The Lynn Hypnotic Engagement Scale (LHES): A Multi-Study Validation

We evaluated the validity and reliability of a novel measure designed to assess individuals' motivation and willingness to engage with hypnosis, the Lynn Hypnotic Engagement Scale (LHES). Across four studies involving over 800 participants, we assessed the psychometric properties of the scale. We showed that the LHES items are highly reliable and comprise a single factor reflecting an openness to hypnosis, willingness to "let go" and experience hypnosis without resistance, engagement with suggestions, and motivation to be hypnotized. We also included several other personality measures across our studies to provide preliminary evidence of convergent and divergent validity of the scale. We discuss the potential utility of the scale to predict hypnotizability and how it relates to both imagined and actual performance on a standardized measure of hypnotic responsiveness. Importantly, we found that the LHES appears to be tapping into particular aspects of hypnotic responding above and beyond expectancy to be hypnotized or interest in hypnosis. We discuss the limitations of our approach and future directions for additional research on the measure.