Styles of Experiencing Hypnosis: A Replication and Extension Study

Abstract

Beyond hypnotizability, there may be different styles of experiencing hypnosis relevant to both basic research and clinical practice. Previous research has demonstrated the presence of <i>inward attentive</i> and <i>dissociative</i> subtypes among more highly hypnotizable individuals during a group protocol. With a sample of undergraduate students, we successfully replicated the presence of these 2 subtypes among those who were relatively more hypnotizable. Inward attentive and dissociative subtypes did not differ in their overall experience of the depth of the relationship with the hypnotist, though the dissociative subjects reported elevated everyday dissociative experiences. We then explored features of each subtype, noting possible altered memory experience in the dissociative style and reduced experience of rationality in both the <i>inward attentive</i> and <i>dissociative</i> styles. We discuss the scientific and clinical implications of this line of research.