Age differences in susceptibility to hypnosis

Abstract

Hypnotic susceptibility scores were compared in a crosssectional sample of 1,232 Ss, ranging in age from 5 to 78 years. The sample was comprised of 579 high school and college students, and a family sample of 653 parents and children. A peak of hypnotizability in the age interval 9-12 years, with a gradual decline thereafter, confirms earlier studies. A comparison of scores by age and sex showed a significant difference (p = .001) for ages 21-32; this difference was produced by a significant rise in scores for the young mothers of the family sample and was not found for students at the same age level. It was concluded that this finding demands replication before too much can be made of it.