International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis
ISSN: 0020-7144 (Print) 1744-5183 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/nhyp20
Hypnotic susceptibility in old age: Some data from residential homes for old people Stig Berg & Else Melin To cite this article: Stig Berg & Else Melin (1975) Hypnotic susceptibility in old age: Some data from residential homes for old people, International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 23:3, 184-189, DOI: 10.1080/00207147508415943 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00207147508415943
Published online: 31 Jan 2008.
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Citing articles: 1 View citing articles
Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=nhyp20 Download by: [University of Birmingham]
Date: 06 November 2015, At: 13:47
HYPNOTIC SUSCEPTIBILITY IN OLD AGE: SOME DATA FROM RESIDENTIAL HOMES FOR OLD PEOPLE' STIG BERG AND ELSE MELIN2 Downloaded by [University of Birmingham] at 13:47 06 November 2015
Znatitutet j o r Gerontologi, J&Mpinq, Sweden
Abstract: A sample of 55 old people, 21 men and 34 women, aged 62 through 94 = 80.5), living in 3 residential homes, were teeted
(x
with a Swedish translation of the Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale, Form A. Mean SHSS:A more was 3.43 (SB.= 3.54). The most difficult items were verbal inhibition, eye catalepsy, and posthypnotic suggestion.There were no Significant differences in hypnotizability between sexes or between age group though there is a marked decline in the group 85 years and older. The low hypnotic susceptibfity mean is in agreement with the findings of others with regard to a gradual decline in hypnotizabilitywith increasingage. Very few studies have investigated the hypnotic susceptibility of old people. Most research concerning age and hypnotic susceptibility has been conducted with children and young adults. Lihbault (cited in Beaunis, 1887) studied 744 persons ranging from young children to old people. H e found that children between the ages of 7 and 14 were the most hypnotizable and that there was a slight decline in hypnotizability throughout the adult years. More recently Gordon (1972) found decreasing hypnotic susceptibility with increasing age in a study using hospitalized patients between the ages of 20 and 62. Morgan and Hilgard (1973) have shown that hypnotic susceptibility declines with increasing age after the preadolescent years with an abrupt decline in hypnotizability after the age of 36. Differences have also been found between children and adults in the proportions passing the items of the hypnotic susceptibility scales (Moore & Lauer, 1963). The most striking differences were the children's dislike for closing their eyes and the ease with which they experienced hallucinations and amnesia. The purpose of the present study was to examine hypnotic susceptiManuscript submitted October 19,1973; h a 1 revision received October 22, 1974. 'An earlier version of this paper was presented at the VIth International Congress of Hypnosis, Uppsala, Sweden, July 1973. 'Reprint requests should be addressed to Stig Berg, Institutet for Gerontologi, Brunnsgatan 30,55255 JonkSping, Sweden. 184
HYPNOTIC SUSCEPTIBILITY IN OLD AGE
185
bility in old age, using a standardized hypnosis scale with subjects from a residential home.
METEIOD
Downloaded by [University of Birmingham] at 13:47 06 November 2015
Subjects
The Btudy was carried out using a sample of 55 old people living in three rmidential homes. Only people who were ambulatory and who were also able to hear ordinary speech, either with or without hearing aids, were invited to volunteer. The sample was representative, therefore, only of the healthier old people living in these residential homes. The volunteers consisted of 21 men and 34 women between 62 and 94 years old. The mean ages of the men and the women were 80.3 and 80.6 years respectively ; the mean age of the sample as a whole was 80.5 years. A comparison with 197 people living in five similar residential homes showed that our sample represented a cross section of old people living in residential homes with respect to age and sex.
