Involvement in Suggestion-Related Imaginings and the “Hypnotic Dream”

Abstract

Forty-nine female student nurses were administered the Barber Suggestibility Scale (BSS) in a group hypnosis session, and an “hypnotic dream” suggestion in a later individual session. Following the “dream” suggestion subjects rated the extent to which they (a) became involved in their imaginings, and (b) experienced their imaginings as an involuntary process. Furthermore, two judges independently rated the transcribed “dream” protocol of each subject for imaginative involvement. The judges also rated the “dream” protocols of 30 of the subjects for implausibility, fearfulness, and fragmentation. Subjects' self-ratings of involvement and judges' ratings of “dream” protocols for involvement correlated highly with one another. Both involvement measures also correlated with self-ratings of involuntariness of imagining, and with BSS scores. Finally, self-ratings of involvement correlated with the degree of implausibility, and fearfulness found in the “dream” protocols. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that individual differences in response to an “hypnotic dream” suggestion reflect differences in subjects' willingness and ability to become involved in their imagining.