Correlates of Imaginative Suggestibility and Hypnotizability in Children
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
University of Massachusetts Amherst ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014 1-1-2000 Correlates of imaginative suggestibility and hypnotizability in children. Bruce C. Poulsen University of Massachusetts Amherst Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_1 Recommended Citation Poulsen, Bruce C., "Correlates of imaginative suggestibility and hypnotizability in children." (2000). Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014. 1271. https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_1/1271 This Open Access Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014 by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. For more information, please contact [email protected]. CORRELATES OF IMAGINATIVE SUGGESTIBILITY AND HYPNOTIZABILITY IN CHILDREN A Dissertation Presented by BRUCE C. POULSEN Submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Massachusetts Amherst in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY February 2000 Education © Copyright by Bruce Craig Poulsen 2000 All Rights Reserved CORRELATES OF IMAGINATIVE SUGGESTIBILITY AND HYPNOTIZABILITY IN CHILDREN A Dissertation Presented by BRUCE C. POULSEN B^\ty W. Jackson, Dean S^hqol of Education ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to gratefully acknowledge the assistance and support of several individuals, without whom this project would not have been possible. First, I am indebted to William Matthews, Jr., Ph.D. and Irving Kirsch, Ph.D. for mitial suggestions for both the research design and statistical analysis. Karen Olness, M.D. and Steven Jay Lynn, Ph.D. both provided helpful suggestions for selecting the measurement instruments. Several individuals at Primary Children's Medical Center provided invaluable support during the data collection procedures. Special thanks to Cathie Fox, Ph.D., Mark Latkowski, Ph.D., Cheryl Kuehne, Ph.D., Tom Laabs-Johnson, SSW, Marianne Maughan-Pritchett, MS, and Nancy Cantor, Ph.D. I also wish to acknowledge the clerical support provided by Cindy Beckstead and Dawn Wilhelm. Finally, and most importantly, 1 owe a debt of tremendous gratitude to my wife, CaiTie Azevedo Poulsen, who provided me with constant encouragement and understanding from start to finish. IV ABSTRACT CORRELATES OF IMAGINATIVE SUGGESTIBILITY AND HYPNOTIZABILITY IN CHILDREN FEBRUARY 2000 BRUCE C. POULSEN, B.S., BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY M.Ed., BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY Ph.D., UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST Directed by: Professor William Matthews, Jr. Imaginative involvement has long been seen a central characteristic of hypnosis with children. In attempting to predict which children would benefit from hypnosis as part of a clinical protocol, past researchers have focused on the relationship between imaginative involvement and hypnotizability. In particular, the constructs of absorption, vividness of mental imagery, and fantasy proneness have been investigated in correlational studies. However, Kirsch (1997) and others have recently drawn attention to the fact that hynotizability scales, as they have been interpreted, confound hypnotic responsiveness with an individual's normal, baseline suggestibility. The purpose of this study was to assess various correlates of imaginative suggestibility (absorption, vividness, fantasy proneness, and dissociative behavior) while also controlling for nonliypnotic suggestibility. As predicted, vividness and fantasy were significantly associated with both nonhypnotic and hypnotic suggestibility. Contrary to what was predicted, absorption did not correlate significantly with nonliypnotic suggestibility but did evidence a strong correlation with hypnotic suggestibility. Also contrary to what had V been predicted, neither birth order nor dissociation showed significant correlations with imaginative suggestibihty (with and without induction). Overall, nonhypnotic suggestibility accounted for most of the variance in hypnotizabihty. The correlation between nonhypnotic suggestibility and hypnotic suggestibility was exceptionally high, and both vividness and absorption were found to predict unique variance in hypnotizabihty when nonhypnotic suggestibility was controlled. Fantasy did not uniquely predict hypnotizabihty. Finally, nonhypnotic suggestibility, absorption, and vividness were combined in a model that accounted for 76 % of the variance in hypnotizabihty. Results of this study support the view of hypnotic responsiveness as reflecting a continuum of suggestibility. The present findings serve to further weaken the theory that hypnosis produces an altered state of consciousness. