Direct verbal suggestibility: Measurement and significance

TY - JOUR

T1 - Direct verbal suggestibility

T2 - Measurement and significance

AU - Oakley, David A.

AU - Walsh, Eamonn

AU - Mehta, Mitul A.

AU - Halligan, Peter W.

AU - Deeley, Quinton

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2020 Elsevier Inc. Copyright: Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.

PY - 2021/3

Y1 - 2021/3

N2 - Hypnotic suggestibility is part of the wider psychological trait of direct verbal suggestibility (DVS). Historically, DVS in hypnosis has informed theories of consciousness and of conversion disorder. More recently it has served as a research tool in cognitive science and in cognitive neuroscience in particular. Here we consider DVS as a general trait, its relation to other psychological characteristics and abilities, and to the origin and treatment of clinical conditions. We then outline the distribution of DVS in the population, its measurement, relationship to other forms of suggestibility, placebo responsiveness, personal characteristics, gender, neurological processes and other factors, such as expectancy. There is currently no scale specifically designed to measure DVS outside a hypnotic context. The most commonly used and well-researched of the hypnosis-based scales, the Harvard Group Scale, is described and identified as a basis for a more broadly based measure of DVS for use in psychological research.

AB - Hypnotic suggestibility is part of the wider psychological trait of direct verbal suggestibility (DVS). Historically, DVS in hypnosis has informed theories of consciousness and of conversion disorder. More recently it has served as a research tool in cognitive science and in cognitive neuroscience in particular. Here we consider DVS as a general trait, its relation to other psychological characteristics and abilities, and to the origin and treatment of clinical conditions. We then outline the distribution of DVS in the population, its measurement, relationship to other forms of suggestibility, placebo responsiveness, personal characteristics, gender, neurological processes and other factors, such as expectancy. There is currently no scale specifically designed to measure DVS outside a hypnotic context. The most commonly used and well-researched of the hypnosis-based scales, the Harvard Group Scale, is described and identified as a basis for a more broadly based measure of DVS for use in psychological research.

KW - Cognition

KW - Consciousness

KW - Direct verbal suggestibility

KW - Harvard scale

KW - Hypnosis

KW - Measurement

KW - Neuroscience

KW - Suggestion

KW - Trait

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85100434759&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.concog.2020.103036

DO - 10.1016/j.concog.2020.103036

M3 - Review article

AN - SCOPUS:85100434759

SN - 1053-8100

VL - 89

JO - Consciousness and Cognition

JF - Consciousness and Cognition

M1 - 103036

ER -