Is a capacity for negative priming correlated with hypnotizability?: A preliminary study

Hypnotic responsiveness may depend upon the ability to inhibit the irreleva nt stimuli that evoke responses that are incompatible with current goals (o r the mapping between an irrelevant/disruptive stimulus and its response) i n order to actively maintain task-relevant information. In a simple correla tion design, the authors investigated the relationship between cognitive in hibition (negative priming) and hypnotic responsiveness. A statistically si gnificant correlation was obtained between the extent of negative priming ( measured in time latency) and hypnotic responsiveness (r=.491). Limitations of this preliminary study and implications for future work are discussed.