The fantasy-prone person: hypnosis, imagination, and creativity

The present study evaluated the so-called fantasy prone personality by selecting subjects who ranged along the continuum of fantasy proneness and then administering measures designed to assess hypnotic susceptibility (Harvard Group Scale, HGSHS:A; Shor & Orne, 1962), absorption (Tellegen Absorption Scale; Tellegen, 1976), vividness of mental imagery (QMI; Sheehan, 1967), response to waking suggestion (Creative Imagination Scale; Wilson & Barber, 1978), creativity (Barron Welsh Art Scale; Barron & Welsh, 1952), and social desirability (Crowne & Marlowe, 1960). Fantasy-prone (N = 23; upper 4% of college population), medium range (N = 22), and nonfantasy-prone persons (N = 17; lower 4% of population), were selected using the Inventory of Childhood Memories and Imaginings (Wilson & Barber, 1981). Strong support was secured for J. R. Hilgard's construct of imaginative involvement and Wilson and Barber's contention that fantasy prone persons can be distinguished from others in terms of fantasy and related cognitive processes. Fantasizers were found to outscore subjects in both comparison groups on all of the measures of fantasy, imagination, and creativity, with social desirability used as a covariate. Low fantasy-prone subjects were no less creative or less responsive to hypnosis than their medium fantasy-prone counterparts.     

Individual differences in afterimage persistence: relationships to hypnotic susceptibility and visuospatial skills.

To investigate the moderating role of individual differences in hypnotic susceptibility and visuospatial skills on afterimage persistence, we presented a codable (cross) flash of light to 40 men and 46 women who had been dark adapted for 20 min. In an unrelated classroom setting, subjects had previously been given two standardized scales of hypnotic susceptibility (Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility, Shor & Orne, 1962; Group Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale, Form C, Crawford & Allen, 1982) and the Mental Rotations Test (Vandenberg & Kuse, 1978). The first afterimage interval and the afterimage duration correlated significantly with hypnotic responsiveness, supporting Wallace (1979), but did not show the anticipated relationships with mental rotation visuospatial skills. Individuals in the high hypnotizable group had (a) significantly longer afterimage intervals between its first appearance and first disappearance than did those in medium or low groups, as well as (b) significantly longer afterimages between the first appearance and the final disappearance than did those in low groups, but those in medium groups did not differ significantly from the other groups. Discriminant analysis using the afterimage persistence measures classified correctly 65.2% of high hypnotizables, 37.5% of medium hypnotizables, and 54.8% of low hypnotizables. Hypothesized cognitive skills that assist in the maintenance of afterimages and underlie hypnotic susceptibility include abilities to maintain focused attention and resist distractions over time and to maintain vivid visual images.     

Impulsivity,self-control,and hypnotic suggestibility

Hypnotic responding might be due to attenuated frontal lobe functioning after the hypnotic induction. Little is known about whether personality traits linked with frontal functioning are associated with responsiveness to hypnotic suggestions. We assessed whether hypnotic suggestibility is related to the traits of self-control and impulsivity in 154 participants who completed the Brief Self-Control Scale, the Self-Regulation Scale, the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11), and the Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility (HGSHS:A). BIS-11 non-planning impulsivity correlated positively with HGSHS:A (Bonferroni-corrected). Furthermore, in the best model emerging from a stepwise multiple regression, both non-planning impulsivity and self-control positively predicted hypnotic suggestibility, and there was an interaction of BIS-11 motor impulsivity with gender. For men only, motor impulsivity tended to predict hypnotic suggestibility. Hypnotic suggestibility is associated with personality traits linked with frontal functioning, and hypnotic responding in men and women might differ.     

