Factors that contribute to the willingness to try "street hypnosis".

This study takes a context-specific approach to examine people's willingness to try hypnosis under various conditions and the factors that contribute to their willingness. It examined 378 participants, who completed a web-based hypnosis survey. The results showed that people's willingness to try hypnosis varies by context. Specifically, people are more willing to try hypnosis when it is framed as "peak focus" rather than "hypnosis" and when they perceive the environment as being safer. Moreover, factors including participants' demographics, hypnotists' demographics (relative to the subjects'), participants' control bias, and knowledge of hypnosis affect people's degrees of willingness to try hypnosis, depending on the specific context. The results suggest further analysis of hypnosis occurring in public contexts and the effects it may have on attitudes and therapeutic outcomes.

Int J Clin Exp Hypn. 2014;62(4):425-54. doi: 10.1080/00207144.2014.931175. Davis OC(1), Gao X. Author information: (1)a City University of New York (Baruch College, Medgar Evers College) , New York, USA.