Interest and Attitudes about Hypnosis in a Large Community Sample

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Health Services Research
• Marketing

Background:

• Hypnosis is empirically supported for various clinical applications but lacks widespread dissemination.
• Marketing theory can offer insights into consumer attitudes and beliefs influencing product adoption.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore factors influencing interest in hypnosis use.
• To investigate the relationship between interest in hypnosis and attitudes, beliefs, past experiences, and perceived value.
• To examine preferences for hypnosis delivery and labeling.

Main Methods:

• An online survey was administered to 509 participants recruited via Amazon Mechanical Turk.
• The survey assessed attitudes, beliefs (credibility, expectancies), past experiences, and perceived hedonic value and utility of hypnosis.
• Participant preferences for hypnosis delivery (live vs. recorded) and labeling were also explored.

Main Results:

• Attitudes toward hypnosis, effectiveness expectancies, and perceived hedonic value significantly predicted interest in hypnosis use (ps < .05).
• These key factors collectively explained 73% of the variance in participants' interest in hypnosis.
• Preferences for delivery and labeling methods were also investigated.

Conclusions:

• Consumer attitudes, expectancies of effectiveness, and perceived hedonic value are critical drivers of interest in hypnosis.
• These findings suggest focusing on these variables to develop strategies for increasing the dissemination and uptake of evidence-based hypnosis interventions.
• Tailoring interventions based on consumer perceptions may enhance adoption rates.