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HYPNOTIC SUSCEPTIBILITY AND PERSONALITY: A REPLICATION STUDY
Author(s) -
GIBSON H. B.,
CURRAN J. D.
Publication year - 1974
Publication title -
british journal of psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.536
H-Index - 92
eISSN - 2044-8295
pISSN - 0007-1269
DOI - 10.1111/j.2044-8295.1974.tb01403.x
Subject(s) - hypnotic susceptibility , neuroticism , psychology , extraversion and introversion , moderation , personality , eysenck personality questionnaire , big five personality traits , clinical psychology , hypnosis , social psychology , medicine , alternative medicine , pathology
This study was designed to re‐examine the relationship between personality factors and hypnotic susceptibility, notably in relation to the conflicting evidence of the Maudsley (Furneaux & Gibson, 1961) and the Stanford (Hilgard & Bentler, 1963) studies. Subjects completed the Eysenck Personality Inventory (EPI) and were tested on a technically modified version of the Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale (SHSS), Form A. In consonance with the Maudsley study, susceptible subjects predominated in the stable extravert and neurotic introvert groupings, and there was some tendency for subjects higher on the lie scale to be less susceptible, significantly in the case of some hypnotic items. When a dimension of ‘anxiety’ was derived from the EPI (cf. Gray, 1971) the relation of SHSS scores to it was significantly U‐shaped. A theoretical explanation is offered, suggesting that the extraversion dimension is ‘primary’ in hypnotic susceptibility and that neuroticism may act as a moderator variable of attitude.