Not all group hypnotic suggestibility scales are created equal: individual differences in behavioral and subjective responses

To examine the influence of hypnotic suggestibility testing as a source of individual differences in hypnotic responsiveness, we compared behavioral and subjective responses on three scales of hypnotic suggestibility: The Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility, Form A (HGSHS: A; Shor, R. E., Orne, E. C. (1962). Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility. Berlin: Consulting Psychologists Press); the Carleton University Responsiveness to Suggestion Scale (CURSS; Spanos, N. P., Radtke, H. L., Hodgins, D. C., Stam, H. J., Bertrand, L. D. (1983b). The Carleton University Responsiveness to Suggestion Scale: Normative data and psychometric properties. Psychological Reports, 53, 523-535); and the Group Scale of Hypnotic Ability (GSHA; Hawkins, R., Wenzel, L. (1999). The Group Scale of Hypnotic Ability and response booklet. Australian Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 27, 20-31). Behavioral and subjective responses to the CURSS were significantly different than those on the HGSHS: A and GSHA. More participants were classified as "low suggestible" on the CURSS and they reported subjective experiences more similar to everyday mentation. Attitudes and expectancies of participants who received the GSHA were less predictive of responding, but rates of responding and subjective experiences were similar on the GSHA and the HGSHS: A. Discussion focuses on implications for the use of group hypnotic suggestibility scales.     

Hypnotic susceptibility, baseline attentional functioning, and the Stroop task

According to the theoretical framework relating hypnosis to attention, baseline attentional functioning in highly hypnotizable individuals should be more efficient than in low hypnotizable individuals. However, previous studies did not find differences in Stroop-like tasks in which the measure indicative of the Stroop interference effect was based on response latencies. This study was designed to determine whether subjects with different levels of hypnotic susceptibility show differences in baseline attentional functioning. To assess this hypothesis, high, medium, and low hypnotizable subjects performed a Stroop task designed to evaluate accuracy performance, before being subjected to hypnotic induction. Results showed that the Stroop interference effect was smaller in high hypnotizable subjects than in low hypnotizable subjects, whereas it was not different between high, and medium hypnotizable subjects. This outcome supports the notion that baseline attentional functioning is related to hypnotic susceptibility.     

Sustained attentional and disattentional abilities and arousability: Factor analysis and relationships to hypnotic susceptibility

The neurophysiologically separate dimensions of deeply focused, sustained attention and arousability are shown to be differentially related to hypnotic susceptibility. University undergraduates, 98 men and 112 women, were administered the Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility; the Group Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale, Form C (SHSS:C); and questionnaires that assessed attentional abilities (Differential Attentional Processes Inventory (DAPI), Tellegen Absorption Scale (TAS)), Extraversion (Eysenck Personality Questionnaire), strength of the nervous system (Strelau Temperament Scale (STS)), augmenting-reducing (Vando Reducer-Augmenter Scale (RAS)), and emotionality (Affect Intensity Measure (AIM)). Women were significantly higher on TAS, DAPI dual attention physical-cognitive scale, and AIM; men were significantly higher on TAS and STI Strength of Excitation Scale. Separate factor analyses for men and women separately yielded fairly similar four-factor solutions. The first major factor, defined by DAPI Moderately Focused Attention and Dual Attention scales, represented moderately sustained attention in a complex environment with limited interference from competing stimuli. The extremely involved and focused attention factor, defined by the TAS and DAPI Extremely Focused Attention Scale, had hypnotic susceptibility loaded more strongly for men than women. The arousability factor was defined by EPQ Extraversion, STI Mobility of Nervous System (MNS) scale, and RAS. The neo-Pavlovian nervous system processes factor was defined by the STI Strength of Excitation and Strength of Inhibition scales; the STI MNS scale also loaded on this factor for men. Only for women were introverts more hypnotizable than extraverts. Results support H. J. Crawford and J. H. Gruzelier's (1992) in E. Fromm and M. Nash (Eds.) Contemporary Perspectives in Hypnosis Research (pp. 227–266) New York: Guildford Press) neurophysiological model of hypnosis that proposes that highly hypnotizable persons have a more efficient fronto-limbic sustained attentional and disattentional system.     

