Creative Imagination Scale Research Articles

LSD, madness and healing: Mystical experiences as possible link between psychosis model and therapy model.

For a century, psychedelics have been investigated as models of psychosis for demonstrating phenomenological similarities with psychotic experiences and as therapeutic models for treating depression, anxiety, and substance use disorders. This study sought to explore this paradoxical relationship connecting key parameters of the psychotic experience, psychotherapy, and psychedelic experience. In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover design, 24 healthy volunteers received 50 μg d-lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) or inactive placebo. Psychotic experience was assessed by aberrant salience (Aberrant Salience Inventory, ASI), therapeutic potential by suggestibility (Creative Imagination Scale, CIS) and mindfulness (Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire, FFMQ; Mindful Attention Awareness Scale, MAAS; Experiences Questionnaire, EQ), and psychedelic experience by four questionnaires (Altered State of Consciousness Questionnaire, ASC; Mystical Experiences Questionnaire, MEQ; Challenging Experiences Questionnaire, CEQ; Ego-Dissolution Inventory, EDI). Relationships between LSD-induced effects were examined. LSD induced psychedelic experiences, including alteration of consciousness, mystical experiences, ego-dissolution, and mildly challenging experiences, increased aberrant salience and suggestibility, but not mindfulness. LSD-induced aberrant salience correlated highly with complex imagery, mystical experiences, and ego-dissolution. LSD-induced suggestibility correlated with no other effects. Individual mindfulness changes correlated with aspects of aberrant salience and psychedelic experience. The LSD state resembles a psychotic experience and offers a tool for healing. The link between psychosis model and therapeutic model seems to lie in mystical experiences. The results point to the importance of meaning attribution for the LSD psychosis model and indicate that psychedelic-assisted therapy might benefit from therapeutic suggestions fostering mystical experiences.

A Comparison of Hypnotic Induction, Task Motivation, and a “Cold Start” Control Group on Hypnotizability

Groups of participants (N = 164) were randomly assigned to three conditions: Group 1 received a trance induction, Group 2 received task-motivational instructions, and Group 3—“cold start” control—was simply told, “We will begin the hypnosis procedure now.” All participants received the Creative Imagination Scale suggestions and then completed the Creative Imagination Scale and Inventory Scale of Hypnotic Depth. The three conditions did not differ significantly either on the Creative Imagination Scale or in reported hypnotic depth. These results are consistent with prior studies which show that trance induction and task-motivational yield similar results, but they are inconsistent inasmuch as the trance induction and task-motivational groups did not differ from the control group. These results, however, are predictable from socio-cognitive perspectives that the context of hypnosis itself can elicit hypnotic behaviors.

Correlates of the Multidimensional Construct of Hypnotizability: Paranormal Belief, Fantasy Proneness, Magical Ideation, and Dissociation

Hypnotizability is a multifaceted construct that may relate to multiple aspects of personality and beliefs. This study sought to address 4 known correlates of hypnotizability to aid in its understanding. Eighty undergraduates completed the Magical Ideation Scale (MIS), the Creative Experiences Questionnaire (CEQ), the Australian Sheep-Goat Scale (ASGS), and the Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES) and then were administered the Creative Imagination Scale (CIS). All 5 scales were significantly correlated. Participants higher in hypnotizability scored higher on the CEQ and the MIS. The findings demonstrate the influence of fantasy proneness and magical thinking on hypnotizability and support the theory that hypnotizability is a complex interaction of multiple traits.

LSD enhances suggestibility in healthy volunteers.

Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) has a history of use as a psychotherapeutic aid in the treatment of mood disorders and addiction, and it was also explored as an enhancer of mind control. The present study sought to test the effect of LSD on suggestibility in a modern research study. Ten healthy volunteers were administered with intravenous (i.v.) LSD (40-80 μg) in a within-subject placebo-controlled design. Suggestibility and cued mental imagery were assessed using the Creative Imagination Scale (CIS) and a mental imagery test (MIT). CIS and MIT items were split into two versions (A and B), balanced for 'efficacy' (i.e. A ≈ B) and counterbalanced across conditions (i.e. 50 % completed version 'A' under LSD). The MIT and CIS were issued 110 and 140 min, respectively, post-infusion, corresponding with the peak drug effects. Volunteers gave significantly higher ratings for the CIS (p = 0.018), but not the MIT (p = 0.11), after LSD than placebo. The magnitude of suggestibility enhancement under LSD was positively correlated with trait conscientiousness measured at baseline (p = 0.0005). These results imply that the influence of suggestion is enhanced by LSD. Enhanced suggestibility under LSD may have implications for its use as an adjunct to psychotherapy, where suggestibility plays a major role. That cued imagery was unaffected by LSD implies that suggestions must be of a sufficient duration and level of detail to be enhanced by the drug. The results also imply that individuals with high trait conscientiousness are especially sensitive to the suggestibility-enhancing effects of LSD.

827 – Suggestibility in persons with schizophrenia

Aim Study of suggestibility in persons with schizophrenia to ascertain whether it is advisable to use hypno-suggestive methods in the system of psychotherapeutic help to them. Method As a method of study we used Barber's Creative Imagination Scale. To subjects of the experimental group this method was applied from 2 to 5 times, during 6 months. Main results In the experimental group the subjects have been distributed in the following way: (0) lack of suggestibility - 12.68%; (1) weak degree of suggestibility - 20.56%; (2) average degree of suggestibility - 13.8%; (3) high degree of suggestibility - 24.51%; (4) very high degree of suggestibility - 28.45%. In the control group we have obtained the following percentage distribution of subjects: (0) lack of suggestibility - 6.76%; (1) weak degree of suggestibility - 17.18%; (2) average degree of suggestibility - 22.25%; (3) high degree of suggestibility - 27.89%; (4) very high degree of suggestibility - 25.92%. We also have studied changeableness of suggestibility during 6 months in the experimental group: invariable indices of suggestibility were shown by 27.95% of subjects; 37.26% of subjects had slight changeableness; suggestibility was considerably changed in 26.09% of subjects; and radical change was obtained in 8.7% of subjects. Conclusion The obtained results point to the advisability of applying hypno-suggestive methods in the system of psychotherapeutic help of individuals suffering from schizophrenia.

Dissociative experiences, creative imagination, and artistic production in students of Fine Arts

The current research was designed to assess the influence of dissociative experiences and creative imagination on the artistic production of Fine Arts students of the University of Vigo (Spain). The sample consisted of 81 students who were administered the Creative Imagination Scale and The Dissociative Experiences Scale. To measure artistic production students were given an art assignment requiring them to produce a picture 180 cm × 180 cm in format with freedom of choice regarding technique and materials. The artistic productions were scored on three factors: analysis of the idea, implementation of the idea and technical skill. The results support our working hypothesis that dissociative experiences influence the artistic production of Fine Arts students. Notwithstanding, no significant differences in artistic production were observed between students with high in comparison to low creative imagination. The scarce availability of the literature underscores the need for further research.

Structural Aspects of Three Hypnotizability Scales: Smallest Space Analysis

Smallest space analysis (SSA) was used to examine structural aspects of the Creative Imagination Scale (CIS), Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility, Form:A (HGSHS:A), and Stanford Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility, Form C (SHSS:C). Correlation matrices for each of the instruments came from published studies of other investigators. The SSA on the CIS suggested the presence of 1 facet, focus of processing, with 2 subsets of items: somato-sensory and imagination sensory. The combined 22-item matrix SSA showed that the CIS and HGSHS:A items regionalized separately. The item configuration suggested 1 facet, nature of suggestions including 3 subsets: direct motor items of the HGSHS:A, challenge-inhibition items of the HGSHS:A, and the cognitive items of the CIS. The SSA for the SHSS:C suggested 2 facets, containing 2 elements each: processing focus of suggestions (cognitive-sensory and motor-sensory) and nature of suggestions (direct and challenge-inhibition). A general mapping sentence is offered with possible implications.

