Dissociation : Vol. 6, No. 1 (Mar. 1993)

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Dissociation : Vol. 6, No. 1, p. 042-046 : Hypnotizability, absorption, and subscales of the Dissociative Experiences Scale in a nonclinical population
(Ridgeview Institute and the International Society for the Study of Multiple Personality and Dissociation, 1993-03) Smyser, Cameron H.; Baron, David A.
This study examined how the characteristics of hypnotizability and absorption relate to three sub-dimensions of dissociation, as measured by three subscales of the Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES); Bernstein & Putnam, 1986). Fifty-three normal volunteers completed the DES and the Tellegen Absorption Scale (TAS) (Tellegen & Atkinson, 1974), and were assessed for hypnotizability on the Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale, Form C (SHSS:C) (Weitzenhoffer & Hilgard, 1962). The three subscales of the DES include Amnestic Experiences, Absorption, and Depersonalization (Carlson et al., 1990). Of the three DES subscales, the DES Absorption subscale was found to correlate strongly with both the SHSS:C and TAS, the DES Depersonalization subscale less strongly, and the DES Amnestic Experiences subscale only weakly with the SHSS:C and not at all with the TAS. These findings are generally consistent with those of previous studies (Frischholz et al.,1991; 1992). Results are interpreted as supporting J.R. Hilgard 's (1970) theory of two developmental pathways to hypnotizability, one through absorption and the other through experience of trauma.