Assessment Of Hypnotizability Research Articles

Adaptation of the Russian Version of the Elkins Hypnotizability Scale

ABSTRACT Until now, there has been an acute shortage of valid and reliable tools in Russia for making an accurate and highly differentiable assessment of hypnotizability. However, numerous studies confirm the high efficiency, reliability, and accuracy of the Elkins Hypnotizability Scale (EHS), allowing it to claim the title of the new gold standard for assessing hypnotizability. In the present study, the original English-language version of the EHS was translated into Russian. One hundred and five volunteers from Moscow (42% male; 58% female), aged 19 to 44, underwent a hypnotizability assessment procedure according to the EHS protocol. The Russian version of the EHS, like the original, requires an average of 28 minutes to administer and score by a trained assessor. The results showed that the Russian version of the EHS has good internal consistency and does not contain unnecessary elements. Alpha Cronbach values (0.76), and the item-total correlations (r s = 0.44–0.64) are satisfactory.

Hypnotizability and psychopathology of patients with personality disorders

ABSTRACT Assessment of hypnotizability is useful in research and predicting the effects of hypnosis in clinical practice. There are few contemporary scientific reports examining the relationship between hypnotizability and psychopathological personality dimensions. The current study explores the connections between abnormal personality in psychiatric patients and the hypnotizability level. Fifty-five patients with anxiety and personality disorders who previously completed the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) were invited to undergo the Elkins Hypnotizability Scale – Clinical Form (EHS-CF). The hypnotizability scores comprise a normal distribution but shifted toward low scores. Twenty-seven patients were included in the low hypnotizability (LOW) group, and 28 patients in the medium to high (MID-HIGH) group. The number of participants with high scores on the Psychopathic Deviate and Paranoia MMPI-2 clinical scales was significantly higher in the LOW than in the MID-HIGH group. Patterns of associations between hypnotizability and psychopathology differed in the two groups. The results indicate that moderate hypnotizability should be considered a normal trait that has no meaningful relationship with psychopathology, but certain dysfunctional symptoms of personality disorders may entail resistance and a defensive attitude toward the hypnotherapy, resulting in a tendency to obtain lower hypnotizability.

Posthypnotic Amnesia in Hypnotizability Assessment: Validation of a New Scoring System for the Hypnotic Induction Profile

ABSTRACT The Hypnotic Induction Profile (HIP) is a standardized assessment of hypnotizability featuring a validated 0–10 scoring system, that does not factor in posthypnotic amnesia. Using confirmatory factor analyses (CFA), we compared the 10-point scoring system with a new 12-point system that includes the posthypnotic amnesia item in independent samples of individuals with fibromyalgia (n = 98) and healthy adults (n = 97). Additionally, we explored associations of the two scoring systems with measures of hypnotic phenomena. CFA results indicate that the 12-point scoring system is a good fit for the 1-factor model of hypnotizability. Posthypnotic amnesia loaded highly on the model in the fibromyalgia sample, and moderately on the model in healthy adults. Furthermore, the 12-point scoring system correlated significantly with measures of hypnotic phenomena. We conclude that the 12-point scoring system is psychometrically equivalent yet conceptually more comprehensive than the 10-point scoring system.

Factor Analysis of the Elkins Hypnotizability Scale

Assessment of hypnotizability can provide important information for hypnosis research and practice. The Elkins Hypnotizability Scale (EHS) consists of 12 items and was developed to provide a time-efficient measure for use in both clinical and laboratory settings. The EHS has been shown to be a reliable measure with support for convergent validity with the Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale, Form C (r = .821, p < .001). The current study examined the factor structure of the EHS, which was administered to 252 adults (51.3% male; 48.7% female). Average time of administration was 25.8 minutes. Four factors selected on the basis of the best theoretical fit accounted for 63.37% of the variance. The results of this study provide an initial factor structure for the EHS.

P02.30. Assessment of hypnotizability in clincal research: development, reliability, and validation of the Elkins Hynotizability Scale

Purpose Hypnotherapy has been shown to be an effective treatment for some conditions such as pain, anxiety, chemotherapy side effects, and hot flashes. Measurement of hypnotizability is essential for research. There are a number of scales that have been developed to measure hypnotizbility in clincal research. However, the currently available scales suffer from a number of important shortcomings such as time for administration, validity concerns, and item difficulty. As a result, hypnotizability is rarely measured in clinical work and research has been limited. The purpose of this study was to develop a new scale to measure hypnotizability that met the following criteria: (1) administration in 30 minutes or less; (2) correlation of .80 or better with the Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale; and (3) improved item selection.

A Concurrent Validity Study between the Hypnotic Induction Profile (HIP) and the Stanford Hypnotic Clinical Scale for Adults (SHCS:A) in an Inpatient Sample: A Brief Report

The Hypnotic Induction Profile (HIP) is a brief, standardized assessment of hypnotizability which takes 5–10 minutes to administer. The Stanford Hypnotic Clinical Scale for Adults (SHCS:A) is a different clinical measure of hypnotizability that takes about 20–25 minutes to administer. Although both scales purport to measure the same thing, they were based on different theories of hypnosis and constructed using different psychometric techniques. The present investigation is a concurrent validation study comparing scores on the two instruments in a sample of 24 inpatients. The correlation between the SHCS:A and HIP Induction score was 0.41 (p < .01). However, the Eye Roll Sign (ERS) did not correlate significantly with either the SHCS:A (.04, ns) or the HIP-IND score (−.05, ns). These results indicate that while scores on the HIP and SHCS:A are significantly correlated the inter-correlations are not high enough to consider them as interchangeable measures. Implications of these findings for future research are discussed.

