The effects of translation and sex on hypnotizability testing

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.