The Effect of Pregnancy on Hypnotizability

Hypnosis during pregnancy and childbirth has been shown to reduce labor analgesia use and other medical interventions. We aimed to investigate whether there was a difference in hypnotizability in pregnant and non-pregnant women. Study participants had hypnotizability measured by the Creative Imagination Scale (CIS) in the third trimester of pregnancy and subsequently between 14 and 28 months postpartum and when not pregnant. The 37 participants who completed the study gave birth in the largest maternity unit in South Australia between January 2006 and March 2007. CIS scores were increased in women when pregnant (Mean 23.5, SD 6.9) compared to when they were not pregnant (Mean 18.7, SD 6.6), p < 0.001. The mean effect size was 0.84 suggesting that the hypnotizability change was both statistically significant and clinically meaningful. Our study findings support previous evidence showing that women are more hypnotizable when pregnant than when not pregnant.

Suggestibility of the Chinese as revealed by the creative imagination scale

AbstractThe current aim of the study is to provide a preliminary view of the suggestibility of Chinese people. Direct hypnotic experience was examined by giving a widely used suggestibility measure, the ‘Creative Imagination Scale’, to 90 volunteer subjects who were randomly drawn from a college in Hong Kong. The Creative Imagination Scale is thought to be a clinically useful assessment, which may reveal some implications for the applications of hypnosis in the Chinese culture. The current results indicated that the distribution of the suggestibility scores of the current Chinese sample tended to be more centralized than the Western counterpart, and that there were some cultural differences in the psychometric features and preferred modalities. By and large, the prospect of using hypnosis in the Chinese population is positive in view of their relatively good susceptibility to hypnotic suggestions. Copyright © 2005 British Society of Experimental and Clinical Hypnosis

The role of perceptual elaboration and individual differences in the creation of false memories for suggested events

AbstractWitnesses who are exposed to false or misleading information in the course of an investigation are often asked follow‐up questions designed to elicit more detailed information about the alleged objects/events. The results of the present study showed that pressing witnesses to elaborate on the perceptual characteristics of suggested events increased false memory for these events. Specifically, participants who were asked about the perceptual details of suggested events (e.g. their location, physical appearance, etc.) were much more likely to later claim they ‘definitely’ remembered witnessing the fictions events than participants who were exposed to the same suggestions but were not probed about additional perceptual details. In addition, the present study examined the role of individual difference variables in susceptibility to suggestion. The results showed that scores on the Tellegen Absorption Scale (but not the Dissociative Experiences Scale and the Creative Imagination Scale) were correlated with susceptibility to false memory in this paradigm. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.

Imagination and Source Monitoring Accuracy

The present study was designed to explore the personal and situational determinants of the accuracy in discrimination between memories for perceived and imagined events. Three groups were administered the Creative Imagination Scale (CIS) [1]. In the first group ( N = 25) and in the second group ( N = 22), the image of three people meeting on a beach was additionally suggested. The third group ( N = 21) served as controls. One week later all subjects were presented a film depicting events that were similar to the previously suggested beach scene. Finally, the subjects' memories of the film were tested with recall and recognition methods. There were more imagery intrusions in the first experimental group than in the control group, i.e., subjects more often described the elements of the suggested scene as coming from the film. Before the memory test the second experimental group was warned not to confuse imagination with perception. They were as accurate in recall and recognition as controls. The number of imagery intrusions correlated significantly with the self-rated vividness of the imagined scene (0.37) but not with the CIS. The implications for practice are discussed.

