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The Kappasinian Suggestibility Test is a 36-question self-assessment based on Dr. John G. Kappas’ Emotional and Physical Suggestibility model, often called the E&P model. It is designed to explore how you tend to receive, interpret, and respond to suggestions.
The test is free, requires no account, and provides an immediate personalized interpretation.
What is the Kappasinian Suggestibility Test?
The Kappasinian Suggestibility Test is a questionnaire that estimates where you fall on a spectrum between two broad styles of suggestibility:
Analytical suggestibility, which Dr. Kappas originally called “Emotional”
Physical suggestibility
A middle range sometimes called Somnambulist
In this model, Analytical and Physical do not mean intelligent versus unintelligent, emotional versus unemotional, or strong versus weak-minded. They describe different ways of processing language and suggestions.
What does “suggestibility” mean?
In this context, suggestibility refers to how a person tends to interpret and respond to suggestions, instructions, explanations, and implied meanings.
It does not mean that someone is gullible or easily deceived. A person can be highly analytical, skeptical, and independent while still showing a recognizable pattern in how they process suggestions.
The test is intended for education and self-reflection. It is not a clinical diagnosis or a measure of intelligence, character, or personal worth.
What is the Emotional and Physical Suggestibility model?
Dr. John Kappas described two general patterns:
Analytical suggestibility
People toward the Analytical end of the scale are described as tending to:
Listen for implied meaning and inference
Analyze language carefully
Prefer indirect suggestions, metaphors, or explanations
Separate thoughts and feelings from bodily experience
Think before acting
Be aware of how others perceive them
Need time alone to process experiences
Dr. Kappas called this pattern “Emotional,” but Hypnotechs uses Analytical because the original label can be misunderstood. The term does not mean that people in this group are necessarily more emotional in everyday language.
Physical suggestibility
People toward the Physical end of the scale are described as tending to:
Interpret words more literally
Respond well to direct, specific instructions
Pay close attention to bodily sensations and physical experience
Act quickly and reflect afterward
Use physical activity or connection to manage emotional experience
Place importance on touch, closeness, and shared activity
Focus less on how they appear to others
These are broad tendencies rather than fixed personality categories. A person’s responses can vary depending on context, relationship, expectations, and the wording of a suggestion.
Why does Hypnotechs use the term “Analytical” instead of “Emotional”?
Dr. Kappas used the term Emotional for one end of the E&P scale. However, that label may suggest that the person is unusually emotional, expressive, or reactive. That is not what the model is intended to communicate.
Hypnotechs uses Analytical to emphasize the pattern of examining language, drawing inferences, and looking for meaning behind words. The underlying category remains the same as the one Dr. Kappas described.
What is a Somnambulist result?
In the Kappasinian model, a Somnambulist is someone who falls near the middle of the Analytical–Physical spectrum.
A person in this range may respond effectively to both:
Direct and literal suggestions
Indirect, inferential, or metaphorical suggestions
The term is used in Kappasinian hypnotherapy to describe suggestibility patterns. It does not mean that the person sleepwalks or has a sleep disorder.
How many questions are on the test?
The test contains 36 questions. Most people can complete it in a few minutes.
For the most useful result, answer honestly and choose the response that best reflects your first instinct. There are no correct or incorrect answers, and no category is considered better than another.
What will I learn from my result?
Your personalized interpretation may describe:
Where you fall on the Analytical–Physical spectrum
How you tend to process verbal information
Whether you are more likely to respond to direct or indirect wording
How your result may relate to hypnosis and hypnotherapy
How your communication style may appear in everyday situations
The result is intended as a starting point for reflection, not as a permanent label.
Does the test measure hypnotizability?
Not in the same way as laboratory measures of hypnotic responsiveness.
The Kappasinian test focuses on a communication and suggestion style described by the E&P model. Research settings may measure hypnotic responsiveness with standardized instruments such as the Stanford Hypnotic Clinical Scale or the Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility.[^1]
These measures assess responses to specific hypnotic suggestions under controlled conditions. They are not interchangeable with the Kappasinian Suggestibility Test.
Is this the same as being gullible?
