Year: 2012
Type: dissertation
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Previous research on hypnosis has revealed that imaginative involvements, \nabsorption, and fantasy proneness predicted hypnotic susceptibility. Attempts at \nexamining personality correlates of hypnotic susceptibility have not only fallen short they \nhave come to a halt. Because hypnosis is a tool that can aid and assist individuals in a \nmyriad of areas, delineating the personality traits and characteristics associated with \nsusceptibility will provide practicing hypnotists, clinicians, and psychologists with an \neven greater understanding of who is most receptive to it. One area that might shed light \non this may be research examining how individuals differ in their susceptibility to \npersuasion. Because the marketing and advertising process attempts to focus an \nindividual’s attention on a product, and then delivers a persuasive message; the \npersuasion process has been likened to hypnosis. Personality characteristics linked to \npersuasibility may also be linked to hypnotizability. Two characteristics related to \npersuasibility are need for cognition and need for affect. The present study examined if \nthere is a relationship between need for cognition and or need for affect and being \nsusceptible to hypnosis. Sixty-nine subjects were administered the need for cognition \nscale of Cacioppo, Petty, and Kao (1982) and the 26-item need for affect scale of Maio \nand Esses (2001) to assess these personality characteristics. Following the administration of these two scales, hypnotic susceptibility was measured using the Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility (HGSHS) (Shor & Orne, 1962). The results showed no significant correlations between need for cognition or a need for affect and being susceptible to hypnosis. Consistent with previous findings personality does not predict hypnotizability and susceptibility to hypnosis is likely to be an aptitude that some individuals possess more than others.
Author: Michael Salerno
Language: English
Subfield: Cognitive Neuroscience
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2126152811