Procedure The Ss were tested with a Swedish translation3 (Unestiihl, 1968) of the Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale, Form A (SHSS:A) of Weitzenhoffer and Hilgard (1959). The Swedish version of the scale gives the same mean scores for students as the original Stanford scale; the retest reliability determined by the Kuder-Richardson formula is 36. The scale was administered individually to each S in his own room of the residential home. RESULTS The mean hypnotic susceptibility score for the present old age sample was 3.43 with a S.D. of 3.54. The median was 2.82. The scores ranged from 0 to 11. The distribution was bimodal with one peak a t 2 and another a t 9. (The figures are presented in detail in Table 1.) The men had a mean SHSS:A score of 4.0 and S.D. of 4.52, and the mean score of the women was 3.08 with a S.D.. 3.75. The difference between the means was not significant ( t = .80, d j = 53, ns) . The mean hypnotic susceptibility scores for different age groups are shown in Table 2. There is a decline in the group 85 years and older. The difference, however, is not significant. The degree of difficulty of the SHSS:A items are shown in Table 3. *This translation was done at the Department of Psychology at the University of Uppsala. This scale can be obtained from Lars-Eric Unestbl, Pqkologisks Institutionen, Uppsala Universitet, Slottsgrand 3, S-752 20 Uppsala, Sweden.
186
BERG AND MELIN
TABLE 1 DISTRIBUTION OF HYPNOTIC SUWEPTIBILITY &ORES (SHSS:A) OF OLDPEOPLE( N = 55) Ma (N = 21)
Scores
Downloaded by [University of Birmingham] at 13:47 06 November 2015
0 1
2 3
9
(N = 5.5) 4 14
1
3
3
11
3
3 7 3 1 1 0 1
5 6 7 8 9
1 2
10 11 12
1 1 0
Total.
Women
(N = 34)
4 4
4
GROUP
IN A
0 0 1
6 11
7 2 3 0 1 5
4 0 0
1 1
0
0
XL3.43,S.D. 3.54.
TABLE 2 Mm
Total
Wmlm
Age
N ~
-
62-74 75-79
2 5
80-84
11
85-94
3
d
N ~
4.00 4.20 4.27 2.67
_
3 12
9 10
~
Total
R
N
R
_
-
3.67 3.83 2.33 2.70
5 17 20 13
3.80 3.94 3.40 2.65
3.58 4.65
55
3.43
3.54
~
21
4.00
34
3.08
-
S.D.
_
~
3.91
3.60 ~
The easiest item was postural sway while the most di5cult items were verbal inhibition, eye catalepsy, and posthypnotic suggestion.
DISCUSSION Our study shows that old people have a low hypnotic susceptibility which is in agreement with the gradual decline with increasing age reported by Morgan and Hilgard (1973).In line with other studies we found no difference in hypnotic susceptibility between men and women. At present there is no satisfactory explanation for the observed low hypnotic susceptibility of the aged. Future research may perhaps
~
HYPNOTIC SUSCEPTIBILITY I N OLD AGE
187
TABLE 3 EACEI T E M OF SHSS:A
PERCENTAGE P A S 6 I N G
-
Item
Stanford C o k e Studmt
Downloaded by [University of Birmingham] at 13:47 06 November 2015
NNorms. U4
Postural Sway Eye Closure Hand Lowering Arm Immobilization Finger Lock Ann Rigidity Moving Hands Verbal Inhibition Hallucination Eye Catalepsy Posthypnotic Suggaetion Amnesia
8
84 51
69 58 81 14 32 32 70 23 35
60 16 36 16
27 05 18 05 09 15
I
28.5
30 49 32
I
43.7
* Weitrenhoffer & Hilgard (1959).
demonstrate relationships between the integrity of the nervous system in inhibiting irrelevant stimuli and hypnotic susceptibility, or between retarded psychomotor function and susceptibility to hypnosis. Future research will also need to have specific controls for attentions1 variables. Because the old age sample pass-percents show poorer performance on the last half of the scale, attention span may prove to be an important factor. Until such studies are carried out, the utility of hypnosis as a therapeutic tool with aging persona must be determined on an individual basis. REFEJmNcEs
BEAWNIS, H. Le somnabulisme provoquk: Etudes physioloOiques et pglchologiques. [Induced somnambulism: Physiologic01 and psychological studies.] (2nd ed.) Paris: BailliBre, 1887. GOBOON, M. C. Age and performance differences of male patienta on modified Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scales. I d . J . din. ezp. H m s i s , 1972, SO, 152156.