Effects of active alert and relaxation hypnotic inductions on cold pressor pain

We contrasted relaxation and active alert hypnotic inductions with or without a specific suggestion for cold pressor pain analgesia. Groups of high (n = 38) and low (n = 27) hypnotizable subjects were tested; hypnotizability had been determined from results of the Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale, Form C. Cold pressor pain data were obtained after counterbalanced exposure to relaxation and active alert inductions. Highly hypnotizable subjects demonstrated lower pain scores than did low hypnotizable ones. Pain reports did not differ between induction conditions. Highly hypnotizable subjects given an analgesic suggestion showed lower pain scores than did those exposed only to hypnosis. The findings, conceptualized within E.R. Hilgard's (1977a) neodissociation theory, show that relaxation is not necessary for hypnotic analgesia.     

Moderating influences of hypnotic susceptibility on signal-detection task performance

This study investigated the differential influence of hypnotic susceptibility level on signal detection task (SDT) performance in waking and hypnotic conditions. As assessed by the Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility, Form A (HGSHS: A) and the Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale, Form C (SHSS: C), 20 high (9–12), 20 medium (4–8), and 20 low (0–3) hypnotizables participated. In counterbalanced conditions of waking and hypnosis, Ss (Subjects) were given 36 signal detection trials, consisting of 12 strong signals, 12 weak signals, and 12 “no” signals. No differences were observed in the waking condition between low, medium, and high hypnotizables on strong and weak signal trials. In hypnosis, high hypnotizables exhibited significantly superior performance on the strong signal trials in comparison with low hypotizables, and performed significantly better on the weak signal trials than did the low and medium hypnotizables. Low and medium hypnotizables performed similarly in waking and hypnotic conditions, while high hypnotizables showed significant enhancements in performance for strong and weak signal trials during hypnosis. This research was supported, in part, by a grant from Fort Hays State University.     

Moderating influences of hypnotic susceptibility on signal-detection task performance

This study investigated the differential influence of hypnotic susceptibility level on signal detection task (SDT) performance in waking and hypnotic conditions. As assessed by the Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility, Form A (HGSHS: A) and the Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale, Form C (SHSS: C), 20 high (9–12), 20 medium (4–8), and 20 low (0–3) hypnotizables participated. In counterbalanced conditions of waking and hypnosis, Ss (Subjects) were given 36 signal detection trials, consisting of 12 strong signals, 12 weak signals, and 12 “no” signals. No differences were observed in the waking condition between low, medium, and high hypnotizables on strong and weak signal trials. In hypnosis, high hypnotizables exhibited significantly superior performance on the strong signal trials in comparison with low hypotizables, and performed significantly better on the weak signal trials than did the low and medium hypnotizables. Low and medium hypnotizables performed similarly in waking and hypnotic conditions, while high hypnotizables showed significant enhancements in performance for strong and weak signal trials during hypnosis. This research was supported, in part, by a grant from Fort Hays State University.     

Expectancy versus absorption in the prediction of hypnotic responding

The Absorption Scale, a measure of imaginative involvement, was administered to 64 subjects in the context of a hypnosis experiment and to an additional 64 subjects in a context unrelated to hypnosis. Expectancies of responding to hypnotic suggestions were assessed both before trance induction and after trance induction but before administration of hypnotic test suggestions. Hypnotic depth was assessed on the Long Stanford Scale (LSS) before the administration of test suggestions, and on the Inventory of Hypnotic Depth (IHD) after the hypnosis session. Absorption was correlated with hypnotic responsivity and expectancy, but only when assesed in the hypnotic context. Completing the Absorption Scale in a hypnotic context appeared to affect hypnotic responsiveness by altering subjects' expectancies. Only postinduction expectancies were uniquely predictive of response to hypnotic test suggestions, and all variables except the LSS were predictive of IHD scores. Results of path analysis supported the hypothesis that trance inductions alter expectancies for responding to hypnotic suggestions and that these altered expectancies determine subsequent hypnotic behavior.     

