The Power of Suggestion

[aggle-rithm]

I've decided to post this in General Skepticism because I think the power of suggestion is something that could potentially be used by rip-off artists in the "paranormal" field (although it appears that it isn't really necessary, as most people seem to want to be fooled).

This morning I was awakened by a phone call. I was confused for two reasons...first, I had just woken up, and second, I had just gotten a new phone and didn't recognize the ring at first.

My wife woke up and said, "Who is calling us at four o'clock in the morning?" I answered the phone, extremely drowsy. The guy calling me was from work, and he was very apologetic. Throughout the conversation I was barely able to follow what he was saying, I was so overwhelmingly sleepy. Finally, I told him I would look into the problem he had described, and hung up.

It was then I looked at the clock. It was 7:00 AM, not 4:00. It was then I realized I wasn't nearly as groggy as I thought I was. Just the mention of such an early hour convinced me that I was, not just intellectually, but physically.

An even more intriguing incident happened a week or so ago. I was working with a consultant who has been helping coach me on project development. He mentioned in passing that he was going to start working here full-time at the first of next month.

I immediately felt a chill run through me. I was convinced, at this moment, that I was going to be fired. For the next few hours I ran through all the evidence in my mind, and it convinced me even further that I was going to be replaced...something I hadn't considered possible before, since the company depends heavily on my expertise. That night I even had nightmares about it.

The next day, I went back through the conversation in my mind. I realized that his exact words were the key to my delusion. He had said, "I'm going to start working full time at the beginning of next month; are you still going to be here?"

What he meant was, was the company still going to be at this location? That much was clear pretty early on, but part of my brain apparently locked onto these words and associated a different meaning: Are you still going to be employed here? The mere question of whether I would be working there in a month was enough to cause all the angst I had experienced.

As soon as I realized what had happened, I knew my fears were irrational and stopped worrying about it.

This reminded me of the trick played by Derrick Brown to get people to accept blank paper instead of money. As he's handing it to them, he is telling a story in which the phrase "OK to take it" is mentioned. Even though the context has nothing to do with the financial transaction, the juxtaposition of the action and the conversation is enough to confuse the cashier and make them take fake money. Now I know how powerful this sort of thing can be.

Has anyone had similar experiences?

 

[AgeGap]

I stopped drinking alcoholic drinks a while ago but when I go to the pub I have alcohol free lager. If I am not sure if the lager is no- rather than low-alcohol I feel a little tipsy. When I confirm it is no-alcohol I feel OK again.
Is Derron handing them blank paper or is that what it looks like to you.
BTW when I first read your post I did not realise you wrote Derrick rather than Derron.
Power of suggestion told me to read it as Derron.

 

[JFrankA]

The power of suggestion is very real and is something we do to each other everyday without realizing it. Magicians like Derren Brown, or con-artists, like Sylvia Brown use it along with misdirections, ambiguous words or distractions or all of that to let the suggestion slip through.

For example, Don't think of a black cat.

What's the first thing you think of? This is a suggestion that's worded like a command not to do, but you do it anyway.

Suggestion is very powerful, but you have to know how to distract the person from fully comprehending what you are saying and, this is important, there has to be a level of either desire or belief or both for it to work. And it's very easy to do.

 

[amb]

The power of suggestion is how hypnotists in show business work. Of course they need a very suggestible person for the tricks to work.
If a person who is a complete sceptic gets up on stage, nothing will work.
That is why some members of the audience are hand picked beforehand and strategically placed near the front row seats.

 

[Mashuna]

For example, Don't think of a black cat.

What's the first thing you think of?

For some reason, a hippo.

 

[hipparchia]

I stopped drinking alcoholic drinks a while ago but when I go to the pub I have alcohol free lager. If I am not sure if the lager is no- rather than low-alcohol I feel a little tipsy. When I confirm it is no-alcohol I feel OK again.

I managed to get a buzz out of no-alcohol lager a few days ago. It's going to be a useful skill.

 

[JFrankA]

The power of suggestion is how hypnotists in show business work. Of course they need a very suggestible person for the tricks to work.
If a person who is a complete sceptic gets up on stage, nothing will work.
That is why some members of the audience are hand picked beforehand and strategically placed near the front row seats.

Exactly.

I do stage hypnosis sometimes, and this is exactly how it works. However, there are ways to sometimes convince someone (using suggestion) to be suggestible.

For some reason, a hippo.

Doesn't always work -- the belief that it does all the time is the "woo" of it.

 

[dustbunny]

The power of suggestion is very real for me. I can very easily become anxious or think the worst immediately. But sometimes when I sit and calmly rationalize a situation my anxiety drops. The amount of times I've ended up with egg on my face or embarassed are countless.

Taking placebo medications can work on the same principle. Our brains aren't complex for nothing.

 

[Professor Yaffle]

But you have to remember that when Derren Brown seems most obviously to be using suggestion in his tricks, are exactly the times when he is doing something else and the suggestion of suggestion is a distraction.

 

[Naughtyhippo]

For some reason, a hippo.

Mwahahahaha! The plan is working then!

 

[Mashuna]

Mwahahahaha! The plan is working then!

I'm not going to comment on whether it was a naughty hippo.