L. Hypnotic gusceptibility in middle childhood. I d . J . clin. ezp. Hypnosis, 1963,11,167-174. M o m , A., & HnruRD,E. R. Age differences in swceptibility to hypnosis. Int. J . clin. ezp. Hypnosis, 1973, 91,78435. U N E B T ~L.-E. L , Hypnos och hypnotiserbarhet. pypno& and hypnotic mweptibility.] Psykologiska institutionen, Uppsala Universitet. Rapport 1v 28, 1968. MOOBE,R., dz LA=,
188
BERG AND MELIN
WEITZENHOFFEB, A. M., dc Jhcm,E. R. Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale, Forms A and B. Palo Alto, Calif.: Consulting Psychologists Prees, 1959.
Iiypnoseempfiinglichkeit im Alter: Einige Ergebnisse aus Heimen fur alte Leute
Downloaded by [University of Birmingham] at 13:47 06 November 2015
Stig Berg und Else Melin Abstrakt: EinMuster von 55 alten Leuten, 21 Manner und34 Frauen, deren Alter sich von 62 bis 94 erstreckte und die in 3 verschiedenen Heimen lebten, wurde an dem ins Schwedische iibersetzten Stanford-HypnotisierbarkeitRmaszstab. Form A (SHSS:A), gepriift. Das durch den SHSS :A erhaltene Durchscbnittsresultat war 3.43 (S.D. = 3.54). Verbale Hemmung, Augenkatalepsie und posthypnotische Suggestion waren die Einzelheiten, die die giiesteo Schwierigkeiten bereiteten. Es bestanden keine bedeutenden Unterschiede i n Hypnotisierbarkeit zwischen den Geschlechtern oder den Altersgruppen, obgleich ein deutlicher Ruckgang i n der Hypnotisierbarkeit bei der Gruppe von 85 Jahren und alter wahrgenommen wurde. Der niedrige Durchschnitt f i r Hypnoseempfhglichkeit stimmt m i t den Befunden von andern Forschern uberein, die einen fortschreitenden Riickgang in Hypnotisierbarkeit m i t zunehmendem Alter feststellten.
Susceptibilit6 hypnotique e t vieillesse: quelques r6sultats provenant de rtsidences pour personnes a g h s Stig Berg e t Else Melin
R i s u m t : L’kchantillon est constitut de 55 personnes ;gCes, 21 hommes et 34 femmes, provenant de 3 rbidences et dont I‘ige varie de 62 4 W ans
(x
= 80.5). Lee Ss eont & a h & A l’aide d’une traduction suedoise de la forme A de 1’6chelle de susceptibilitd hypnotique de Stanford (SHSS:A). Le score moyen observ6 a u SHSS:A est de 3.43 (S.D. = 3.54). Les item les plus difficiles sont I’inhibition verbale, la catalepsie des yeur e t la suggestion posthypnotique. I1 n’y a pas de diffkrence significative de susceptibilit6 hypnotique entre les sexes ou entre les groupes d’;ge. bien qu’il eriste un dkclin marqu6 chez le g o u p e de S s ;g6s de 85 an8 et plus. La susceptibilit6 hypnotique moyenne est basse, ce qui concorde avec les r&ultats d’autres i t u d e s concernant un d6clin graduel d e la susceptibilit6 hypnotique avec l’accroissement de 1’;ge.
Susceptibilidad hipn6tica en la vejez: algunos datos procedentes de residencias para ancianos Stig Berg y Else Melin Resumen: Una muestra de 55 ancianos, 21 hombres y 34 mujeres. comprendidos entre 10s 62 y 10s 94 afios de edad (%?= 80.5). y alojados en 3 residen-
Downloaded by [University of Birmingham] at 13:47 06 November 2015
HYPNOTIC SUSCEPTIBILITY IN OLD AGE
189
cias, fue investigada por medio de una traduccibn sueca de la Escala de Busceptibilidad Hipnbtica de Stanford, Forma A (Stunford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale, Form A ) La puntuaci6n media en dicha escala es de 3.43 (S.D. = 3.54). Las sub-pruebas m8s dificiles heron la inhibicibn verbal, la catalepsia ocular y la sugesti6n posthipn6tica. No hay diferencias significativas en cuanto a la sugeatibilidad hipn6tica entre sexos o entre grupos de d a d , aunque se obaerva un descenso neto en el grupo de 10s 85 aaos en adelante. La baja media de susceptibilidad hipn6tica concuerda con 10s hllazgos de otros autores. relativoa a la disminucibn gradual de dicha sugestibilidad a medida que avanza la edad.