Hypnotizability and body image malleability in restrained and non‐restrained eaters

AbstractHypnotizability may play a moderating role in the internalization of body image ideals and may also mediate suggested distortion of body image self‐representations, especially in restrained eaters. A modified version of the Creative Imagination Scale (CIS) incorporating a body expansion and a body reduction item, was used to examine the relationship between hypnotizability, dietary restraint and body image manipulation in restrained and non‐restrained eaters. Dietary restraint was measured in 40 female undergraduate participants using the Three‐Factor Eating Questionnaire and the Revised Restraint Scale. The results suggest that hypnotizability, as measured by the CIS, correlates significantly with both measures of dietary restraint. In addition, restrained eaters demonstrated generally elevated susceptibility to body image modification compared with unrestrained eaters, though both restrained and non‐restrained eaters appeared to be more susceptible to imagining body size expansion than reduction. These results are discussed in relation to social influences on eating and dietary disorders. Copyright © 1998 British Society of Experimental and Clinical Hypnosis

Individual Differences and the Creation of False Childhood Memories

We investigated if college students will create false childhood memories, the role of self-knowledge in memory creation, and if there are reliable individual differences related to memory creation. Based on information obtained from parents, we asked college students about several true childhood experiences. We also asked each student about one false event and presented the false event as if it was based on parent information. We asked the students to describe all events in two interviews separated by one day. When participants could not recall an event (whether true or false), we encouraged them to think about related self-knowledge and to try to imagine the event. In an unrelated experimental session, the students were administered four cognitive/personality scales: the Creative Imagination Scale (CIS), the Tellegen Absorption Scale (TAS), the Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES), and the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale (SDS). We found that approximately 25% of the students created false childhood memories. Participants who made connections to related self-knowledge in the first interview were more likely to create false memories. We also found that the CIS and the DES were positively related to memory creation. Factors that decrease one's ability to engage in reality monitoring are related to the acceptance of false events and the creation of false memories.

Order effect for two measures of hypnotizability.

Mean scores of students on the Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility, Form A and the Creative Imagination Scale were higher if the latter preceded the former ( n = 15); in contrast, in the reverse order ( n = 20) scores on both tests were lower.

Harvard group scale of hypnotic susceptibility and the creative imagination scale: defining two separate but correlated abilities

AbstractNormative data for most psychological tests have been collected from student samples rather than clinical populations. So it was for the Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility (HGSHS:A). This paper describes a comparative study, not a normative study, using an unselected adult, primarily non‐student, cohort of volunteers (n=128) tested on the HGSHS:A. The purpose was to compare the results with those of normative studies performed in the USA, Australia, Germany and Canada. Results indicated strong similarities. Likewise, 49 of these subjects were tested with a taped form of the Creative Imagination Scale (CIS), published in 1978. Scores on neither the HGSHS:A nor the CIS were predicted by either age or sex. Although the CIS and HGSHS:A results were correlated, factor analysis on the two tests showed loadings on separate factors suggesting that these tests are measuring two related, but separate, abilities found in conjunction with each other. We concluded that these instruments can be used with confidence with clinical populations. Copyright © 1997 British Society of Experimental and Clinical Hypnosis

Can relaxation training and hypnotherapy modify the immune response to stress, and is hypnotizability relevant?

AbstractA study was carried out with the following aims: (1) to evaluate the psychological and immunological effects of 3 weeks' relaxation practice; (2) to investigate the effects of relaxation training and hypnosis on the modulation of the immune response to an experimental stressor; and (3) to relate changes to hypnotic susceptibility. Twenty‐four healthy volunteers were assigned, according to a stratified, permuted blocks, random allocation procedure, to relaxation training with hypnosis or to a control condition. Subjects attended on three occasions: day 1, day 21 and day 22 or 23. Various psychological tests were carried out on each of the occasions and, in addition, samples of urine and blood were collected for immunological and biochemical analysis. Two samples of blood were taken at the second visit, one before exposure to an experimental stressor on day 21 and one immediately thereafter.Relaxation had several effects including improvement on a number of measures of mental state and a reduction in lymphocyte responsiveness and IL‐1 secretion. However, on exposure to the stressor, previous relaxation training and pre‐exposure hypnotic suggestion led to increased lymphocyte responsiveness and IL‐1 secretion.The extent to which IgA increased as a result of relaxation therapy for 3 weeks was positively correlated with Creative Imagination Scale (CIS) scores (changes in the control group during the same period were not correlated with CIS scores). Moreover, immediate changes in IL‐1 following exposure to the stressor were positively correlated with CIS scores in the experimental group and negatively in the control group. Hypnotizability, as assessed by the CIS, may be an important moderator of the psychoneuroimmunological response to relaxation training and exposure to acute stress. Copyright © 1996 British Society of Experimental and Clinical Hypnosis

