Hypnotic Susceptibility and Mental Deficiency

Abstract

In a review of the literature on the hypnotic susceptibility of normals and some diagnostic groups, it was observed that mental defectives were conspicuously absent. A discussion of some of the theoretical issues relevant to both the areas of hypnotic susceptibility and mental deficiency is followed by a description of a susceptibility experiment on an exploratory group of 20 mentally defective children in the imbecile and moron ranges. The results suggest that mental defectives are as hypnotizable as normals, but that hypnotic depth potential may be related to intelligence within narrow ranges. Implications relevant to the relationship between intelligence, anxiety, and suggestibility are discussed.