ographics (e.g.religion).
In a search of over 900 current articles on hypnosis in the PsychLit database, only ten empirical investigations of public attitudes could be found and not one of these examined attitudes for association with demographic differences characterizing attitude holders. Given that Brogan et. al (1984) provide reason for believing that at least one demographic variable (religion) may be related to attitudes toward hypnosis, it seems reasonable to conduct an examination for association between demographics and attitudes toward hypnosis. This work is significant because it tests the implication of Brogan's publication as well as expands the existing literature by contributing information in an area of research not heretofore undertaken.
The research problem can be characterized as an attempt to answer the following questions:
(1) Are the demographic variables of age, religion, marital status, yearly income, and educational background associated with differences in positive beliefs about hypnosis?
(2) Are the demographic variables of age, religion, marital status, yearly income, and educational background associated with differences in degree of fear concerning being hypnotised?
(3) Are the demographic variables of age, religion, marital status, yearly income, and educational background associated with differences in beliefs about the mental stability of hypnotizable people?
As previously noted, existing work on the relationship of demographics to attitudes toward hypnosis is, at best, sparse. Thus, the literature does not provide justification for the formulation of directional hypotheses. For this reason, all hypotheses formulated for testing were stated as null theses. These null hypotheses can be delineated as follows:
Null Hypothesis 1: Degree of positive beliefs about hypnosis will not significantly differ depending upon differences in subjects' ages, religion, marital status, yearly inco...