The main purpose of the study was to test the hypothesis that intrinsically motivated individuals... more The main purpose of the study was to test the hypothesis that intrinsically motivated individuals, or those who truly want to experience hypnosis, will show greater responsiveness to hypnotic suggestions than those who are less interested in experiencing hypnosis or participating, merely, to fulfill a requirement.
It is argued that current understanding of the hypnotic induction, as a facilitator of hypersugge... more It is argued that current understanding of the hypnotic induction, as a facilitator of hypersuggestibility, does not fully incorporate the original paradigm of Clark Hull and his associates. Differences in methodology may be leading contemporary scholars to underestimate the effect of hypnotic induction. Many of Hull's studies, using his methods, have not been replicated. Doing so may lead to some interesting findings that may aid the effort of defining hypnosis. Suggestions on how to replicate Hull's studies while overcoming their inherent limitations are provided.
International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 2016
Highly hypnotizable participants in the experimental condition were given a waking state suggesti... more Highly hypnotizable participants in the experimental condition were given a waking state suggestion that a reading not intended to be interesting would be fascinating and remarkable. Controls were given task motivational instructions, in which they were told to try to make it interesting. The suggestion had a major influence on participants' enjoyment of the reading, though no effect was found for reading comprehension. Qualitative interviews indicated that the suggestion had a profound impact on some, especially those most responsive to hypnosis. The lack of an effect in reading comprehension may be due to large within-group variances. Findings suggest that hypnotic suggestion, when properly employed, may have a potential use in enhancing the learning capabilities of highly hypnotizable people.
International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 2013
This article investigated the degree to which high hypnotizables are aware of their capability an... more This article investigated the degree to which high hypnotizables are aware of their capability and assessed their ability to produce it without guidance from a hypnotist. Qualitative data suggest that most participants reported being surprised by their hypnotic responsiveness and the realness of the suggestions. Quantitative data tended to support this trend, in which participants had higher overall responsiveness scores, both objectively and subjectively, when the suggestions were given by a hypnotist compared to self-hypnosis. Though some were able to self-produce some hypnotic phenomena, all participants reported that it was easier to experience the suggested effects when given by the hypnotist. An explanation accounting for this finding, implications for future research, and limitations of the study are also provided.
This article is an exploratory study investigating the relationship between hypnotizability, pers... more This article is an exploratory study investigating the relationship between hypnotizability, personality style, and attachment. Data were collected from 99 students by means of the Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility, Form A; Personality Styles and Disorders Inventory; and Relationship Scale Questionnaire. Results suggest that individual personality styles accounted for a significant amount of variance in hypnotizability in: (a) the whole sample, (b) the securely attached, and (c) the insecurely attached. High hypnotizables among both the whole sample and securely attached individuals shared the unselfish/self-sacrificing personality style as a main predictor of hypnotizability and displayed elevated scores for the charming/histrionic and the optimistic/rhapsodic personality style. Furthermore, two groups were identified among the high hypnotizables that differed mainly according to attachment style: one consists of securely attached, charming/histrionic, and optimistic/rhapsodic people, who are best described by socio-cognitive theories. The other is composed of insecurely attached intuitive/schizotypal people, who are better depicted by dissociation theories.
This article is an exploratory study investigating the relationship between hypnotizability, pers... more This article is an exploratory study investigating the relationship between hypnotizability, personality style, and attachment. Data were collected from 99 students by means of the Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility, Form A; Personality Styles and Disorders Inventory; and Relationship Scale Questionnaire. Results suggest that individual personality styles accounted for a significant amount of variance in hypnotizability in: (a) the whole sample, (b) the securely attached, and (c) the insecurely attached. High hypnotizables among both the whole sample and securely attached individuals shared the unselfish/self-sacrificing personality style as a main predictor of hypnotizability and displayed elevated scores for the charming/histrionic and the optimistic/rhapsodic personality style. Furthermore, two groups were identified among the high hypnotizables that differed mainly according to attachment style: one consists of securely attached, charming/histrionic, and optimistic/rhapsodic people, who are best described by socio-cognitive theories. The other is composed of insecurely attached intuitive/schizotypal people, who are better depicted by dissociation theories.
This article critiques two studies conducted by Jacobson and colleagues whose findings indicated ... more This article critiques two studies conducted by Jacobson and colleagues whose findings indicated that hypnosis hinders encoding and might not be useful in education. While their findings provide important information about hypnosis and its possible uses in teaching and learning, there are several important methodological and interpretive shortcomings that limit the applicability of the study. It is argued that the authors conflated some components of hypnotic phenomenology, as measured by the Phenomenology of Consciousness Inventory, and consequently failed to assess the hypnotic experience properly. This article argues that the encoding deficits produced by hypnosis may have resulted from the way hypnosis was used and other contextual factors, and highlights some additional concerns with the statistical analyses. This article suggests some more effective uses of hypnosis and suggestion in improving the learning process in light of prior research, and offers some ideas for future research.