Hypnosis, suggestion, and placebo in the reduction of experimental pain

Two experiments compared placebo and hypnotic analgesia in high and low hypnotizable subjects. Experiment 1 demonstrated that hypnotic and placebo analgesia were equally ineffective in low hypnotizables, but that hypnotic analgesia was much more effective than placebo analgesia in high hypnotizables. Experiment 2 replicated these results, but also included low and high hypnotizables who were given a nonhypnotic suggestion for analgesia. Both the low and high hypnotizables in this group reported greater suggested than placebo analgesia and as much suggested analgesia as high hypnotizable hypnotic subjects. Both experiments found substantial discrepancies between the amount of pain reduction subjects expected from the various treatments and the amount of pain reduction they actually reported following exposure to those treatments. In Experiment 2, subjects in all treatments who reduced reported pain engaged in more cognitive coping and less catastrophizing than those who did not reduce pain. Theoretical implications are discussed.     

The surreptitious observation design: an experimental paradigm for distinguishing artifact from essence in hypnosis

Administered a hypnotic induction and 5 standard hypnotic suggestions twice via audiotape to a group of high-hypnotizable subjects and a group of low-hypnotizable simulators. During the first administration, subjects were led to believe that they were alone. However, their behavior was surreptitiously recorded on videotape and observed on a video monitor. The second administration occurred in the presence of an experimenter who had not been informed of group assignment. When unaware that they were being observed, simulators were significantly less responsive to suggestions than they were when openly observed. In contrast, the behavior of nonsimulating subjects was not affected by the presence of an experimenter. These data indicate that the responses of highly hypnotizable subjects to standard hypnotic suggestions cannot be accounted for in terms of simple compliance with experimental demand.     

Seeing is believing: the reality of hypnotic hallucinations

Two experiments investigated the reality attributed to hypnotic suggestion through subtle projection of a visual image during simultaneous suggestion for a visual hallucination that resembled the projected image. In Experiment 1, high and low hypnotizable participants were administered either a hypnotic induction or wake instructions, given a suggestion to hallucinate a shape, and then the projected image was subsequently introduced. Although highs in both conditions rated the projected image more vividly than lows, highs in the hypnosis (but not wake) condition made comparable reality ratings when the projected image was absent and present. In Experiment 2, high hypnotizable participants were administered a suggestion to see a shape on a wall. For half the participants the suggested image was projected on the wall and then removed, and for half the projection was initially absent and then introduced. Participants who had the projection absent and then present reported comparable reality and vividness ratings when the projection was absent and present. These findings indicate that elevated hypnotizability and hypnosis are associated with attributions of external reality to suggested experiences.     

认知神经科学视角的催眠研究述评

催眠被广泛的应用在临床心理治疗中, 但是, 关于催眠方面的研究却相当匮乏, 而且相当模糊。近年来, 随着fMRI, ERP和PET等技术的引入, 我们对催眠引导和催眠暗示有了更加深入的理解。对于疼痛和幻觉的研究表明, 至少对于高暗示性被试而言, 催眠暗示可以引起与真实刺激同样的大脑皮层的激活; 而催眠后暗示对于注意策略的调控, 可以使原有的认知过程发生改变, 其中之一是使用催眠后暗示来抑制“Stroop效应”语义加工过程; 催眠后遗忘更是实现了内隐记忆和外显记忆遗忘的分离。未来研究者将继续从探讨催眠本身的神经属性和催眠暗示所引起的认知过程的改变两个角度去认识催眠, 揭开催眠的实质。     

Development and Initial Validation of the Multicultural Personality Inventory (MPI)

Two studies summarize the development and initial validation of the Multicultural Personality Inventory (MPI). In Study 1, the 115-item prototype MPI was administered to 415 university students where exploratory factor analysis resulted in a 70-item, 7-factor model. In Study 2, the 70-item MPI and theoretically related companion instruments were administered to a multisite sample of 576 university students. Confirmatory factory analysis found the 7-factor structure to be a relatively good fit to the data (Comparative Fit Index =.954; root mean square error of approximation =.057), and MPI factors predicted variance in criterion variables above and beyond the variance accounted for by broad personality traits (i.e., Big Five). Study limitations and directions for further validation research are specified.     

