Group induction of hypnosis with institutionalized patients

25 hospitalized mental patients, chiefly with schizophrenic diagnoses, were tested in group sessions for hypnotic susceptibility. The hypnotic induction and the susceptibility tests were part of the Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility (Shor & Ome, 1962), a scale which has been standardized on a nonpsychiatric population. Observers scored the patients behavior, and the patients themselves filled out self-report forms. Contrary to some reports in the literature, the average hypnotic susceptibility of these patients was similar to that of normals. Self-reports of their behavior during the hypnosis session were significantly correlated with observer ratings, but less highly than has been reported for normals.