Meditation, Attention, and hypnotic susceptibility: A correlational study

Abstract

This study postulated a relationship between individual differences in attention and hypnotic susceptibility. It was proposed that sustained focusing of attention may lead to an altered state of consciousness. Specifically, it was hypothesized that hypnotic susceptibility would be correlated with measures of attention. 47 male undergraduates performed 2 15-minute meditation exercises, as well as 2 other attention-related tasks and 3 tasks assessing hypnotic susceptibility. Only the meditation measures of attention correlated with hypnotizability as predicted. The results suggest that good concentration is a necessary condition for hypnotic susceptibility, but not a sufficient condition, since some Ss who show good concentration are relatively insusceptible.