The Interaction of Attitudes toward Hypnosis and Involvement in Everyday Imaginative Activities on Hypnotic Suggestibility¹

Abstract

Either favorable or unfavorable information regarding hypnosis was given to Ss whose ability to become involved in everyday imaginative activities had previously been assessed. Ss who received unfavorable information showed significantly lower levels of hypnotic suggestibility than Ss who received favorable information. A positive correlation between level of imaginative involvement and hypnotic suggestibility was found for Ss who had received favorable information but not for those who had received unfavorable information. These findings suggest that attitudinal variables affect the relationship between imaginative involvement and hypnotic suggestibility.