How hypnotizable are you?
Hypnotizability is a real, measurable trait, and it sits on a spectrum. It reflects how easily you absorb into imagination and experience, and how your mind takes in suggestion. It has little to do with willpower, intelligence, or being gullible. Most people are more hypnotizable than they expect, and only a small percentage fall at the very low end.
This free hypnotizability test draws on recognized indicators, the Spiegel eye-roll sign, the classic lemon imagination test, your suggestibility type, and how deeply you absorb, to build your personal hypnotic profile in about three minutes. If you can get lost in a book or a film, or drift off to sleep at night, you already know how to enter the focused state hypnosis uses.
The quiz was adapted by Alexandra Janelli, C.Ht., from the eye-roll sign in Herbert Spiegel's Hypnotic Induction Profile, John Kappas's work on physical and emotional suggestibility, research on absorption by Auke Tellegen, and the traditional lemon imagination exercise.
- Can everyone be hypnotized?
- Almost everyone can, to some degree. Hypnotizability sits on a spectrum, and only a small percentage of people fall at the very low end. If you can get absorbed in a book or film, or drift off to sleep at night, you already know how to enter the focused state hypnosis uses.
- What makes someone more or less hypnotizable?
- Mostly how easily you absorb into imagination and experience, and how your mind takes in suggestion. It has little to do with willpower, intelligence, or being gullible. Some minds respond to direct, literal suggestion, others to imagery and inference.
- Is there a test for how hypnotizable I am?
- Yes. This free quiz draws on recognized indicators, the eye-roll test, the lemon imagination test, your suggestibility type, and how deeply you absorb, to estimate where you land and what approach fits you. It takes about three minutes.
- Does a low score mean hypnosis won't work for me?
- No. A lower score simply means the way in is more specific to you, and hypnotizability can be developed with practice. A skilled practitioner tailors the approach to how your particular mind works.