Seventy four female 5s \verc first tested on response to a pretrealment hallucination suggestion to see an object that was not present. Each 5 was then exposed to one of two treatments-hypnotic induction procedure or task motivational instructions-and was again tested on response to an equivalent posttreatment hallucination suggestion. Next, each 5 was assessed on the Barber Suggestibility Scale (BSS) and on a self-rating of hypnotic depth measure. Finally, 5s were interviewed individually by a "blind" E to determine their phenomenological experiences during the posttreatment hallucination suggestion. There were significant positive correlations between scores on the posttreatment hallucination suggestion and scores on the BSS, the self-ratings of hypnotic depth, and the pretreatment hallucination suggestion. Similar phenomenological experiences were reported by 5s tested under the hypnotic induction and task motivational treatments, and also by 5s who reported that they ''saw" and those who reported that they "vividly imagined" the suggested object.

Thirty undergraduates scoring 4 or better on the Barber Suggestibility Scale were equally divided into three groups: (a) alert hypnotic induction, (6) relaxation hypnotic induction, and (c) relaxation control. Reaction time (RT) of the alert group was significantly faster than that for the other two groups, which did not differ from one another. A significant increase in RT over trials was manifested by the latter two groups. Results are discussed in relation to the altered state of consciousness concept of hypnosis.

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Previous studies pertaining to suggestibility in psychotic patients have yielded inconsistent and contradictory results. To resolve these contradictions, the present study assessed the objective and subjective responses of 77 hospitalized schizophrenics on the Barber Suggestibility Scale. Nineteen additional variables were also recorded, including patients' chronological age, marital status, education, duration of hospitalization, psychopathological behavior, and cooperativeness. Results indicated that these variables together accounted for 44% and 48% of the variance in subjective and objective scores on the Barber scale, respectively. The results also indicated that a relatively small number of these variables accounted for most of the predicted variance in both measures of suggestibility. These findings suggest that inconsistencies in the results of previous studies were due, in part, to the fact that the patient populations in those studies were not comparable.Studies assessing suggestibility 1 in hospitalized psychotics have yielded contradictory results; some investigations found very low levels of suggestibility, whereas others found somewhat high levels. For instance, Copeland and Kitching (1937) reported that "without exception" psychotic patients were not responsive to suggestions, and Gill and Brenman (1959) considered those few schizophrenics who were good subjects to be marked exceptions to the rule. Contradictory findings were reported by at least three sets of investigators: Gordon (1973), Brennan (1964), andWebb andNesmith (1964) found that psychotic patients were at least as suggestible as normals. There appear to be at least five variables, discussed below, related to the contradictory results.

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