ISSN: 0020-7144 (Print) 1744-5183 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/nhyp20
Hypnotic susceptibility in old age: Some data from residential homes for old people Stig Berg & Else Melin To cite this article: Stig Berg & Else Melin (1975) Hypnotic susceptibility in old age: Some data from residential homes for old people, International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 23:3, 184-189, DOI: 10.1080/00207147508415943 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00207147508415943
Published online: 31 Jan 2008.
Submit your article to this journal
Article views: 15
View related articles
Citing articles: 1 View citing articles
Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=nhyp20 Download by: [University of Birmingham]
Date: 06 November 2015, At: 13:47
HYPNOTIC SUSCEPTIBILITY IN OLD AGE: SOME DATA FROM RESIDENTIAL HOMES FOR OLD PEOPLE' STIG BERG AND ELSE MELIN2 Downloaded by [University of Birmingham] at 13:47 06 November 2015
Znatitutet j o r Gerontologi, J&Mpinq, Sweden
Abstract: A sample of 55 old people, 21 men and 34 women, aged 62 through 94 = 80.5), living in 3 residential homes, were teeted
(x
with a Swedish translation of the Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale, Form A. Mean SHSS:A more was 3.43 (SB.= 3.54). The most difficult items were verbal inhibition, eye catalepsy, and posthypnotic suggestion.There were no Significant differences in hypnotizability between sexes or between age group though there is a marked decline in the group 85 years and older. The low hypnotic susceptibfity mean is in agreement with the findings of others with regard to a gradual decline in hypnotizabilitywith increasingage. Very few studies have investigated the hypnotic susceptibility of old people. Most research concerning age and hypnotic susceptibility has been conducted with children and young adults. Lihbault (cited in Beaunis, 1887) studied 744 persons ranging from young children to old people. H e found that children between the ages of 7 and 14 were the most hypnotizable and that there was a slight decline in hypnotizability throughout the adult years. More recently Gordon (1972) found decreasing hypnotic susceptibility with increasing age in a study using hospitalized patients between the ages of 20 and 62. Morgan and Hilgard (1973) have shown that hypnotic susceptibility declines with increasing age after the preadolescent years with an abrupt decline in hypnotizability after the age of 36. Differences have also been found between children and adults in the proportions passing the items of the hypnotic susceptibility scales (Moore & Lauer, 1963). The most striking differences were the children's dislike for closing their eyes and the ease with which they experienced hallucinations and amnesia. The purpose of the present study was to examine hypnotic susceptiManuscript submitted October 19,1973; h a 1 revision received October 22, 1974. 'An earlier version of this paper was presented at the VIth International Congress of Hypnosis, Uppsala, Sweden, July 1973. 'Reprint requests should be addressed to Stig Berg, Institutet for Gerontologi, Brunnsgatan 30,55255 JonkSping, Sweden. 184
HYPNOTIC SUSCEPTIBILITY IN OLD AGE
185
bility in old age, using a standardized hypnosis scale with subjects from a residential home.
METEIOD
Downloaded by [University of Birmingham] at 13:47 06 November 2015
Subjects
The Btudy was carried out using a sample of 55 old people living in three rmidential homes. Only people who were ambulatory and who were also able to hear ordinary speech, either with or without hearing aids, were invited to volunteer. The sample was representative, therefore, only of the healthier old people living in these residential homes. The volunteers consisted of 21 men and 34 women between 62 and 94 years old. The mean ages of the men and the women were 80.3 and 80.6 years respectively ; the mean age of the sample as a whole was 80.5 years. A comparison with 197 people living in five similar residential homes showed that our sample represented a cross section of old people living in residential homes with respect to age and sex.
