Hypnotizability, daydreaming styles, imagery vividness, and absorption: A multidimensional study.

Abstract

In 25 male and 31 female university student and staff volunteers, the interrelationships between the following measures were studied: hypnotic susceptibility (Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale, Forms A and C), imagery vividness (Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire; VVIQ), involvement in everyday activities (Tellegen Absorption Scale; TAS), and daydreaming styles (28 scales of Singer & Antrobus's Imaginal Processes Inventory). Factor analysis produced a factor characterized as a positively vivid and absorptive imagination style. Hypnotic susceptibility, VVIQ, TAS, and positive-affect daydreaming styles all loaded on this factor. Two other factors were a dysphoric daydreaming style and a lack-of-attentional-control style. Stepwise multiple regressions suggested that males and females, at least within this sample, exhibit different relationships between hypnotic susceptibility and predictor variables. Similar differences were found for the VVIQ and the TAS and their daydreaming-scale predictor variables.