The Fantasy-Prone Person: Hypnosis, Imagination, and Creativity

The present study evaluated the so-called fantasy prone personality by selecting subjects who ranged along the continuum of fantasy proneness and then administering measures designed to assess hypnotic susceptibility (Harvard Group Scale, HGSHS:A; Shor & Orne, 1962 ), absorption (Tellegen Absorp...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of personality and social psychology 1986-08, Vol.51 (2), p.404-408
Main Authors: Lynn, Steven Jay, Rhue, Judith W
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Biological and medical sciences
Creativity
Fantasy
Fantasy (Defense Mechanism)
Female
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Human
Humans
Hypnosis
Hypnotic Susceptibility
Imagination
Male
Personality
Personality Traits
Personality. Affectivity
Psychology
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Social Desirability
Social research
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Summary:The present study evaluated the so-called fantasy prone personality by selecting subjects who ranged along the continuum of fantasy proneness and then administering measures designed to assess hypnotic susceptibility (Harvard Group Scale, HGSHS:A; Shor & Orne, 1962 ), absorption (Tellegen Absorption Scale; Tellegen, 1976 ), vividness of mental imagery (QMI; Sheehan, 1967 ), response to waking suggestion (Creative Imagination Scale; Wilson & Barber, 1978 ), creativity (Barron Welsh Art Scale; Barron & Welsh, 1952 ), and social desirability ( Crowne & Marlowe, 1960 ). Fantasy-prone ( N = 23; upper 4% of college population), medium range ( N = 22), and nonfantasy-prone persons ( N = 17; lower 4% of population), were selected using the Inventory of Childhood Memories and Imaginings ( Wilson & Barber, 1981 ). Strong support was secured for J. R. Hilgard's construct of imaginative involvement and Wilson and Barber's contention that fantasy prone persons can be distinguished from others in terms of fantasy and related cognitive processes. Fantasizers were found to outscore subjects in both comparison groups on all of the measures of fantasy, imagination, and creativity, with social desirability used as a covariate. Low fantasy-prone subjects were no less creative or less responsive to hypnosis than their medium fantasy-prone counterparts.
ISSN:0022-3514
1939-1315
DOI:10.1037/0022-3514.51.2.404