The Effect of Demands for Honesty on the Efficacy of the Carleton Skills-Training Program

Abstract

30 low hypnotizable Ss were administered the Carleton Skills-Training (CST) program. Prior to testing, 15 Ss were administered honesty instructions (Bowers, 1967) in an effort to encourage responses that were consistent with subjective experiences and to dissuade Ss from performing in a manner intended to please E. Posttraining hypnotizability scores for Ss given honesty instructions were consistently smaller than those for 15 Ss who did not receive these instructions, implying that scores for the latter group exaggerate the extent to which hypnotic experiences are altered by the CST program. The pattern of results supports the view that demand characteristics contribute to the efficacy of the CST program, and that improvements in actual hypnotic talent are more limited than Spanos' original work implies.