Fostering positive attitudes towards hypnosis through a measure of mental imagery ability

Abstract

The current study was geared towards demonstrating the possibility of modifying the attitudes of Chinese people towards hypnosis and being hypnotised through a measure of mental imagery ability. Ninety experimental and 30 control subjects who had not received any forms of hypnosis previously were included. Both groups were required to complete the same set of inventories, preceding and following the intervention, in which the experimental group received an imagery test (the Creative Imagination Scale). The present findings showed that the experience of imaginative suggestions had a positive impact on the subjects’ attitudes, along with changes in beliefs about hypnosis and its effects.