Browsing by Subject "http://www.yso.fi/onto/yso/p10063"

When studying hypnosis, it often needs to be known whether the subjects are hypnotizable or not. Hypnotizability can be predicted by suggestibility, which in turn can be estimated with various scales. Different scales yield different estimates of suggestibility. This creates a risk of incorrect comparison of the scores. The comparability of the Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility (HGSHS:A) and Waterloo-Stanford Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility (WSGC) has not been studied much. Suggestibility is sometimes measured repeatedly with different scales and the order of their administration can affect the scores. This effect has not been studied on the HGSHS:A and the WSGC. This study aims to analyze whether 1) the scores yielded by these scales are affected by the order of their administration, 2) the scores are comparable and 3) corresponding suggestions and types of suggestions are passed equally often. It is expected that the order of administration does affect the scores and even more so for HGSHS:A, 2) the HGSHS:A score is higher than the WSGC and 3) the corresponding suggestions are not passed equally often. 58 subjects were studied, (67% female, 33% male). Both scales were administered to each subject. Half of the subjects were first administered the HGSHS:A and the other half the WSGC. The order of administration did affect the HGSHS:A score but not the WSGC. The hypothesis of the HGSHS:A score being higher was confirmed and the comparability of the scores proved to be less than desirable. There were no significant differences between passing the corresponding suggestions. These results imply that repeated testing might be futile if the right scale is chosen. It is recommended to use the WSGC even for subjects with not former experience of hypnosis. Alternatively, certain suggestions could be used separately to overcome the problems related to the common scales. Specific suggestions are recommended for assessing certain types of suggestibility. Furthermore, a summary of what to take into account when assessing the comparability of different studies is provided.