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Creative Imagination, Absorption, and Dissociation with African American College Students

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Creative Imagination, Absorption, and Dissociation with African American College Students ORIGINAL ARTICLES Creative Imagination, Absorption, and Dissociation with African American College Students Marty Sapp, Ed.D. and Kim Hitchcock, Ed.D. The purpose of this study was to assess creative imagination, absorption, and dissociation with African-American college students. Two hundred thirty-six undergraduate African- American students ranging between the ages of 18 to 22 participated in this study. Students were assigned to the following experimental manipulation: (a) Creative Imagination Scale (CIS), a cognitive-behavioral measure of hypnotizability; and (b) Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES), General Dissociation Scale (GDS), and Tellegen Absorption Scale (TAS) embedded within the CIS. Results indicated that dissociation and absorption were affected by the CIS. Finally, this sample was compared to the European American sample obtained by Barber and Wilson (1978) and Wilson and Barber (1978), and clearly the two samples differed on creative imagination, t=(405)=7, p<.005. The African American sample had a significantly lower mean CIS score than the European American sample. (Sleep and Hypnosis 2003;5(2):95-104) Key words: imagination, hypnosis, absorption, dissociation, adolescents, cultural differences, African-American college students, cognition INTRODUCTION distracting events. Roche and McConkey defined imaginative involvement, a term issociation theories of hypnosis suggest proposed by J. R. Hilgard (2), as the readiness Dthat absorption and dissociation are for openness to experience that involves an correlated with hypnotizability (1). Absorption alteration in reality testing, and absorption can be described as a trait that involves involves the narrowing or expansion of openness to cognitive and affective alterations consciousness. across several situations. Moreover, absorption According to Roche and McConkey (1), is a participant's readiness for deep mental and absorption and imaginative involvement emotional involvement, and the participant overlap, but they are different constructs. Plus, appears to be impervious to naturally this researcher pointed out that absorption is a broad and complex construct that cannot be From Department of Educational Psychology University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Wisconsin (Dr. Sapp) and Central totally measured or assessed using one State University, Wilberforce, Ohio (Dr. Hitchcock), USA instrument. From this broad definition of Address reprint requests to: Dr. Marty Sapp Department of Educational absorption, one can conclude that absorption Psychology University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee Milwaukee, Wisconsin USA has trait and state dimensions; however, many Phone: 414 229-6347 Fax: 414 229-4939 e-mail: [email protected] clinicians and researchers assume that Accepted March 15, 2003 absorption is a relatively simple, unitary Sleep and Hypnosis, 5:2, 2003 95 Creative Imagination, Absorption, and Dissociation dimension (1). Clients who are capable of rich correlates with hypnotizability from .08 to .62 fantasies and very vivid imagery score highly on (5). In addition, Sapp (3,6) developed the the Tellegen Absorption scale (TAS), which is a General Dissociation Scale (GDS) that allows standardized measure of absorption. The TAS is dissociation to be assessed in the following a 34-item (true-false but can be modified into a categories based on the Diagnostic and Likert scale) scale that measures absorption, Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th and it correlates approximately .38 with edition) (DSM–IV): dissociative identity, hypnotizability (3). depersonalization, dissociative amnesia, and Dissociation means that two or more mental dissociative fugue. The GDS correlates processes are not integrated (4). For example, significantly with the DES, r =.34, p <.01, and dissociation is the ability to detach from one's it has a Cronbach's alpha of .85, p<.01. environment such as day dreaming and seeing The purpose of this study was to assess oneself performing actions outside of one's hypnotizability with African American college body. Clinically, dissociation is useful for students using the Creative Imagination Scale promoting increased hypnotic depth during (CIS), a cognitive-behavioral measure of pain relief. In addition, it can be used to assess hypnotizability (7,8), when dissociation and nonconscious processes by facilitating absorption measures are embedded with the "automatic handwriting" for nonconscious CIS. Finally, another purpose of this study was exploration. The domain of dissociation to compare this African American college includes normal, pathological, psychological, student sample to the Wilson and