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ABSTRACT ^ LIST OF TABLES * 1a LIST OF FIGURES ^ CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION 1 Overview the of Problem 1 Individual Differences in Hypnotic Responsiveness 10 Correlates of Imaginative Suggestibility and Hypnotizability 13 Research Questions and Hypotheses 23 2. METHOD 25 Design 25 Subjects 27 Measures 31 Pilot Study 36 Procedure 37 Data Analysis 41 3. RESULTS 42 Descriptive Statistics 42 Associations Between Suggestibility and Imaginative Involvement 46 Summary of Results 49 4. DISCUSSION 51 The Puri:)ose and Usefulness of Hypnotizability Scales ! 51 Predicting Imaginative Suggestibility and Hypnotizability 53 Two Case Studies 59 Limitations of the Study and Suggestions for Future Research 64 Summary 67 vii APPENDICES A. CONSENT FOR PARTICIPATION LETTER B. ASSENT FOR PARTICIPATION LETTER C. CHILDREN'S FANTASY INVENTORY: ABSORPTION & VIVIDNESS SCALES (COMBINED VERSION) D. CHILDREN'S FANTASY INVENTORY: ABSORPTION & VIVIDNESS SCALES (SEPARATED VERSION) .... E. FANTASY QUESTIONNAIRE F. PATIENT BACKGROUND REFERENCES viii LIST OF TARl F*s Table Page 1. X n^4ucin.y j^ibiriDuiion 01 ibuDjects UbM-lV Diagnosis on Admission , , 29 2 i ic4ucin^y L>'it>LriDuiions 01 Kcsponses on the oHLo-C 3 i^csv^i ijjLi vc udid ior rieQicior vanaoies 4. Correlations Between Predictor Variables 5. Associations Between Suggestibility and Predictor Variables , 48 ix LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page^ 1 Distribution of . SHCS-C Scores With Hypnotic Induction 44 2. Distribution of SHCS-C Scores Without Hypnotic Induction 44 3. Joint Distribution of Hypnotic and Nonhypnotic Scores 45 X CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Overview of the Problem Among the many natural strivings observed durmg early childhood are a growing imagination and an increase in fantasy behavior. This is readily apparent in the pretend play, daydreaming, drawings, and storytelling of most children. It is more obvious among those whom J. R. Hilgard (1970) would consider to have a unique capacity for imaginative involvement. Such children may have had imaginary friends, may become particularly absorbed in reading, and may have an unusual ability to visualize images. These highly imaginative children may become so absorbed in pretend games that they never want the games to end. They may forget that their daydreams are not real and become completely absorbed in the ensuing drama. They might also, as J. R. Hilgard and others have found (e.g., J. R. Hilgard, 1970; Gardner, 1974; LeBaron, Zeltzer, & Fanurik, 1988; Plotnick, Payne, & O'Grady, 1991), be quite responsive to hypnosis and be good candidates for hypnotherapy. Clinical hypnosis has enjoyed a surge of interest in the past fifteen years in ternis of both research and practice. While the popular culture continues to view hypnosis as suspicious, magical, or supernatural, researchers have established a strong empirical basis and clinicians have developed more creative means of helping their clients. That hypnosis is now regarded as a legitimate area of scientific inquiry and clinical practice is 1 evidenced by a sharp increase in the number of hypnosis articles in peer-reviewed, mainstream scientific journals that span a range of disciplines (Rhue, Lynn, & Kirsch, 1993; Graham, 1991). The use of clinical hypnosis with children is not a recent development. Spanning the years from 1886 to 1959, Weitzenhoffer (1980) assembled a bibliography of 86 references to pediatric/child hypnotherapy found in scientific journals. Another bibliography of 1 child 14 hypnosis references was compiled by Gardner (1980), spanning the years from 1955 to 1980. Without question, the past twenty years has seen an increase in case reports, empirical studies, and reviews. In contrast to earlier studies, the current experimental designs are more likely to be tightly controlled, rigorous prospective studies. A substantial number of mental health and other health care professionals use hypnosis regularly to treat a wide range of conditions (Kraft & Rudolfa, 1982). In mental health settings, hypnosis has been found to increase the efficacy of cognitive-behavioral and psychodynamic treatments (Kirsch, Montgomery, & Sapirstein, 1995; Smith, Glass, & Miller, 1980). In this way, it is best viewed as an addition to an existing therapeutic approach and not as an isolated technique. Practitioners of clinical hypnosis typically include licensed professionals in psychology, psychiatry, pediatrics, surgery, and dentistry. Additional training (beyond psychotherapeutic methods) is required, often through professional organizations like the American Society of Chnical Hypnosis. Kohen and Olness (1993) have suggested that current applications of clinical hypnosis 2 with children can be broadly divided uito seven categories: habit problems and disorders (e.g., thumb sucking, hair pulling,