Title

Hypnosis and self-regulation training: An experimental comparison

Date of Completion

January 1999

Keywords

Psychology, Clinical|Psychology, Personality

Degree

Ph.D.

Abstract

Historically, hypnosis has been the traditional method for assessing suggestibility and responses to attempts to augment suggestibility. More recently, alternative approaches have been introduced, and with comparable results. Self-regulation therapy (Amigó, 1990, 1992) offers a cognitive-behavioral skills training approach for increasing suggestibility without the use of a hypnotic induction. This study extended the exploration of basic suggestibility phenomena through an experimentally controlled comparison of responses to hypnosis, self-regulation training, and imagination (control). Attitudes about hypnosis were assessed as possible predictors of response to suggestion. A subjective scoring system was developed to complement assessment of behavioral responses, as measured by a standardized scale of hypnotic responsiveness (SHSS:C). Results of between group analyses on both objective and subjective scores failed to reveal significant effects for experimental group, attitudes toward hypnosis, or group by attitude interaction. A positive and significant correlation was found between objective and subjective scores in all experimental conditions. The results add to a growing body of research which suggest multiple routes to enhancing responsiveness to suggestion.* ^ *Originally published in DAI Vol. 60, No. 8. Reprinted here with corrected author name. ^

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