Artifact in the Hypnosis—Creativity Relationship

Abstract

Subjects who pretested high or low in hypnotic suggestibility took a creativity test either under hypnosis or in a waking state. All subjects made a global estimate of their general degree of creativity. Greater figural-spatial creativity was exhibited in the hypnosis condition than in the waking condition by both high and low suggestibles. Creativity self-reports were not corroborated by actual creative performance.

Hypnotizability, Creative Capacity, Creativity Styles, Absorption, and Phenomenological Experience During Hypnosis

“…S. Bowers, & van der Meulen, 1970;, P. G. Bowers, 1978Jackson & Gorassini, 1989;Perry, Wilder, & Appignanesi, 1973) suggesting high hypnotizable subjects tend to perform better on tests of creativity than less hypnotizable subjects. However, conclusions were not clear cut because of the mixed nature of results, complicated by the use of variety of different measures of creativity and definitions of creativity, leading Lynn and Sivec (1992) to conclude that "hypnotized individuals and nonhypnotized individuals cannot be reliably differentiated from one another on measures of creativity" (p. 328).…”