Josephine R. Hilgard

The Stanford Hypnotic Clinical Scale for Adults

Abstract A short scale for the measurement of hypnotic responsiveness was constructed for use with patients for whom the standard scales might prove too long, too uninteresting, or too tiring. Five items were selected: moving hands together, a dream, age regression, a posthypnotic suggestion, and posthypnotic amnesia. A sample of 111 university undergraduates, selected from the full range of scores (0–10) on a shortened 10-point version of the Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility, Form A, was given the 5-point clinical scale and the 12-point Stanford Hypnotic Scale, Form C in balanced order. There were no order effects. A reliability estimate for the clinical scale was obtained from the product-moment correlation between the total scores on the two scales. This correlation was .72. The clinical scale requires approximately 20 minutes for administration.

Relief of anxiety and pain in children and adolescents with cancer: Quantitative measures and clinical observations

Abstract Children and adolescents with cancer, chiefly forms of leukemia, aged 6 to 19 years, underwent medical treatments which required repeated bone marrow aspirations, normally a painful and anxiety-provoking experience. Data were obtained in baseline bone marrow observations on 63 patients, who were then offered the opportunity to volunteer for hypnotic help in pain control. Of the 24 patients who accepted hypnosis, 19 were highly hypnotizable. 10 of the 19 reduced self-reported pain substantially by the first hypnotic treatment (the prompt pain reducers) and 5 more reduced self-reported pain by the second treatment (the delayed pain reducers) while none of the 5 less hypnotizable patients accomplished this. The latter benefitted by reducing anxiety. Short case reports illustrate the variety of experiences. Analysis of baseline observations before any therapeutic intervention revealed age and sex differences. The difference between self-reported and observed pain was not statistically significant for...

Imaginative involvement: Some characteristics of the highly hypnotizable and the non-hypnotizable

Abstract Interview material with high and low hypnotic Ss adds to the evidence previously reported that imaginative involvements (such as the savoring of sensory experiences, drama, reading, childhood fantasy, adult fantasy, physical space traveling, mental space traveling, religion, creativity) play a central role as background factors for hypnotic susceptibility. The 42 high Ss had far more imaginative involvement than the 15 low Ss. A relationship between higher hypnotic susceptibility and childhood punishment appears to be mediated via fantasy development. The results are discussed in terms of Sarbins role theory, Gill and Brenmans theory of regression in the service of the ego, and E. R. Hilgards neo-dissociation theory.

The Stanford Hypnotic Clinical Scale for Children

Abstract A scale for the measurement of hypnotic responsiveness in children was constructed with norms provided by testing normal children ages 3 to 16. The test as constructed correlated .67 with SHSS:A, slightly modified in wording to be appropriate for use with children. Because it was designed for clinical use, items were selected such as visual and auditory TV hallucinations, a dream within hypnosis, age regression, and a posthypnotic suggestion to reenter hypnosis — all items later useful in therapy if the child was responsive to them. In the very young child an induction technique using the imagination of familiar experience, with eye closure permitted but not required, proved more satisfactory than the usual eye closure/relaxation induction.

Sequelae to hypnosis

Abstract An interview sample of 120 university students yielded evidence that 15% had some kind of reaction to hypnosis that endured an hour or longer following an individual Form C session subsequent to group hypnosis. If those with short-term reactions lasting from 5 minutes to 1 hour are added, the number with some lingering effect rises to 31%. Although these symptoms following laboratory hypnosis were not found to be severe, their presence is of importance both for theoretical and practical reasons. Although as found in an earlier study, sequelae to hypnosis were more frequent among those with unpleasant reactions to earlier childhood anesthesia, the difference did not reach statistical significance.

Transient experiences following hypnotic testing and special termination procedures.

Abstract For those who are responsive to hypnosis, the experiences can be unusual and involving. It is not surprising, therefore, that such experiences in response to tests of susceptibility may not be fully terminated when the hypnotic sessions end. In order to study the initial persistence of the effects, following administration of the Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility, Form A (HGSHS:A) of Shor and E. Orne (1962) and the Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale, Form C (SHSS:C) of Weitzenhoffer and E.R. Hilgard (1962), 107 college Ss were interviewed about their hypnotic experiences and subsequent experiences related to hypnosis. 72% of Ss reported feelings of relaxation and being rested following SHSS:C. Only 5% reported minor transient posthypnotic experiences following HGSHS:A, while 29% of Ss reported these feelings following SHSS:C. Except in 1 case, cognitive distortions or confusion were reported only following the more cognitively oriented SHSS:C by Ss who scored significantly higher...

Assessing hypnotic responsiveness in a clinical setting: A multi-item clinical scale and its advantages over single-item scales

Abstract The Stanford Hypnotic Clinical Scale: Adult (SHCS:Adult), a shortened form of the Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale, Form C (Weitzenhoffer & E.R. Hilgard, 1962), is examined in accordance with 5 criteria listed for an adequate scale for clinical use. 2 single-item scales are also examined. The first of these is the induction score of the Hypnotic Induction Profile (HIP) of H. Spiegel and D. Spiegel (1978), in which the eye-roll, found to be uncorrelated with standard measures of hypnotizability, has no weight. The second is a new Stanford Hypnotic Arm Levitation Induction and Test (SHALIT) of E.R. Hilgard, Crawford, and Wert (1979). Both HIP and SHALIT are very brief, requiring less than 10 minutes to administer. The SHALIT succeeds as well as HIP, but in no instance do the single-item scales perform as satisfactorily as the moderately longer SHCS:Adult.

Treatment of Anxiety and Pain in Childhood Cancer Through Hypnosis

Data from consecutive referrals of 34 patients ranging in age from 4 to 19 years are summarized. Sixteen patients were referred for pain and anxiety in bone marrow aspirations and lumbar punctures, five patients for reduction of pain in short procedures such as intravenous injections and changing bandages, three for relief of continuous pain, and ten for ancillary symptoms such as anxiety. All patients were tested on the Stanford Hypnotic Clinical Scale for Children. For young children aged four to six years, it is usually inappropriate to rely upon formal hypnotic procedures. They respond to a kind of protohypnosis where the fantasy is part of the external situation. Anxiety can be reduced by the use of relaxation and distraction; reduction in anxiety is minimally correlated with hypnotic responsiveness. Once anxiety is reduced, the patient is better able to experience hypnotic analgesia.