CMH Hypnotic Phenomena & Suggestibility Testing 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the primary purpose of a suggestibility test in hypnosis?
- To verify that a client has previously experienced hypnosis
- To assess a client's responsiveness to suggestion before formal induction (Correct answer)
- To measure the depth of trance after induction is complete
- To evaluate the hypnotist's command delivery effectiveness
Correct answer: To assess a client's responsiveness to suggestion before formal induction
Suggestibility tests evaluate how responsive a client is to suggestion before a formal induction, helping the hypnotist select appropriate techniques and set realistic expectations.
Question 2: The eye closure (eye catalepsy) test primarily demonstrates what?
- That the subject can achieve deep somnambulistic trance
- That the subject's eyes can feel so heavy they seem unable to open through suggestion (Correct answer)
- That the subject has excellent visual memory and imagery
- That the subject can create visual hallucinations on command
Correct answer: That the subject's eyes can feel so heavy they seem unable to open through suggestion
The eye closure test suggests that the eyelids feel too heavy to open, demonstrating the subject's responsiveness to direct suggestion about a physical sensation and inability.
Question 3: The hand clasp test (finger interlace test) is used to demonstrate that:
- The subject can experience time distortion easily
- The clasped hands feel locked together and cannot be separated through suggestion (Correct answer)
- The subject's grip strength increases during hypnosis
- Catalepsy has spread from the eyes to the arms
Correct answer: The clasped hands feel locked together and cannot be separated through suggestion
In the hand clasp test, the subject interlaces their fingers and is told they are stuck together and cannot be pulled apart, testing responsiveness to suggestions of physical inability.
Question 4: What does the Chevreul pendulum test primarily demonstrate?
- The depth of trance a subject has achieved
- The subject's ability to reach somnambulism quickly
- Ideomotor responses through involuntary pendulum movement driven by thought (Correct answer)
- Visual suggestibility and ability to create hallucinations
Correct answer: Ideomotor responses through involuntary pendulum movement driven by thought
The Chevreul pendulum test has the subject hold a pendulum and mentally concentrate on a direction of movement; unconscious ideomotor movements cause it to swing, demonstrating unconscious responsiveness to thought.
Question 5: The arm levitation waking suggestion test demonstrates:
- Cataleptic rigidity of the arm during deep trance
- That the arm rises involuntarily through suggestion without formal induction (Correct answer)
- A post-hypnotic response to a previously established cue
- Negative hallucination affecting sensation in the limb
Correct answer: That the arm rises involuntarily through suggestion without formal induction
The arm levitation waking suggestion test tells the subject their arm is becoming lighter and rising on its own; a positive response before induction demonstrates high suggestibility.
Question 6: The postural sway (falling forward) test primarily measures:
- The subject's physical balance and neurological coordination
- Responsiveness to direct suggestion about body movement (Correct answer)
- Depth of somnambulistic trance already achieved
- The subject's anxiety level about undergoing hypnosis
Correct answer: Responsiveness to direct suggestion about body movement
The postural sway test suggests that the subject's body is being drawn or pushed in a direction; a noticeable sway indicates good responsiveness to direct suggestion about involuntary movement.
Question 7: Why are suggestibility tests sometimes called 'waking hypnosis' demonstrations?
- Because they require the subject to already be in a deep trance state
- Because they must be performed while the subject is standing and walking
- Because they demonstrate hypnotic-like responsiveness to suggestion without formal induction (Correct answer)
- Because they are always conducted before any conversation with the client
Correct answer: Because they demonstrate hypnotic-like responsiveness to suggestion without formal induction
Suggestibility tests are called waking hypnosis because they produce hypnotic-like responses through suggestion in the normal waking state, without requiring a formal induction procedure.
CMH Hypnotic Phenomena & Suggestibility Testing 2
What is the primary purpose of a suggestibility test in hypnosis?