Israeli Norms for the Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale, Form C

A Hebrew version of the 12-item Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale, Form C (SHSS:C) was administered to 169 subjects in Israel. The authors compared the results with those obtained for the English original administered in the USA and with an additional group of 38 English-speaking subjects in Israel, as well as with versions translated into Spanish (2 versions, for Spain and for Mexico), Italian, German, and Dutch. Mean scores and pair-wise rank-order correlations between item pass rates were comparable across the different samples. Item reliability was somewhat lower in the Hebrew version; however, if testing was discontinued after failure to comply with 3 consecutive items, reliability was similar to that obtained for the other samples. We conclude that the Hebrew version of the SHSS:C can be used for the assessment of hypnotizability and recommend that the discontinuation criterion be applied.

The Role of Hypnotizability Assessment in Treatment

Disparate opinions about the importance of the assessment of hypnotizability reflect very different ideas about what hypnosis is, the relevance of hypnotizability to psychotherapy and treatment outcome, and the importance of gathering scientific data to document treatment effectiveness and the presence of hypnotic effects. In this article, we argue that in recent years important developments have occurred in the conceptualization, assessment, and technical aspects of hypnotic intervention that imply that clinicians who eschew the use of hypnotizability assessment ought to reconsider their position. In making this argument, we will discuss reasons for assessing hypnotizability, the relation between hypnotizability and treatment outcome, and practical considerations in the assessment of hypnotizability.

Clinical Applications of Hypnosis for Brief and Efficient Pain Management Psychotherapy

This paper describes four specific clinical applications of hypnosis that can make psychotherapy for pain management briefer, more goal-oriented, and more efficient: (1) the assessment of hypnotizability; (2) the induction of hypnotic analgesia and development of individualized pain coping strategies; (3) direct suggestion, cognitive reframing, hypnotic metaphors, and pain relief imagery; and (4) brief psychodynamic reprocessing during the trance state of emotional factors in the patient's experience of chronic pain. Important theoretical and clinical issues regarding the relationship of hypnotizability to the induction of hypnotic analgesia are presented, and attempts to individualize pain treatment strategies on the basis of assessed differences in hypnotizability and patients' preferred coping strategies are described. Some ways are also presented of integrating direct hypnotic suggestion, cognitive reframing, hypnotic metaphors and imagery for alleviating the sensory and affective components of pain with an exploratory, insight-oriented, and brief psychodynamic reprocessing approach during trance for resolving unconscious sources of resistance to treatment and reducing the emotional overlay associated with chronic pain. Some basic assumptions underlying the use of this approach are discussed, and a brief step-by-step protocol is outlined.

Absorption and hypnotizability: Context effects reexamined.

Two independent studies failed to find evidence consistent with Council, Kirsch, and Hafner (1986), who argued that the repeatedly observed correlations between Tellegen's (1981) Absorption Scale (TAS) and hypnosis measures were artifacts of testing context, and de Groot, Gwynn, and Spanos (1988), who claimed evidence for a Gender x Context moderator effect. In the present studies, Ss completed the TAS and other personality questionnaires on 2 occasions: during an independent survey and later immediately prior to an assessment of hypnotizability. In Experiment 1 (N = 475), the effect of context on the relation between questionnaire scores and hypnotizability was weak and variable; in Experiment 2 (N = 434), these weak effects were reversed. The results reaffirm the construct validity of absorption as both a major dimension of personality and as a predictor of hypnotic responsiveness.

Hypnosis as a treatment method in psychosomatic medicine.

Recent research findings are used to illustrate the areas of uncertainty and controversy in the understanding of hypnosis. Despite similarities, hypnosis is presented as more than and different from relaxation, suggestibility, and the placebo response. An overview of the clinical use of hypnosis includes the three main methods of application, namely: relaxation or mild hypnosis, symptom removal, and hypnotherapy. A few brief case reports are included. As a means of narrowing the gap between laboratory research and clinical experience, the author recommends the assessment of hypnotizability in all patients treated with hypnosis.

Transference and countertransference in hypnosis.

Abstract Spontaneous transference manifestations in experimental Ss during assessment of hypnotizability and in patients in the beginning stages of hypnotherapy are presented in the context of their management and utilization. Countertransference issues are examined.

A single-treatment method to stop smoking using ancillary self-hypnosis.

Abstract This report discusses the first 615 patient-mokera who have been treated with a single 45-minute session of psychotherapy reinforced by hypnosis. Technique of treatment, including rationale of approach, induction procedure, assessment of hypnotizability, and training instructions to stop smoking are presented in detail. & month follow-up study results are discussed. Of 271 (44%) patients who returned a questionnaire, 121 (20%) hard-core smokers (who had repeatedly tried and failed to stop smoking before) were able to stop for a t least 6 months. Another 120 (20%) persons reduced their smoking to varying degrees. These results of a l-session treatment compare favorably with, and often are significantly better than, other longer-term methods reported in the literature. They suggest that every habitual smoker who is motivated to stop be exposed to the impact of this procedure, or its equivalent, so that at least 1 of 5 smokers can be salvaged.