There is an ancient Chinese proverb that states, “A vacant mind is open to all suggestions, as a hollow mountain returns all sounds.”
In my book, Gotcha! The Subordination of Free Will, I open every chapter with a comparison of beliefs and facts. When it comes to the power of suggestions, we could state rather flatly:
Misconception:
Most people believe they are above the power of suggestion
and indeed immediately recognize it for what it is.
Fact:
The fact is, suggestion rules! Everyone is subject to suggestion,
and those who understand this can use it to puppet almost anyone.
The Power of Suggestion
The power of suggestion cannot be overstated! Suggestion is one of the most powerful tools in the arsenal of anyone who wishes to influence another, or themselves for that matter. The simple power of suggestion has led to mass hysteria, mass psychogenic illness, and so much more. The fact is, this is something that we all should know and something that is so obvious that I almost left it out of Gotcha!
It is important not only to recognize the power of suggestion but also to acknowledge the influence it has over our behavior. Whether it is an old wives’ tale, a superstition, or the alleged strength of a drug including the effect, or for that matter, the nocebo effect (a harmless substance that actually causes harm), and on and on, suggestion can rule our behavior. Solid research has demonstrated this repeatedly. What explains this power in our lives?
The answer lies in our response expectancies, or the ways in which we anticipate our responses in various situations. These expectancies set us up for automatic responses that actively influence how we get to the outcome we expect. Once we anticipate a specific outcome will occur, our subsequent thoughts and behaviors will actually help to bring that outcome to fruition.
Unintentional Suggestion
There is another important aspect to suggestion that we should be very aware of, and that is something called the unintentional suggestion. There are potentially many unintended consequences as a result of unintentional suggestions, and sometimes, the unintended suggestion is not a conscious one per se. And the unintended effects of suggestion aren’t just restricted to the laboratory—they cut across many real world domains, including the fields of medicine, education, and criminal justice. For example, converging evidence on eyewitness identification procedures demonstrates that the rate of false identifications is significantly higher when lineups are conducted by people who know who the suspect is than when the lineups are conducted by people who don’t.
As we learn more and more about human behavior, we gain the same sort of insight into questions of how and why as we do when we peer into the brain and watch it perform in real time. And quite often we gain this information as the result of surveys, psychological scales, and the like. For example, and of particular relevance given the present election cycle, using online surveys as their tool, researchers at Leeds School of Business, University of Colorado, Boulder, sought to explore the elements that contributed to strong polarization in America today. What they learned was that extreme political views may stem from an illusion of understanding:
“We wanted to know how it’s possible that people can maintain such strong positions on issues that are so complex—such as macroeconomics, health care, foreign relations—and yet seem to be so ill-informed about those issues.”
Illusion of Understanding
The researchers asked subjects to explain their point of view. As the researchers predicted, people reported lower understanding of all policies after they had to explain them, and their positions on the policies were less extreme. In fact, the data showed that the more people’s understanding decreased, the more uncertain they were about the position, and the less extreme their position was in the end. The act of explaining also affected participants’ behavior. People who initially held a strong position softened their position after having to explain it, making them less likely to donate bonus money to a related organization when they were given the opportunity to do so. Importantly, the results affected people along the whole political spectrum, from self-identified Democrats to Republicans to Independents. According to the researchers, these findings shed light on a psychological process that may help people to open the lines of communication in the context of a heated debate or negotiation. Now the question is, “How do we get people to explain their opinions in contrast to blindly arguing them? “
Thanks for the read!
Eldon Taylor
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“If you are one of those people who believe that ignorance is bliss, then this book is not for you. So who is it for? It is for enlightened souls who are on a mission to change the world for the better. If you are one of those, then you must read Gotcha! Once again, Eldon Taylor has demonstrated with mastery and ample evidence that our world is not what it seems and that the intention to harm and manipulate the people of America is alive and well. As a holistic physician, I am always counseling my patients to become aware of what goes in, on, and around their minds and bodies. Eldon’s book uncovers to what lengths corporations and government will go to in order to keep people numb, dumb and unhealthy. If you’re willing to go through the gamut of so-called negative emotions – shock, indignation, anger, and hopelessness – and come out the other side, you’ll be empowered by the knowledge found in this book like I was. Every day we are being ‘called’ to awaken from our unconscious slumber by transformational teachers worldwide in order to save our planet and our children. Eldon Taylor is one of those who I consider a Superhero! Thank you Eldon for your courage and willingness to bring others to the Light.”
~ Karen Kan, MD, Holistic Physician, Bestselling Author of Guide to Healing Chronic Pain
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