Cross‐cultural aspects of hypnotizability and imagination

AbstractWe tested 133 native Malaysian students at the University of Malaysia with the Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility (HGHSS:A, Shor &amp; Orne, 1962), the Creative Imagination Scale (CIS; Wilson &amp; Barber (1978), the Tellegen Absorption Scale (TA; Tellegen, 1976), and the Betts Vividness of Mental Imagery Scale (QMI, Sheehan, 1967). These subjects were compared with a sample of 55 Malaysian volunteer college students enrolled at Ohio University. The average length of enrolment was 2.5 years and 459 college students (US residents) from Ohio University were also tested. The means of measures across all samples were comparable, with the exception that the Malaysian students scored lower on the CIS. However, we failed to secure significant correlations between hypnotizability and absorption and waking suggestion (CIS) in the Malaysian sample tested in Malaysia. In contrast, when Malaysian students resided in the United States, the correlations between hypnotizability and absorption and waking suggestion were all significant, as was the case with US residents. Our results imply that culture‐based expectancies play a role in mediating the relationship between hypnotizability and measures associated with hypnotizability in Western cultures. Copyright © 1996 British Society of Experimental and Clinical Hypnosis

Dietary restraint, hypnotizability and body image

AbstractThere is growing evidence of a correlation between bulimia nervosa and hypnotic susceptibility. The present study supports the existence of a similar relationship in non‐clinical populations between restrained eating and increased hypnotizability. In the second part of the study, a modified version of the Creative Imagination Scale was used to investigate the responsiveness of restrained and non‐restrained eaters in a non‐clinical group to suggestions of body image change. Non‐restrained eaters resisted suggestions both of increased and decreased body size. The restrained eaters also resisted suggestions of decreased body size but were more responsive to suggestions of increased body size. Implications for the aetiology and treatment of eating disorders are considered. Copyright © 1996 British Society of Experimental and Clinical Hypnosis

Teaching college students better learning skills using self-hypnosis.

This paper reports the effects of self-hypnosis used by 51 college students enrolled in a 10-week course on efficient learning skills. All students were administered the Creative Imagination Scale. Subsequently, they learned to enter and deepen alert self-hypnosis. They gave themselves personal suggestions and then studied in hypnosis. They reported their depth of hypnosis and satisfaction with each session. Grades were collected the quarter before, during and after the course. Satisfaction and depth data indicated the students were involved all through the course. Statistical testing showed that students who scored highest on the CIS had the lowest initial GPA, improved most during the course, and significantly increased their GPA in the quarter after.

Hypnotic Susceptibility and the Endogenous Eyeblink: A Brief Communication

This study investigated the relationship between hypnotic susceptibility, hypnotic state, and the endogenous eyeblink with 36 undergraduates, who were assigned to four independent groups (waking-low, hypnotized-low, waking-high, and hypnotized-high susceptibles) on the basis of combined cutoff scores on both the Creative Imagination Scale and the Stanford Hypnotic Clinical Scale for Adults. The auditory vigilance task required subjects to discriminate between 200 ms and 300 ms tones over a 35-minute period. Hypnotic depth was controlled across trials using the Long Stanford Scale of Hypnotic Depth. As predicted, high-susceptible subjects had a significantly lower blink rate than low-susceptible subjects. The predicted interaction between susceptibility and hypnotic state was also confirmed. High-susceptible subjects showed a significant decrease in blinking for the hypnotized condition, whereas low-susceptible subjects did not. The need for replication with more adequate measures of susceptibility is discussed.