Ma. Haenen et al., SUGGESTIBILITY IN HYPOCHONDRIACAL PATIENTS AND HEALTHY CONTROL SUBJECTS - AN EXPERIMENTAL CASE-CONTROL STUDY, Psychosomatics, 38(6), 1997, pp. 543-547
This study examined suggestibility to bodily sensations in hypochondri
acal patients and healthy subjects. Both groups participated in an exp
eriment in which electrical current was announced but not delivered. S
uggestibility was measured by the number of responses and by response
latencies. The authors hypothesized that the hypochondriacal patients
would be more easily influenced by the expectation of a forthcoming st
imulus, leading to higher and quicker ''stimulus detection'' rates tha
n those experienced by the healthy subjects. In contrast to these expe
ctations, the healthy subjects showed higher response frequencies and
lower response latencies. Thus, the hypochondriacal patients appeared
to be less influenced by the expectation that was raised. The theoreti
cal and clinical implications of the results are discussed.