Live versus tape-recorded assessments of hypnotic responsiveness in pain-control patients

Abstract

This study compared the effectiveness of live versus tape-recorded hypnotic procedures in producing general hypnotic responsiveness in hospitalized pain patients. 30 patients individually received in counterbalanced order both a live and an audiotaped presentation of the Stanford Hypnotic Clinical Scale (Hilgard & Hilgard, 1975), which contains an induction and a 5-item test of hypnotic susceptibility suitable for bed-ridden patientś. The live presentation produced a significantly higher total score than the taped procedure (p<.05), with no significant order effects. The correlation between modes of presentation was .66. Order effects were not significant but a trend in that direction was discussed. The differences were found to hold for the high and medium ranges of susceptibility. Tentative conclusions were drawn that one cannot assume taped procedures to be equivalent to live in hypnotic analgesia research with clinical populations. The non-equivalence of live and taped procedures need not invalidate the clinical use of the latter, should they prove empirically effective. A case study of low back pain is added to illustrate effective tape-induced analgesia for patients unsuccessful with self-hypnosis.