Imaginative suggestibility and hypnotizability

More than a half-century of research aimed at identifying the predictors of hypnotic responding has been described as investigations of "hypnotiz-abil ity." Most of that research, however, has disregarded the well-established findings that (a) people respond to suggestion without being hypnotized alm ost as much as they do following a hypnotic induction, and (b) nonhypnotic and hypnotic suggestibility are highly correlated. More recent studies have provided the first empirical data on predictors of individual differences in response to the induction of hypnosis. These studies indicate that indiv idual differences in hypnotic suggestibility can be accounted for completel y by nonhypnotic suggestibility, expectancy, motivation, and reaction time. Because the amount of variance accounted for is as great as the reliabilit y of the hypnotic-suggestibility scale, and because nonhypnotic suggestibil ity has been controlled, no additional variables are necessary to account f or hypnotic suggestibility.