The effects of translation and sex on hypnotizability testing

Abstract

We compared hypnotizability between two samples from different universities in Sweden. One test was administered in Swedish (University of Skövde) using a translated Swedish version of the HGSHS : A (Bergman, Trenter and Kallio, 2003). At Lund University, the original English version of the HGSHS : A (Shor and Orne, 1962) was used and participants also completed the Inventory Scale of Hypnotic Depth (ISHD; Field, 1965). The results suggest that administering the HGSHS : A in English to Swedish University students may only slightly reduce hypnotizability scores. Because the HGSHS : A was designed to be used for the initial screening of hypnotic suggestibility, for most practical purposes the original version seems a valid choice among non-English groups fluent in English. The data also support some recent findings about females exhibiting higher objective and subjective hypnotizability scores than male volunteers. Copyright © 2007 British Society of Experimental & Clinical Hypnosis. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.