No.
Gullibility usually refers to accepting false or poorly supported information too readily. The Kappasinian model concerns how a person tends to process suggestions, particularly whether they respond more naturally to direct wording or inferred meaning.
A person can question suggestions carefully and still have an identifiable Analytical or Physical communication preference.
Can the test tell me whether I can be hypnotized?
It cannot provide a definitive answer.
Modern research generally finds that people differ in hypnotic responsiveness, but that responsiveness is influenced by several factors, including attention, expectations, motivation, imagination, rapport, the situation, and the language used by the hypnotist.[^2]
The Kappasinian approach proposes that a person may respond more effectively when suggestions are presented in a style that fits their usual way of processing information. The test can offer one perspective on that style, but it should not be treated as a complete prediction of hypnotic responsiveness.
How might the result be useful in hypnotherapy?
A hypnotherapist may use information about a client’s communication preferences when choosing wording and pacing.
For example:
Someone with stronger Analytical tendencies may respond well to explanations, indirect suggestions, metaphors, and carefully worded implications.
Someone with stronger Physical tendencies may respond well to clear, concrete, literal instructions involving bodily sensations or observable actions.
Someone near the middle may respond comfortably to both approaches.
A qualified hypnotherapist should still adapt to the individual rather than relying on a test result alone. Effective hypnosis involves collaboration, consent, attention, expectations, and ongoing feedback.
Does my result describe my entire personality?
No.
The test is focused on a particular model of suggestibility. It does not measure the full range of personality traits, mental health, intelligence, attachment style, values, or clinical symptoms.
Results can also be affected by how you interpret the questions, your current circumstances, and the situations you had in mind while answering.
Can my result change over time?
Your general communication preferences may remain fairly consistent, but your responses can change with experience and context.
People may respond differently depending on:
Who is speaking
How much they trust the speaker
Whether the suggestion feels relevant
Their emotional and physical state
Their expectations
The setting
The wording and timing of the suggestion
For that reason, the test should be viewed as a snapshot and a framework for self-observation, not a fixed identity.
Who developed the original model?
Dr. John G. Kappas developed the Emotional and Physical Suggestibility model as part of his approach to hypnotherapy. He founded the Hypnosis Motivation Institute in 1968 and contributed to the development of Kappasinian hypnotherapy.
Hypnotechs presents the test as an educational adaptation based on the Kappasinian framework. The interpretation is designed to help users understand the model and consider how it may relate to communication and hypnosis.
Is the test scientifically validated?
The Kappasinian E&P framework is widely taught within Kappasinian hypnotherapy, but it should not be confused with a broadly validated psychological test supported by the same level of research as established clinical or personality measures.
Scientific research on suggestibility uses different definitions and instruments. For example, hypnotic suggestibility, interrogative suggestibility, and response to social influence are related but distinct areas of study.[^3]
The Hypnotechs test is best used for education, personal reflection, and discussion with a qualified practitioner—not for diagnosis or high-stakes decisions.
Is the test free?
Yes. The Kappasinian Suggestibility Test is free to take and does not require an account. A personalized interpretation is provided after completion.
Is my result a diagnosis?
No.
The result is not a diagnosis, medical assessment, psychological evaluation, or substitute for professional care. If you have concerns about your mental health, memory, trauma, or behavior, consult an appropriately licensed healthcare professional.
How should I take the test?
For the most useful result:
Answer every question honestly.
Choose the response that best reflects your usual behavior.
Avoid selecting answers based on what seems more desirable.
Think about your general pattern rather than one unusual event.
Read the result as a suggestion for reflection rather than a final label.
Take the free Kappasinian Suggestibility Test →
[^1]: Weitzenhoffer, A. M., and Hilgard, E. R. Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scales, Forms A and B. Consulting Psychologists Press, 1959.
[^2]: Lynn, S. J., Green, J. P., and Rhue, J. W., editors. Theories of Hypnosis: Current Models and Perspectives. Guilford Press, 2010.
[^3]: Gudjonsson, G. H. The Psychology of Interrogations and Confessions: A Handbook. Wiley, 1992.