Procedure The Ss were tested with a Swedish translation3 (Unestiihl, 1968) of the Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale, Form A (SHSS:A) of Weitzenhoffer and Hilgard (1959). The Swedish version of the scale gives the same mean scores for students as the original Stanford scale; the retest reliability determined by the Kuder-Richardson formula is 36. The scale was administered individually to each S in his own room of the residential home. RESULTS The mean hypnotic susceptibility score for the present old age sample was 3.43 with a S.D. of 3.54. The median was 2.82. The scores ranged from 0 to 11. The distribution was bimodal with one peak a t 2 and another a t 9. (The figures are presented in detail in Table 1.) The men had a mean SHSS:A score of 4.0 and S.D. of 4.52, and the mean score of the women was 3.08 with a S.D.. 3.75. The difference between the means was not significant ( t = .80, d j = 53, ns) . The mean hypnotic susceptibility scores for different age groups are shown in Table 2. There is a decline in the group 85 years and older. The difference, however, is not significant. The degree of difficulty of the SHSS:A items are shown in Table 3. *This translation was done at the Department of Psychology at the University of Uppsala. This scale can be obtained from Lars-Eric Unestbl, Pqkologisks Institutionen, Uppsala Universitet, Slottsgrand 3, S-752 20 Uppsala, Sweden.
186
BERG AND MELIN
TABLE 1 DISTRIBUTION OF HYPNOTIC SUWEPTIBILITY &ORES (SHSS:A) OF OLDPEOPLE( N = 55) Ma (N = 21)
Scores
Downloaded by [University of Birmingham] at 13:47 06 November 2015
0 1
2 3
9
(N = 5.5) 4 14
1
3
3
11
3
3 7 3 1 1 0 1
5 6 7 8 9
1 2
10 11 12
1 1 0
Total.
Women
(N = 34)
4 4
4
GROUP
IN A
0 0 1
6 11
7 2 3 0 1 5
4 0 0
1 1
0
0
XL3.43,S.D. 3.54.
TABLE 2 Mm
Total
Wmlm
Age
N ~
-
62-74 75-79
2 5
80-84
11
85-94
3
d
N ~
4.00 4.20 4.27 2.67
_
3 12
9 10
~
Total
R
N
R
_
-
3.67 3.83 2.33 2.70
5 17 20 13
3.80 3.94 3.40 2.65
3.58 4.65
55
3.43
3.54
~
21
4.00
34
3.08
-
S.D.
_
~
3.91
3.60 ~
The easiest item was postural sway while the most di5cult items were verbal inhibition, eye catalepsy, and posthypnotic suggestion.
DISCUSSION Our study shows that old people have a low hypnotic susceptibility which is in agreement with the gradual decline with increasing age reported by Morgan and Hilgard (1973).In line with other studies we found no difference in hypnotic susceptibility between men and women. At present there is no satisfactory explanation for the observed low hypnotic susceptibility of the aged. Future research may perhaps
~
HYPNOTIC SUSCEPTIBILITY I N OLD AGE
187
TABLE 3 EACEI T E M OF SHSS:A
PERCENTAGE P A S 6 I N G
-
Item
Stanford C o k e Studmt
Downloaded by [University of Birmingham] at 13:47 06 November 2015
NNorms. U4
Postural Sway Eye Closure Hand Lowering Arm Immobilization Finger Lock Ann Rigidity Moving Hands Verbal Inhibition Hallucination Eye Catalepsy Posthypnotic Suggaetion Amnesia
8
84 51
69 58 81 14 32 32 70 23 35
60 16 36 16
27 05 18 05 09 15
I
28.5
30 49 32
I
43.7
* Weitrenhoffer & Hilgard (1959).
demonstrate relationships between the integrity of the nervous system in inhibiting irrelevant stimuli and hypnotic susceptibility, or between retarded psychomotor function and susceptibility to hypnosis. Future research will also need to have specific controls for attentions1 variables. Because the old age sample pass-percents show poorer performance on the last half of the scale, attention span may prove to be an important factor. Until such studies are carried out, the utility of hypnosis as a therapeutic tool with aging persona must be determined on an individual basis. REFEJmNcEs
BEAWNIS, H. Le somnabulisme provoquk: Etudes physioloOiques et pglchologiques. [Induced somnambulism: Physiologic01 and psychological studies.] (2nd ed.) Paris: BailliBre, 1887. GOBOON, M. C. Age and performance differences of male patienta on modified Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scales. I d . J . din. ezp. H m s i s , 1972, SO, 152156.
