuel" used to get hypnosis running.

Susceptibility

Individuals of extremely high hypnotizability tend to have distinctive characteristics outside of hypnosis. In 1981, Sherl Wilson and T X Barber reported that most of a group of extremely high hypnotizables who they termed "fantasizers". The fantasizers exhibited a cluster of traits consisting of: 1) fantasizing much of the time, 2) reporting their imagery was as vivid as real perceptions, 3) having physical responses to their imagery, 4) having an earlier than average age for first childhood memory, 5) recalling "imaginary playmates" from childhood, and 6) having grown up with parents who encouraged imaginative play. [6] In 1991, Deirdre Barrett examined a larger group of extremely high hypnotizables and confirmed that about 60% fit Barber and Wilson's characterization of fantasizers while 40% were what she termed "dissociaters" who: 1) experienced daydreaming mostly as "spacing out" and not remembering what had been going on for periods of time, 2) had later than average ages for first memories, and 3) had parents who had been harshly punitive and/or who had experienced other childhood traumas. Fantasizers tended to experience hypnosis as being much like other imaginative activities while dissociaters reported it was unlike anything they'd ever experienced. [7] Individuals with dissociative identity disorder have the highest hypnotizability of any clinical group, followed by those with post-traumatic stress disorder. [8] [9] [10]

See also

Related Research Articles

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Hypnosis is a human condition involving focused attention, reduced peripheral awareness, and an enhanced capacity to respond to suggestion.

Hypnotherapy is a type of mind–body intervention in which hypnosis is used to create a state of focused attention and increased suggestibility in the treatment of a medical or psychological disorder or concern.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Milton H. Erickson</span> American psychiatrist (1901–1980)

Milton Hyland Erickson was an American psychiatrist and psychologist specializing in medical hypnosis and family therapy. He was the founding president of the American Society for Clinical Hypnosis. He is noted for his approach to the unconscious mind as creative and solution-generating. He is also noted for influencing brief therapy, strategic family therapy, family systems therapy, solution focused brief therapy, and neuro-linguistic programming.

Suggestibility is the quality of being inclined to accept and act on the suggestions of others. One may fill in gaps in certain memories with false information given by another when recalling a scenario or moment. Suggestibility uses cues to distort recollection: when the subject has been persistently told something about a past event, his or her memory of the event conforms to the repeated message.

Dissociation is a concept that has been developed over time and which concerns a wide array of experiences, ranging from a mild emotional detachment from the immediate surroundings, to a more severe disconnection from physical and emotional experiences. The major characteristic of all dissociative phenomena involves a detachment from reality, rather than a loss of reality as in psychosis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Highway hypnosis</span> Altered mental state while driving

Highway hypnosis, also known as white line fever, is an altered mental state in which an automobile driver can travel lengthy distances, responding to external events in the expected, safe, and correct manner with no recollection of having consciously done so. In this state, the driver's conscious mind is fully focused elsewhere, while seemingly still processing the information needed to drive safely. Highway hypnosis is a manifestation of the common process of automaticity.

Suggestion is the psychological process by which a person guides their own or another person's desired thoughts, feelings, and behaviors by presenting stimuli that may elicit them as reflexes instead of relying on conscious effort.

The development of concepts, beliefs and practices related to hypnosis and hypnotherapy have been documented since prehistoric to modern times.

Ernest Ropiequet "Jack" Hilgard was an American psychologist and professor at Stanford University. He became famous in the 1950s for his research on hypnosis, especially with regard to pain control. Along with André Muller Weitzenhoffer, Hilgard developed the Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scales. A Review of General Psychology survey, published in 2002, ranked Hilgard as the 29th most cited psychologist of the 20th century.

Nicholas Peter Spanos, was professor of psychology and director of the Laboratory for Experimental Hypnosis at Carleton University from 1975 to his death in a single engine plane crash on June 6, 1994. Spanos conducted multiple studies that challenged common beliefs. He tried to distinguish the difference between common beliefs about hypnosis and what was actually occurring. These studies conducted by Spanos led to the modern understanding that hypnosis is not an altered state and is actually suggested behaviors that the participant chooses to go along with or not. Along with this, Spanos conducted studies regarding dissociative identity disorder in which he stated that multiple personalities are not a product of trauma but are based on social norms.

Stage hypnosis is hypnosis performed in front of an audience for the purposes of entertainment, usually in a theater or club. A modern stage hypnosis performance typically delivers a comedic show rather than simply a demonstration to impress an audience with powers of persuasion. Apparent effects of amnesia, mood altering and hallucination may be demonstrated in a normal presentation. Stage hypnosis performances often encourage audience members to look further into the benefits of hypnotism.

Divided consciousness is a term coined by Ernest Hilgard to define a psychological state in which one's consciousness is split into distinct components, possibly during hypnosis.

Theodore Roy Sarbin (1911–2005) was an American psychologist and professor of psychology and criminology at the University of California, Santa Cruz. He was known as "Mr. Role Theory" because of his contributions to the social psychology of role-taking.

André Muller Weitzenhoffer was one of the most prolific researchers in the field of hypnosis in the latter half of the 20th century, having authored over 100 publications between 1949 and 2004. He was the recipient of several professional and academic awards, including the Distinguished Contributions to Scientific Hypnosis Award of the American Psychological Association in 1992.

Fantasy-prone personality (FPP) is a disposition or personality trait in which a person experiences a lifelong, extensive, and deep involvement in fantasy. This disposition is an attempt, at least in part, to better describe "overactive imagination" or "living in a dream world". An individual with this trait may have difficulty differentiating between fantasy and reality and may experience hallucinations, as well as self-suggested psychosomatic symptoms. Closely related psychological constructs include daydreaming, absorption and eidetic memory.

