Revisiting the domain of suggestion: A meta-analysis of suggestibility across different contexts

Trait responsiveness to verbal suggestions (suggestibility) is relevant to a diverse array of clinical and experimental psychological phenomena. An unresolved question is whether different forms of suggestibility, such as direct verbal suggestibility and indirect (interrogative and sensory) suggestibility, comprise a uniform, superordinate trait or distinct abilities with overlapping characteristics. We conducted a pre-registered meta-analysis in accordance with MOOSE and PRISMA guidelines to quantify associations between diverse measures of suggestibility. Fifty-five eligible suggestibility scale correlation pairs from 18 studies were subjected to random effects meta-analyses and meta-regression analyses. The analyses revealed a scale congruency effect such that direct-direct (k=37) and indirect-indirect (k=5) suggestibility scale pairs were characterized by strong correlations, whereas incongruent scale pairs (direct-indirect; k=13) exhibited near-zero correlations. These results corroborate proposals that direct and interrogative suggestibility scales measure discrete suggestion effects, and trait responsiveness to suggestion does not comprise a uniform set of abilities.