Test–Retest Reliability of the Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale, Form C and the Elkins Hypnotizability Scale
Zoltán Kekecs, R. Lynae Roberts, Hyeji Na, Ming Hwei Yek, Elizabeth E. Slonena, Ezrhiel Racelis, Tamara A. Voor, Robert Johansson, P. Rizzo, Endre Csikos, Vanda Vizkievicz, Gary Elkins
Abstract
This project aimed to assess the consistency of hypnotizability over repeated assessments when measured by the Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale: Form C (SHSS:C), and the Elkins Hypnotizability Scale (EHS) and to contrast score distribution and pleasantness of these scales. University students were administered either the SHSS:C or the EHS twice with a one-week delay by separate experimenters. Test–retest reliability of the EHS and the SHSS:C was rs =.82 (.71-.92) and rs =.66, 95% (.47-.86), respectively (Spearman’s correlation). Hypnotizability was comparable at test and retest in the EHS group, SHSS:C scores decreased by the retest. We found that the SHSS:C produced higher scores than the EHS, and the pleasantness of the 2 scales was comparable. Overall, our results supported the reliability of the EHS, while SHSS:C scores were more inconsistent between the 2 assessments. More research is warranted.