By any standard, the most frequently studied correlate of hypnotizability is absorption, or "openness to absorbing and self-altering experiences (Tellegen & Atkinson, 1974). A series of studies from our laboratory by Martha Glisky and her colleagues offered a close examination of the relationship between absorption, hypnotizability, and a broader trait of openness to experience identified by Costa and McCrae as one of the "Big Five" traits of personality measured by various versions of the NEO Personality Inventory. The first of these studies (Glisky et al., 1991) confirmed the basic absorption-hypnotizability relation, and showed that absorption was related to those facts of Openness having to do with imaginative involvement (i.e., Fantasy, Aesthetics, and Feelings), but not with those facets having to do with sociopolitical liberalism (i.e., Actions, Ideas, and Values). The second study (Glisky & Kihlstrom, 1993) showed that hypnotizability was related to Absorption, but not to either Sociopolitical Liberalism or Intellectance (an alternative construal of Openness). For a review of the early literature on absorption, see Roche & McConkey (1990).
The following table lists the 34 items of the Tellegen Absorption Scale, which was published separately (Tellegen & Atkinson, 1974), and also is included as one of the scales of Tellegen's Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire. The table also shows the results of a content analysis (Tellegen, 1982) and a factor analysis (Tellegen, 1992) of the TAS items.
|
Item # |
MPQ # | Item | Factor | Category |
| 1 | 5 | Sometimes I feel and experience things as I did when I was a child. | 5 | 7 |
| 2 | 14 | I can be greatly moved by eloquent or poetic language. | 1 | 1 |
| 3 | 23 | While watching a movie, a TV show, or a play, I may become so involved that I may forget about myself and my surroundings and experience the story as if it were real and as if I were taking part in it. | 4 | 2 |
| 4 | 32 | If I stare at a picture and then look away from it, I can sometimes "see" an image of the picture almost as if I were still looking at it. | 5 | 4 |
| 5 | 40 | Sometimes I feel as if my mind could envelop the whole world. | 6 | 9 |
| 6 | 49 | I like to watch cloud shapes change in the sky. | 1 | 1 |
| 7 | 58 | If I wish I can imagine (or daydream) some things so vividly that they hold my attention as a good movie or story does. | 4 | 6 |
| 8 | 67 | I think I really know what some people mean when they talk about mystical experiences. | 1 | 9 |
| 9 | 76 | I sometimes "step outside" my usual self and experience an entirely different state of being. | 6 | 9 |
| 10 | 84 | Textures -- such as wool, sand, wood -- sometimes remind me of colors or music. | 2 | 5 |
| 11 | 92 | Sometimes I experience things as if they were doubly real. | 6 | 9 |
| 12 | 102 | When I listen to music I can get so caught up in it that I don't notice anything else. | 4 | 2 |
| 13 | 111 | If I wish I can imagine that my body is so heavy that I could not move it if I wanted to. | 3 | 4 |
| 14 | 120 | I can often somehow sense the presence of another person before I actually see or hear her/him. | 3 | 8 |
| 15 | 130 | The crackle and flames of a wood fire stimulate my imagination | 1 | 1 |
| 16 | 137 | It is sometimes possible for me to be completely immersed in nature or in art and to feel as if my whole state of consciousness has somehow been temporarily altered. | 4 | 9 |
| 17 | 146 | Different colors have distinctive and special meanings for me. | 2 | 5 |
| 18 | 156 | I am able to wander off into my thoughts while doing a routine task and actually forget that I am doing the task, and then find a few minutes later that I have completed it. | 4 | 6 |
| 19 | 164 | I can sometimes recollect certain past experiences in my life with such clarity and vividness that it is like living them again or almost so. | 5 | 7 |
| 20 | 173 | Things that might seem meaningless to others often make sense to me. | 6 | 8 |
| 21 | 182 | While acting in a play I think I could really feel the emotions of the character and "become" her/him for the time being, forgetting both myself and the audience. | 4 | 2 |
| 22 | 191 | My thoughts often don't occur as words but as visual images. | 3 | 3 |
| 23 | 200 | I often take delight in small things (like the five-pointed star shape that appears when you cut an apple across the core or the colors in soap bubbles). | 1 | 1 |
| 24 | 207 | When listening to organ music or other powerful music I sometimes feel as if I am being lifted into the air. | 1 | 2 |
| 25 | 216 | Sometimes I can change noise into music by the way I listen to it. | 2 | 4 |
| 26 | 227 | Some of my most vivid memories are called up by scents and smells. | 2 | 5 |
| 27 | 235 | Some music reminds me of pictures or changing color patterns. | 2 | 5 |
| 28 | 243 | I often know what someone is going to say before he or she says it. | 3 | 8 |
| 29 | 251 | I often have "physical memories"; for example, after I have been swimming I may still feel as if I am in the water. | 3 | 4 |
| 30 | 260 | The sound of a voice can be so fascinating to me that I can just go on listening to it. | 2 | 2 |
| 31 | 271 | At times I somehow feel the presence of someone who is not physically there. | 3 | 8 |
| 32 | 280 | Sometimes thoughts and images come to me without the slightest effort on my part. | 3 | 3 |
| 33 | 288 | I find that different odors have different colors. | 2 | 5 |
| 34 | 297 | I can be deeply moved by a sunset. | 1 | 1 |
| Factor |
Name |
Consciousness | Focus |
| 1 | Responsiveness to Engaging Stimuli | Narrowing | External |
| 2 | Synesthesia | Narrowing | External |
| 3 | Enhanced Cognition | Expansion | External |
| 4 | Oblivious/Dissociative Involvement | Narrowing | Internal |
| 5 | Vivid Reminiscence | Expansion | Internal |
| 6 | Enhanced Awareness | Expansion | External |
Source: Tellegen (1992).