The main purpose of the study was to test the hypothesis that intrinsically motivated individuals... more The main purpose of the study was to test the hypothesis that intrinsically motivated individuals, or those who truly want to experience hypnosis, will show greater responsiveness to hypnotic suggestions than those who are less interested in experiencing hypnosis or participating, merely, to fulfill a requirement.
It is argued that current understanding of the hypnotic induction, as a facilitator of hypersugge... more It is argued that current understanding of the hypnotic induction, as a facilitator of hypersuggestibility, does not fully incorporate the original paradigm of Clark Hull and his associates. Differences in methodology may be leading contemporary scholars to underestimate the effect of hypnotic induction. Many of Hull's studies, using his methods, have not been replicated. Doing so may lead to some interesting findings that may aid the effort of defining hypnosis. Suggestions on how to replicate Hull's studies while overcoming their inherent limitations are provided.
International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 2016
Highly hypnotizable participants in the experimental condition were given a waking state suggesti... more Highly hypnotizable participants in the experimental condition were given a waking state suggestion that a reading not intended to be interesting would be fascinating and remarkable. Controls were given task motivational instructions, in which they were told to try to make it interesting. The suggestion had a major influence on participants' enjoyment of the reading, though no effect was found for reading comprehension. Qualitative interviews indicated that the suggestion had a profound impact on some, especially those most responsive to hypnosis. The lack of an effect in reading comprehension may be due to large within-group variances. Findings suggest that hypnotic suggestion, when properly employed, may have a potential use in enhancing the learning capabilities of highly hypnotizable people.
International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 2013
This article investigated the degree to which high hypnotizables are aware of their capability an... more This article investigated the degree to which high hypnotizables are aware of their capability and assessed their ability to produce it without guidance from a hypnotist. Qualitative data suggest that most participants reported being surprised by their hypnotic responsiveness and the realness of the suggestions. Quantitative data tended to support this trend, in which participants had higher overall responsiveness scores, both objectively and subjectively, when the suggestions were given by a hypnotist compared to self-hypnosis. Though some were able to self-produce some hypnotic phenomena, all participants reported that it was easier to experience the suggested effects when given by the hypnotist. An explanation accounting for this finding, implications for future research, and limitations of the study are also provided.
This article is an exploratory study investigating the relationship between hypnotizability, pers... more This article is an exploratory study investigating the relationship between hypnotizability, personality style, and attachment. Data were collected from 99 students by means of the Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility, Form A; Personality Styles and Disorders Inventory; and Relationship Scale Questionnaire. Results suggest that individual personality styles accounted for a significant amount of variance in hypnotizability in: (a) the whole sample, (b) the securely attached, and (c) the insecurely attached. High hypnotizables among both the whole sample and securely attached individuals shared the unselfish/self-sacrificing personality style as a main predictor of hypnotizability and displayed elevated scores for the charming/histrionic and the optimistic/rhapsodic personality style. Furthermore, two groups were identified among the high hypnotizables that differed mainly according to attachment style: one consists of securely attached, charming/histrionic, and optimistic/rhapsodic people, who are best described by socio-cognitive theories. The other is composed of insecurely attached intuitive/schizotypal people, who are better depicted by dissociation theories.
This article is an exploratory study investigating the relationship between hypnotizability, pers... more This article is an exploratory study investigating the relationship between hypnotizability, personality style, and attachment. Data were collected from 99 students by means of the Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility, Form A; Personality Styles and Disorders Inventory; and Relationship Scale Questionnaire. Results suggest that individual personality styles accounted for a significant amount of variance in hypnotizability in: (a) the whole sample, (b) the securely attached, and (c) the insecurely attached. High hypnotizables among both the whole sample and securely attached individuals shared the unselfish/self-sacrificing personality style as a main predictor of hypnotizability and displayed elevated scores for the charming/histrionic and the optimistic/rhapsodic personality style. Furthermore, two groups were identified among the high hypnotizables that differed mainly according to attachment style: one consists of securely attached, charming/histrionic, and optimistic/rhapsodic people, who are best described by socio-cognitive theories. The other is composed of insecurely attached intuitive/schizotypal people, who are better depicted by dissociation theories.
This article critiques two studies conducted by Jacobson and colleagues whose findings indicated ... more This article critiques two studies conducted by Jacobson and colleagues whose findings indicated that hypnosis hinders encoding and might not be useful in education. While their findings provide important information about hypnosis and its possible uses in teaching and learning, there are several important methodological and interpretive shortcomings that limit the applicability of the study. It is argued that the authors conflated some components of hypnotic phenomenology, as measured by the Phenomenology of Consciousness Inventory, and consequently failed to assess the hypnotic experience properly. This article argues that the encoding deficits produced by hypnosis may have resulted from the way hypnosis was used and other contextual factors, and highlights some additional concerns with the statistical analyses. This article suggests some more effective uses of hypnosis and suggestion in improving the learning process in light of prior research, and offers some ideas for future research.
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