Abstract/Results: | ABSTRACT:
Previous research indicates that individuals exhibit heterogeneous patterns of spontaneous experiences following a hypnotic induction. Such variability is explained in part by hypnotic suggestibility but is also present among highly suggestible individuals. Typological models have proposed that highly suggestible individuals are comprised of dissimilar types of respondents who differ in multiple dimensions of hypnotic responding. This study sought to discern phenomenological classes from the spontaneous experiential responses to a hypnotic induction and to assess whether experiential variability among highly suggestible individuals conforms to a typological pattern. Six hundred and forty individuals experienced the Waterloo-Stanford Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility, Form C ( wsgc; Bowers, 1998 ), which consists of a hypnotic induction followed by a series of suggestions. a two-minute resting epoch was embedded within the wsgc. Participants retrospectively completed the Phenomenology of Consciousness
Inventory ( pci; Pekala, 1991 ) in reference to their experiences during the resting epoch. Five phenomenological state factors derived from the pci ( dissociated control, positive affect, negative affect, visual imagery, and attention to internal processes) were submitted to a latent profile analysis. The fit indices and likelihood ratio tests of multiple models were contrasted and participants were assigned to a class on the basis of the posterior probabilities of the best fitting model. A four-class model exhibited the strongest fit to the data. The first and second classes were comprised of individuals from all levels of hypnotic suggestibility, whereas the third and fourth classes were comprised of only low and medium suggestible individuals. Highly suggestible individuals were divided evenly between the first and second classes, which differed in negative affect, dissociative experiences, and attentional absorption. These results indicate that highly suggestible individuals do not exhibit a homogeneous experiential response pattern to a hypnotic induction and provide support for typological models of high hypnotic suggestibility.
References: Bowers, K.S. ( 1998 ). Waterloo-Stanford Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility, Form C: Manual and response booklet. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 46, 250 – 268.
Pekala, R.J. ( 1991 ). The Phenomenology of Consciousness Inventory. West Chester, pa: Mid-Atlantic Educational Institute, Inc.
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