Goal-directed fantasy, hypnotic susceptibility, and expectancies

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Cognitive Science

Background:

• Hypnosis research has explored the role of imagination and absorption in response to suggestion.
• Individual differences in hypnotizability are well-established, but the mechanisms underlying these differences require further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the role of goal-directed fantasies (GDFs) and response expectancies in mediating hypnotizability and response to suggestion.
• To test hypotheses regarding the importance of sustained imagery and absorption for low-hypnotizable individuals.

Main Methods:

• Two-session study involving hypnosis as a "test of imagination" and other imagination measures.
• High- and low-hypnotizable subjects received instructions for goal-directed fantasies (GDFs) or no facilitative instructions.
• Measured suggestion-related movements, reported involuntariness, GDF absorption, and response expectancies.

Main Results:

• Hypnotizable subjects showed more suggestion-related movements and reported greater involuntariness than low-hypnotizable subjects.
• GDF instructions led to equivalent GDF absorption in both groups, but hypnotizable subjects still showed greater responsiveness and involuntariness.
• Response expectancies paralleled responding and reports of nonvolition, supporting their mediating role.

Conclusions:

• Sustained imagery and absorption are not the sole mediators of response to suggestion.
• Response expectancies play a crucial role in mediating the relationship between imagination, involuntariness, and behavioral response to hypnotic suggestions.
• The association between imagining and involuntary responding, fostered during screening, enhances responsiveness in hypnotizable individuals.