Deirdre Barrett is an American author and psychologist known for her research on dreams, hypnosis and imagery, and has written on evolutionary psychology. Barrett is a teacher at Harvard Medical School, and a past president of the International Association for the Study of Dreams (IASD) and of the American Psychological Association’s Div. 30, the Society for Psychological Hypnosis. She is editor-in-chief of the journal Dreaming: The Journal of the Association for the Study of Dreams and a consulting editor for Imagination, Cognition, and Personality and The International Journal for Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis.

Theodore Xenophon Barber (1927–2005) was an American psychologist who researched and wrote on the subject of hypnosis, publishing over 200 articles and eight books on that and related topics. He was the chief psychologist at Cushing Hospital, Framingham, Massachusetts, from 1978 to 1986. Barber was a noted critic of the field of hypnosis, questioning the ways in which the concept of hypnosis had been used as an umbrella term for diverse phenomena. Barber was one of the first two prominent anglophone psychologists, along with Theodore Sarbin, to question the "altered-state model" of "state model" of hypnosis, arguing that the varied phenomena labeled "hypnosis" could be explained without resorting to the notion of an altered state of consciousness.

Post-hypnotic amnesia is the inability in hypnotic subjects to recall events that took place while under hypnosis. This can be achieved by giving individuals a suggestion during hypnosis to forget certain material that they have learned, either before or during hypnosis. Individuals who are experiencing post-hypnotic amnesia cannot have their memories recovered once put back under hypnosis; it is therefore not state-dependent. Nevertheless, memories may return when presented with a pre-arranged cue. This makes post-hypnotic amnesia similar to psychogenic amnesia, as it disrupts the retrieval process of memory. It has been suggested that inconsistencies in methodologies used to study post-hypnotic amnesia cause varying results.

Absorption is a disposition or personality trait in which a person becomes absorbed in their mental imagery, particularly fantasy. This trait thus correlates highly with a fantasy prone personality. The original research on absorption was by American psychologist Auke Tellegen. The construct of absorption was developed in order to relate individual differences in hypnotisability to broader aspects of personality. Absorption has a variable correlation with hypnotisability (r = 0.13–0.89) perhaps because in addition to broad personality dispositions, situational factors play an important role in performance on tests of hypnotic susceptibility. Absorption is one of the traits assessed in the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire.

Josephine Rohrs Hilgard was an American developmental psychologist, psychiatrist, and psychoanalyst. She was a clinical professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Stanford Medical School. She conducted research on mental health and developed the theory of "anniversary reactions", which described how psychiatric issues might be triggered at anniversaries of significant events in a patient's life. She also specialized in hypnotherapy, and published research on the theory and practice of hypnosis.

References

  1. ↑ Friedlander, J. W.; Sarbin, T. R. (1938). "The depth of hypnosis". Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology. 33 (4): 453–475. doi:10.1037/h0056229 . Retrieved 2 November 2022.
  2. ↑ Weitzenhoffer & Hilgard (1959). Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scales, Forms A & B. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press.
  3. ↑ Stern, D. B.; Spiegel, H.; Nee, J. C. (1979). "The Hypnotic Induction Profile:Normative observations, reliability, and validity". American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis. 21 (2–3): 109–133. doi:10.1080/00029157.1978.10403967. PMID   747161.
  4. ↑ Frischolz, EJ; Et, al. (2015). "The hypnotic induction profile and absorption". American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis. 2 (57): 122–128. doi:10.1080/00029157.2015.967065. PMID   25928597. S2CID   29758416. Correlations between HIP and Absorption scores ranged from .33 to .53.
  5. ↑ Facco, E. (2017). "Psychological Features of Hypnotizability: A First Step Towards Its Empirical Definition". International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis. 65 (1): 98–119. doi:10.1080/00207144.2017.1246881. PMID   27935462. S2CID   46826156. The HIP was significantly correlated to (the Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES), and the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI)
  6. ↑ SC Wilson, TX Barber (1981) Vivid fantasy and hallucinatory abilities in the life histories of excellent hypnotic subjects (Somnabules): A Preliminary Report. In Eric Klinger (ed.) Imagery: Vol. 2: Concepts, Results., and Applications. NY, NY: Plenum Press.
  7. ↑ Barrett, D. L. (1991) Deep Trance Subjects: A Schema of Two Distinct Subgroups. Chpt in R. Kunzendorf (Ed.) Imagery: Recent Developments, NY: Plenum Press, p. 101 112.
  8. ↑ Spiegel, D.; Loewenstein, R. J.; Lewis-Fernández, R.; Sar, V.; Simeon, D.; Vermetten, E.; Cardeña, E.; Dell, P. F. (2011). "Dissociative disorders in DSM-5" (PDF). Depression and Anxiety. 28 (9): 824–852. doi:10.1002/da.20874. PMID   21910187. S2CID   46518635. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 1, 2013.
  9. ↑ Frischholz, EJ; Lipman, LS; Braun, BG; et al. (1992). "Psychopathology, hypnotizability, and dissociation". Am J Psychiatry. 149 (11): 1521–1525. doi:10.1176/ajp.149.11.1521. PMID   1415819.
  10. ↑ Spiegel, D; Hunt, T; Dondershine, H (1988). "Dissociation and hypnotizability in posttraumatic stress disorder". Am J Psychiatry. 145 (3): 301–305. doi:10.1176/ajp.145.3.301. PMID   3344845.
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