Scales assessing absorption, or a predisposition to become highly involved in sensory and imaginative experiences in non-hypnotic contexts, have predicted hypnotic responsivity as well. To examine the effects of expectancy on hypnotic responding by measuring expectancies at different points in the hypnotic experience, and to test for possible reactive effects of Tellegen and Atkinson's (1974) Absorption Scale, the scale was administered to 64 college students during the course of a hypnosis experiment and to an additional 64 students in a context unrelated to hypnosis. Results showed that absorption was correlated with hypnotic responsivity and with expected hypnotic responses only when the scale was administered in the context of a hypnosis experiment. Results indicated that completing the Absorption Scale in a hypnotic context affects hypnotic responsiveness by altering subjects' expectancies. Hypnotic response expectancies bore a highly significant relationship to actual responding on all dependent variables. Path analysis supported the hypothesis that hypnotic inductions alter expectancies for responding to hypnotic suggestions, and that these altered expectancies are major determinants of subsequent hypnotic behavior. (Author/JAC)