A Measure of Attitudes toward Hypnosis: Relationships with Absorption and Hypnotic Susceptibility

Factor analysis of a 14-item, attitudes toward hypnosis questionnaire on two independent samples yielded three partially independent attitude dimensions that assessed (a) positive beliefs about hypnosis, (b) an absence of fear concerning hypnosis, and (c) beliefs about the mental stability of hypnotizable people. All three attitude dimensions bore significant nonlinear relationships with measures of hypnotic susceptibility. Subjects with very negative attitudes were almost always low in hypnotic susceptibility while subjects with positive attitudes might be high, medium, or low in susceptibility. The relationship between absorption and hypnotic susceptibility was also nonlinear, and the magnitude of the linear correlation between absorption and susceptibility was moderated by subjects' attitudes toward hypnosis.