Suggestibility Tests

Pre-hypnotic tests used to assess a subject's responsiveness to suggestion and to begin the process of hypnotic conditioning. Common suggestibility tests include the Dictionary/Balloon test (holding out both hands and imagining a heavy dictionary in one and a balloon lifting the other), the Finger Vice (imagining the fingers being squeezed together), and the Postural Sway (suggesting the subject is falling backward). These tests serve a dual purpose: they provide the practitioner with information about the subject's suggestibility, and they begin to establish the expectation and experience of responding to suggestion.