 

[JonWhite]

This reminded me of the trick played by Derrick Brown to get people to accept blank paper instead of money. As he's handing it to them, he is telling a story in which the phrase "OK to take it" is mentioned. Even though the context has nothing to do with the financial transaction, the juxtaposition of the action and the conversation is enough to confuse the cashier and make them take fake money. Now I know how powerful this sort of thing can be.

Derrick (??) Brown is a magician. I suggest that the claimed suggestion had nothing to do with how this was really done.

But you have to remember that when Derren Brown seems most obviously to be using suggestion in his tricks, are exactly the times when he is doing something else and the suggestion of suggestion is a distraction.

Exactly.

 

[Belz...]

Placebo's the most powerful thing in the universe. Bar none, because it can actually defeat the laws of physics

 

[David Wong]

Yes, the power of suggestion is real but what Brown is claiming is pure fiction. What he's claiming is completely different than your other examples, where your own prior experience and anxiety allowed the suggestion to happen.

You can't work an unrelated phrase into a sentence and short circuit someone's mind. That's just part of Brown's act. Think of how the world of advertising, politics and, well, all human communication would be altered if a car salesman could FORCE you to buy by inserting some nonsense phrase into his pitch that flips a switch in your mind.

No, suggestion takes other forms. He suggests the special deal is about to end soon, that someone else is looking at the car, that interest rates are about to rise, he says how good you look in the car. In other words, he just plays off your anxiety, ego, fears, etc.

 

[JFrankA]

Yes, the power of suggestion is real but what Brown is claiming is pure fiction. What he's claiming is completely different than your other examples, where your own prior experience and anxiety allowed the suggestion to happen.

You can't work an unrelated phrase into a sentence and short circuit someone's mind. That's just part of Brown's act. Think of how the world of advertising, politics and, well, all human communication would be altered if a car salesman could FORCE you to buy by inserting some nonsense phrase into his pitch that flips a switch in your mind.

No, suggestion takes other forms. He suggests the special deal is about to end soon, that someone else is looking at the car, that interest rates are about to rise, he says how good you look in the car. In other words, he just plays off your anxiety, ego, fears, etc.

Kind of true. But we aren't talking about forcing. We are talking about suggestion. It's very different. What Derren Brown does, and very well, is misdirect. Some of the stuff he does is exactly what he says and when he's actually doing it, the conditions are exactly what he needs for it to work. He controls the conditions.

Agreed he uses a lot of misdirection and patter, (what good magician doesn't?) but some of what he says does work.

People tend to think that using the power of suggestion means that you can force someone to do something. It doesn't mean that at all. Some people think they are the same thing and they are not.

For example, an advertiser can say hire a sexy woman to hang with an everyday guy and have her say "OOhh. I love a man who wears Stinky Cheese Cologne". It's a suggestion: the advertiser is hoping that some people will remember the girl, what she said and relate it to Stinky Cheese Cologne. Now does it work all the time? Of course not. It's not all that powerful. However, it does work under the right conditions. There will be someone out there who will suddenly buy Stinky Cheese Cologne not because they remember the commercial verbatim, but because there was something that they remember something that was said that left an impression.

Does it work every time? No. That's why it isn't forcing someone. But people are willing to take anything that works a little and try to exploit it.

As I said, the power of suggestion does work, but the conditions have to be right, and it doesn't work all the time. The final decision as to whether you follow a suggestion, in all cases, is you.

 

[aggle-rithm]

Derrick (??) Brown is a magician. I suggest that the claimed suggestion had nothing to do with how this was really done.

So it really is magic? Good to know.

 

[aggle-rithm]

Derrick (??) Brown is a magician. I suggest that the claimed suggestion had nothing to do with how this was really done.

HEY!!!

You had me going for a minute, there.

 

[Moi.Frenchie]

I stopped drinking alcoholic drinks a while ago but when I go to the pub I have alcohol free lager. If I am not sure if the lager is no- rather than low-alcohol I feel a little tipsy. When I confirm it is no-alcohol I feel OK again.
Is Derron handing them blank paper or is that what it looks like to you.
BTW when I first read your post I did not realise you wrote Derrick rather than Derron.
Power of suggestion told me to read it as Derron.

Reminds me of the time a friend pointed out the peach schnapps we were drinking was alcohol free. I was very dissapointed, having already started to get a little drunk...

 

[amb]

Some folks who attend church for holy communion are convinced that the wafer the priest places on their tongue is the body of christ.

It's suggested to them that for that instant they are actually cannibals.

 

[four elevener]

I stopped drinking alcoholic drinks a while ago but when I go to the pub I have alcohol free lager. If I am not sure if the lager is no- rather than low-alcohol I feel a little tipsy. When I confirm it is no-alcohol I feel OK again.

One of the night time new shows did an episode about alcohol lowering one's inhibitions. In it, two groups of strangers were brought together to socialize around alcohol. One group was given alcoholic beer and the other group was given non-alcoholic beer. When questioned by producers, the non-alcoholic group reported being slightly tipsy and therefore more unhibited. They were surprised when told that their group had drank non-alcoholic beer. The show wasn't about the power of perception specifically, but I think it's a good example of how powerful of an influence it can have on people.