Comparison of the harvard group scale of hypnotic susceptibility, form a and the group alert trance scale in a university population

Abstract

A counterbalanced comparison of the 12-item Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility, Form A (Shor & amp; E. Orne, 1962) and the 5-item Group Alert Trance Scale (Vingoe, 1968) involving 186 Ss resulted in a correlation of 0.64. Further norms and reliability data are presented for both scales. There was no differential response to the Posthypnotic Suggestion item. However, a significantly greater response to Posthypnotic Amnesia was obtained after the alert procedure, while the response to Communication Inhibition was significantly higher after the HGSHS:A procedure. The discussion includes a recommendation for therapists and experimenters working in a hypnotically-defined situation to analyze the criterion behavior they expect of their patient or S prior to determining if a procedure involving an increase or a decrease in arousal would be more efficacious.