Barber (9) and neuropsychological phenomena. Some European American college student sample on pathological phenomena include, but are not the CIS. limited to, dissociative identity disorder (DID), Sapp (3) and Council (7) described the depersonalization, derealization, dissociative Creative Imagination Scale (CIS) as a cognitive- amnesia, dissociative fugues, and conversion behavioral hypnotizability scale. Although the disorder (psychological factors that affect motor CIS does not contain an induction, it can be and sensory functioning). Neuropsychological used with one; however, it does use guided dissociative phenomena include, but are not imagination instructions to facilitate limited to, blindsight, commissurotomy, participants' abilities to experience the organic amnesia, epileptic fugues, and suggested effects. The CIS consists of the hemineglect. following 10 items: arm heaviness, hand Psychological dissociative phenomena levitation, finger anesthesia, water hallucination, include, but are not limited to, hypnosis, day olfactory-gustatory hallucination, music dreaming, fantasizing, out-of-body experiences, hallucination, temperature hallucination, time and automatisms. Normal dissociative distortion, age regression, and mind-body phenomena include, but are not limited to, self- relaxation. After the last suggestion, participants hypnosis, fantasy proneness, and meditative self-score their responses to the suggested fugues. During dissociation, clients' sensations, effects. Scores range between 0 and 40. In terms memories, and volitions may not be integrated; of psychometric properties, items on the CIS hence, these mental processes are dissociated. have a reliability measure of .82, and it In summary, the domain of dissociation is on a correlates significantly with the Barber continuum and it is not discrete. Suggestibility Scale (BSS); Harvard Group Scale The Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES) is of Hypnotic Susceptibility, Form A (HGSHS:A); a standardized measure of dissociation; it is a and the Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale, 28-item scale ranging from 0 to 100 percent. It Form C (SHSS:C). The CIS is especially useful has a test-retest reliability of .84, and it for participants who fear losing control or fear 96 Sleep and Hypnosis, 5:2, 2003 M. Sapp and K. Hitchock the term "hypnosis." majority of the variance. One factor was Sheehan, McConkey, and Law (10) designated as a Hypnotic Performance Factor administered the CIS to 303 undergraduate and the other scale was labeled as an Australian college students. In contrast to sleep Absorption/Imagination Factor. Interestingly, instructions, students were given waking the CIS loaded highly on both factors. instructions. Factor analytic results found that McConkey, Sheehan, and White (16) items on the CIS were reliable and that the CIS administered the HGSHS:A and CIS in separate did correlate well with other cognitive variables sessions to 327 undergraduate students, and such as vividness of imagery. they found that the two instruments were Baba (11) administered a Japanese version of correlated .28; however, they reported that the the Creative Imagination Scale (CIS) to 136 CIS and HGSHS:A are independent in their undergraduate Japanese students. The items on underlying dimensions. They concluded that the scale were found to have adequate reliability the CIS taps into the imagery and imagination and validity. Varga (12) standardized the CIS aspects of hypnosis, while the HGSHS:A on Hungarian college students and found that measures more complex aspects of hypnosis. the normative data were similar to that of the Sapp and Evanow (17) determined the original scale, and the psychometric features impact of two measures of hypnotizability on were the same as the original scale. absorption and dissociation. One hundred two Siuata (13) reported on the normative and undergraduate and graduate students psychometric properties of a Polish version of participated in this study. Neither hypnotizability the CIS that was administered to 101 Polish measure had a significant influence on undergraduate students. Results were similar to absorption or dissociation, but greater changes the findings of Barber and Wilson (14), Wilson on the hypnotizability measures were found and Barber (9), and the Australian results of when the CIS preceded the HGSHS:A. Finally, Sheehan et al. (10). The total scale score means this study found that the CIS and HGSHS:A were differed by no more than 20 scale points; significantly correlated, r=.37, p<.05; these however, these differences were not statistically researchers concluded that the two significant. Moreover, there was a high hypnotizability measures are not independent. consistency in item difficulty level among the three samples compared. The CIS was found to METHODS have high test-retest reliability and moderate split-half reliability. Furthermore, factor analysis
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