Reaction time as a predictor of imaginative suggestibility and hypnotizability

The purpose of this exploratory investigation was to examine the relationship between reaction time, hypnotizability and imaginative suggestibility. The study participants were 119 undergraduate students who were assessed for non‐hypnotic and hypnotic suggestibility, performed simple and go/no‐go reaction time tasks and completed response expectancy, motivation, absorption and fantasy‐proneness scales. Faster simple response times were associated with greater hypnotic suggestibility, hypnotizability, response expectancies, absorption, fantasy‐proneness and non‐hypnotic motivation. Go/no‐go response time was not significantly correlated with any of these measures. With the other controlled, each reaction time measure was uniquely associated with hypnotic expectancy, hypnotic suggestibility, and hypnotizability, but in opposite directions.