L. Hypnotic gusceptibility in middle childhood. I d . J . clin. ezp. Hypnosis, 1963,11,167-174. M o m , A., & HnruRD,E. R. Age differences in swceptibility to hypnosis. Int. J . clin. ezp. Hypnosis, 1973, 91,78435. U N E B T ~L.-E. L , Hypnos och hypnotiserbarhet. pypno& and hypnotic mweptibility.] Psykologiska institutionen, Uppsala Universitet. Rapport 1v 28, 1968. MOOBE,R., dz LA=,
188
BERG AND MELIN
WEITZENHOFFEB, A. M., dc Jhcm,E. R. Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale, Forms A and B. Palo Alto, Calif.: Consulting Psychologists Prees, 1959.
Iiypnoseempfiinglichkeit im Alter: Einige Ergebnisse aus Heimen fur alte Leute
Downloaded by [University of Birmingham] at 13:47 06 November 2015
Stig Berg und Else Melin Abstrakt: EinMuster von 55 alten Leuten, 21 Manner und34 Frauen, deren Alter sich von 62 bis 94 erstreckte und die in 3 verschiedenen Heimen lebten, wurde an dem ins Schwedische iibersetzten Stanford-HypnotisierbarkeitRmaszstab. Form A (SHSS:A), gepriift. Das durch den SHSS :A erhaltene Durchscbnittsresultat war 3.43 (S.D. = 3.54). Verbale Hemmung, Augenkatalepsie und posthypnotische Suggestion waren die Einzelheiten, die die giiesteo Schwierigkeiten bereiteten. Es bestanden keine bedeutenden Unterschiede i n Hypnotisierbarkeit zwischen den Geschlechtern oder den Altersgruppen, obgleich ein deutlicher Ruckgang i n der Hypnotisierbarkeit bei der Gruppe von 85 Jahren und alter wahrgenommen wurde. Der niedrige Durchschnitt f i r Hypnoseempfhglichkeit stimmt m i t den Befunden von andern Forschern uberein, die einen fortschreitenden Riickgang in Hypnotisierbarkeit m i t zunehmendem Alter feststellten.
Susceptibilit6 hypnotique e t vieillesse: quelques r6sultats provenant de rtsidences pour personnes a g h s Stig Berg e t Else Melin
R i s u m t : L’kchantillon est constitut de 55 personnes ;gCes, 21 hommes et 34 femmes, provenant de 3 rbidences et dont I‘ige varie de 62 4 W ans
(x
= 80.5). Lee Ss eont & a h & A l’aide d’une traduction suedoise de la forme A de 1’6chelle de susceptibilitd hypnotique de Stanford (SHSS:A). Le score moyen observ6 a u SHSS:A est de 3.43 (S.D. = 3.54). Les item les plus difficiles sont I’inhibition verbale, la catalepsie des yeur e t la suggestion posthypnotique. I1 n’y a pas de diffkrence significative de susceptibilit6 hypnotique entre les sexes ou entre les groupes d’;ge. bien qu’il eriste un dkclin marqu6 chez le g o u p e de S s ;g6s de 85 an8 et plus. La susceptibilit6 hypnotique moyenne est basse, ce qui concorde avec les r&ultats d’autres i t u d e s concernant un d6clin graduel d e la susceptibilit6 hypnotique avec l’accroissement de 1’;ge.
Susceptibilidad hipn6tica en la vejez: algunos datos procedentes de residencias para ancianos Stig Berg y Else Melin Resumen: Una muestra de 55 ancianos, 21 hombres y 34 mujeres. comprendidos entre 10s 62 y 10s 94 afios de edad (%?= 80.5). y alojados en 3 residen-
Downloaded by [University of Birmingham] at 13:47 06 November 2015
HYPNOTIC SUSCEPTIBILITY IN OLD AGE
189
cias, fue investigada por medio de una traduccibn sueca de la Escala de Busceptibilidad Hipnbtica de Stanford, Forma A (Stunford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale, Form A ) La puntuaci6n media en dicha escala es de 3.43 (S.D. = 3.54). Las sub-pruebas m8s dificiles heron la inhibicibn verbal, la catalepsia ocular y la sugesti6n posthipn6tica. No hay diferencias significativas en cuanto a la sugeatibilidad hipn6tica entre sexos o entre grupos de d a d , aunque se obaerva un descenso neto en el grupo de 10s 85 aaos en adelante. La baja media de susceptibilidad hipn6tica concuerda con 10s hllazgos de otros autores. relativoa a la disminucibn gradual de dicha sugestibilidad a medida que avanza la edad.