| Category |
Name |
| 1 | Is responsive to engaging stimuli. |
| 2 | Is responsive to "inductive" stimuli. |
| 3 | Often thinks in images. |
| 4 | Can summon vivid and suggestive images. |
| 5 | Has "crossmodal" experiences (e.g., synesthesia). |
| 6 | Can become absorbed in own thoughts and imaginings. |
| 7 | Can vividly re-experience the past. |
| 8 | Has episodes of expanded (e.g., ESP-like) awareness. |
| 9 | Experiences altered states of consciousness. |
Source: Tellegen (1982), revising a list of content categories originally published in Tellegen (1981).
The standard instructions for the scale are taken from Tellegen:
This questionnaire consists of questions about experiences that you may have had in your life. We are interested in how often you have these experiences. It is important, however, that your answers show how often these experiences happen to you when you are not under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
In the original dichotomous version of the scale, subjects simply respond "True" or "False" to each item, and their score is simply the number of items marked "T". In order to permit subjects somewhat more latitude in responding, however, we have often used a four- or five-point Likert scale, with the poles marked "Never" and "Always". More recently, I have come to favor a four-point (0-3) version, which forces subjects off the fence and permits easy conversion to a dichotomous scale.
Note: It is my practice to label the TAS, and all other scales and questionnaires administered in my laboratory, which a neutral-sounding title, such as "Personal Attitudes and Experiences".
All the items on the TAS are positively keyed.
No population norms are available for the scale, but experience with many large college-student samples provides some basis for interpreting scores:
 | On the dichotomous version, the average scores is about 20, with a standard deviation of about 6 (Glisky et al., 1991, Study 1). |
| On the five-point Likert-scale version, the average score is approximately 80, with a standard deviation of approximately 18 (Glisky et al., 1991, Studies 2 and 3) -- figures which comport with the dichotomous version. |
| On a version using the 0-100 "percentage" scale, similar to that used with the Dissociative Experiences Scale, the average score was about 31, with a standard deviation of about 16 (Angiulo & Kihlstrom, 1991). |
Angiulo, M.J., & Kihlstrom, J.F. (1991). Dissociative experiences in a college population. Unpublished manuscript, University of Arizona. Available on line at http://socrates.berkeley.edu/~kihlstrm/Angiulo1.htm.
Glisky, M.L., & Kihlstrom, J.F. (1993). Hypnotizability and facets of openness. International Journal of Clinical & Experimental Hypnosis, 41, 112-123.
Glisky, M.L., Tataryn, D.J., Tobias, B.A., Kihlstrom, J.F., & McConkey, K.M. (1991). Absorption, openness to experience, and hypnotizability. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 60, 263-272.
Roche, S.M., & McConkey, K.M. (1990). Absorption: Nature, assessment, and correlates. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 59, 91-101.
Tellegen, A. (1981). Practicing the two disciplines for relaxation and enlightenment: Comment on Qualls & Sheehan. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 110, 217-226.
Tellegen, A. (1982, October 10). Content categories: Absorption Items (Revised). Unpublished manuscript, University of Minnesota
Tellegen, A. (1992, August). Note on structure and meaning of the MPQ Absorption scale. Unpublished manuscript, University of Minnesota.
Tellegen, A., & Atkinson, G. (1974). Openness to absorbing and self-altering experiences ("absorption"), a trait related to hypnotic susceptibility. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 83, 268-277.
This page last revised 04/24/06 02:36:32 PM.