Relations between hypnotizability and psychopathology revisited

Gruzelier, J., De Pascalis, V., Jamieson, G., Laidlaw, T., Naito, A., Bennett, B., & Dwivdei, P. (2004). Relations between hypnotizability and psychopathology revisited. Contemporary Hypnosis, 21(4), 169-175. The authors were inspired to examine relations between schizotypy and hypnotizability by seeing a first episode of schizophrenia that occurred within a week of being a participant in stage hypnosis. They found positive associations with 15 items consisting of positive aspects of schizotypy with the Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility. This study re-examined this finding in two further samples. The more cognitively loaded Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale, Form C, was administered to female Italian psychology students in the first study. Then the HGSHS was given to British medical students in a stress reduction study. In the first replication study, 12 correlations were found, all with positive features of schizotypy, none associated with unreality experiences, and 6 items related to psychic experiences. In the second replication study, of 13 positive associations, 7 were negative items associated to the withdrawal syndrome, and 6 items were associated with social anxiety (a nonspecific feature of schizotypy). Across the series of studies, all but one item was interpreted by the authors as being consistent with associations between hypnotizability and positive schizotypy and social anxiety. The actual items that correlated are provided in appendices. Although the items varied from study to study, and that there were sampling and scale differences, the outcome merits larger studies to investigate further the relationship between hypnotic susceptibility and psychopathology.

Address for reprints: John Gruzelier, Ph.D., Division of Neuroscience & Psychological Medicine, Imperial College London, Charing Cross Campus, St. Dunstan's Road, London W6 8RP, United Kingdom. E-mail: j.gruzelier@imperial.ac.uk