Enhancing hypnotic susceptibility: interpersonal and rapport factors

This research supported the hypothesis that hypnosis can be thought of as a set of potentially modifiable social-cognitive skills and attitudes. A low-interpersonal-training treatment devised by Gorassini and Spanos (1986) was compared with a treatment designed to modify not only cognitive factors but also to augment rapport with the trainer and diminish resistance to responding (high-interpersonal training). Fifty percent of the initially unhypnotizable subjects in the high-interpersonal condition tested as being highly susceptible to hypnosis (high susceptibles) at posttest on the Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility (Shor & Orne, 1962); 25% of the unhypnotizable subjects in the low-interpersonal condition responded comparably. Eighty-three percent of the medium-susceptibility (medium susceptibles) subjects tested as being highly susceptible at posttest in both conditions. Practice-alone control subjects' performance was stable across testings. The study was the first to demonstrate that treatment gains generalize to a battery of novel, demanding suggestions (generalization index) that have been found to differentiate highly susceptible subjects from unhypnotizable simulating subjects. The importance of rapport was evidenced by the finding that rapport ratings paralleled group differences in hypnotic responding and that rapport correlated substantially with susceptibility scores at posttest and with the generalization index. Whereas initial hypnotizability scores correlated significantly with retest susceptibility scores, initial hypnotizability failed to correlate significantly with the generalization index.     

The role of expectation and memory‐retrieval techniques in the construction of beliefs about past events

This study assessed social factors affecting the elicitation of false reports for events occurring the day after birth. High, medium and low hypnotizable participants (N=170) were randomly assigned to hypnotic, guided imagery (non‐hypnotic), expectancy or control conditions. Participants were led to believe that they had experienced a specific event on the day after birth. Hypnotic and guided imagery participants were age regressed, while participants in the expectancy condition were provided with cues suggesting access to this memory was feasible. Relative to controls, these participants recalled higher levels of day‐after‐birth reports, although age‐regressed participants reported significantly more event specific details than expectancy participants. Furthermore, high and medium hypnotizables were more likely than low hypnotizables to recall events occurring the day after birth. Implications of this study within the therapeutic setting are discussed. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Personality Dysfunction, Coping Styles, and Clinical Symptoms in Younger and Older Adults

This study examined age-related differences in personality disorders, dispositional coping strategies, and clinical symptoms between younger (n = 79; age range = 18–29; M age = 21.2 years) and older (n = 79; age range = 55–89; M age = 65.5 years) persons (matched on gender and ethnicity). Participants completed the Coolidge Axis II Inventory (CATI), Coping Orientations to Problems Experienced Scale (COPE), and Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI). Personality results (t tests) based on the CATI revealed that older persons were significantly more obsessive–compulsive and schizoid than younger adults but significantly lower on 7 scales, including antisocial, borderline, histrionic, and sadistic. As assessed by the COPE, older adults reported lower levels of dysfunctional coping strategies than younger adults. Specifically, older persons were less likely to use mental disengagement, venting of emotions, and alcohol/drugs to cope with problems. BSI results for clinical symptoms revealed that younger adults were significantly higher on 5 of 9 scales, including anxiety, depression, and hostility. Results suggest that younger adults experience higher levels of personality and clinical symptoms and use more dysfunctional coping strategies than older adults, dispelling the myth that old age is associated with inevitable psychological impairment. Theoretical considerations, clinical implications, and future research ideas are discussed.     

Personality and differential susceptibility to hypnosis: further replication and sex differences.

Following the study of Gibson & Curran (1974), a further sample of 45 subjects were tested on the Eysenck Personality Inventory (EPI) and a slightly modified form of the Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale (SHSS) in precisely the same way. The results in this second sample were broadly the same as those obtained in the earlier study. Combining the two samples, it was found that the sex variable provided some interesting contrasts. The power of the lie scale of the EPI to predict hypnotic susceptibility observed earlier was found to be a significant effect only for males. While there was no significant difference between the sexes in terms of the means and S.D.S. of the extraversion (E) and neuroticism (N) scales, when the interaction of these scales was studied males and females differed significantly. The population from the two studies (n = 88) was analysed by means of polar coordinates in the manner suggested by Eysenck (1966) with regard to the E nad N scales. Esyenck's prediction as to hypnotic susceptibility was strikingly confirmed. These data are briefly discussed in terms of alternative approaches to hypnosis from the 'state' and the 'non-state' viewpoints.