An inventory scale of hypnotic depth

Abstract

An inventory of 300 items describing subjective experiences during hypnosis was administered to 102 students after they had wakened from hypnosis. The 38 items that correlated best with a standard measure of hypnotic susceptibility are proposed as an inventory measure of hypnotic depth. Items dealing with absorption and unawareness, automaticity and compulsion, and discontinuity from normal experience correlated best with the criterion, while items dealing with conscious motivation to enter hypnosis, feelings of surface compliance with suggestions, and unusual bodily sensations showed generally weaker relationships to the hypnotizability criterion.