The Power of Suggestion.
It is strange that just a simple remark can have such an influence on your state of well being. A little compliment about how you look can lift your mood or a comment such as “you do not look your usual self” can have an emotional influence which can alter your physical appearance. When you hear someone's negative opinion, without realising it you can readily start not to feel well and if other people re enforce the original remark you may think you should actually see a doctor, although you may have no real symptoms of illness. There are positive uses for this well known phenomenon as it can be used for treating patients by suggestion and using a placebo in a medical trial can have good results.
This knowledge about suggestion has been used to great effect by film makers such as Alfred Hitchcock in the shower scene of Psycho. In the film the audience is given deliberate but suggestive snippets of viewable and audible information. No direct answers are given but audience assumption can be made when one has a fleeting view of a knife held high, a shriek sound is then heard and then the sombre music as the blood exits down the plug hole. Jaws had a drastic influence on the public by preceding the appearance or attack of the shark by easily recognised music. It was a technique that trained the audience into an expectation for what was to be later in the film. Suggestion is used to influence what the audience think they know. A little audible suggestion and already people are imagining the ferocious scenes to come. In fact a good part of the film was made simply by suggestion without anyone actually seeing a real shark.
Suggestion has been used in entertainment by hypnotists and also as an aid for everyday conditions
such as to stop smoking or control irrational fears.
TV show makers have used suggestion to captivate audiences with introduction to historical buildings that have a reputation of being haunted and I remember a scene where a sceptic took
part who vehemently doubted the existence of spirits, he was left in the darkened halls but on hearing unusual noises tripped and cried out “that's it, they have got me!” He was unharmed except for his bruised pride. It is odd though because nothing physically harmed the sceptic but his belief of what had gone on caused him to verbally state something he claimed could not happen. If left in the same kind of building in a similar situation of suggestion would I have been terrified? There is only one answer to that... Definitely.
I want to tell you about another incident when my then future wife was returning from work late at night. She got off the bus, she should have been met by a male member of her family as the area was exposed and a series of murders had taken place locally. After a while waiting she had gotten cold and anxious as she was completely alone in the poorly lit street. She thought to herself I have three choices. Take the long route home that is better lit, I could take the shorter way but it is darker or I could stay here and wait.
She felt a spot of cold rain on her cheek and started on the shorter walk but after a few steps there was the definite sound of following footsteps. She reasoned if it was a member of her family they would call out to reassure her. She increased her speed but the following footsteps increased also and so she tightened her grip on her handbag preparing to swing it with all her strength. At the important minute she felt a hand on her shoulder and hot breath on her neck. In that moment she turned to face her pursuer. Her heart pounded and in the gloom she thought she was about to see the serial killer as her last vision before death. For a moment she could hardly distinguish a face, many images kept forming in front of her and the influence of suggestion would not let her see what was in front of her. Faces moved about, images altered and shifted until minutes later the loved face of one of her relatives drove the suggestive images of the expected murderer from her mind. The relative had fortunately been the one who had been trying to follow her in his attempt to walk the rest of the way home with his sister but the influence of suggestion had almost brought the situation to a far different conclusion.
Suggestion, or the belief in it is a very strong emotive reason to act or think in a certain way. Many people will be able to have it aid them in their lives, be it through therapy or for the means of entertainment. Some say that they are not influenced by suggestion, but when it comes down to it I think most people will have had suggestion intervene in their life in some way.
This knowledge about suggestion has been used to great effect by film makers such as Alfred Hitchcock in the shower scene of Psycho. In the film the audience is given deliberate but suggestive snippets of viewable and audible information. No direct answers are given but audience assumption can be made when one has a fleeting view of a knife held high, a shriek sound is then heard and then the sombre music as the blood exits down the plug hole. Jaws had a drastic influence on the public by preceding the appearance or attack of the shark by easily recognised music. It was a technique that trained the audience into an expectation for what was to be later in the film. Suggestion is used to influence what the audience think they know. A little audible suggestion and already people are imagining the ferocious scenes to come. In fact a good part of the film was made simply by suggestion without anyone actually seeing a real shark.
Suggestion has been used in entertainment by hypnotists and also as an aid for everyday conditions
such as to stop smoking or control irrational fears.
TV show makers have used suggestion to captivate audiences with introduction to historical buildings that have a reputation of being haunted and I remember a scene where a sceptic took
part who vehemently doubted the existence of spirits, he was left in the darkened halls but on hearing unusual noises tripped and cried out “that's it, they have got me!” He was unharmed except for his bruised pride. It is odd though because nothing physically harmed the sceptic but his belief of what had gone on caused him to verbally state something he claimed could not happen. If left in the same kind of building in a similar situation of suggestion would I have been terrified? There is only one answer to that... Definitely.
I want to tell you about another incident when my then future wife was returning from work late at night. She got off the bus, she should have been met by a male member of her family as the area was exposed and a series of murders had taken place locally. After a while waiting she had gotten cold and anxious as she was completely alone in the poorly lit street. She thought to herself I have three choices. Take the long route home that is better lit, I could take the shorter way but it is darker or I could stay here and wait.
She felt a spot of cold rain on her cheek and started on the shorter walk but after a few steps there was the definite sound of following footsteps. She reasoned if it was a member of her family they would call out to reassure her. She increased her speed but the following footsteps increased also and so she tightened her grip on her handbag preparing to swing it with all her strength. At the important minute she felt a hand on her shoulder and hot breath on her neck. In that moment she turned to face her pursuer. Her heart pounded and in the gloom she thought she was about to see the serial killer as her last vision before death. For a moment she could hardly distinguish a face, many images kept forming in front of her and the influence of suggestion would not let her see what was in front of her. Faces moved about, images altered and shifted until minutes later the loved face of one of her relatives drove the suggestive images of the expected murderer from her mind. The relative had fortunately been the one who had been trying to follow her in his attempt to walk the rest of the way home with his sister but the influence of suggestion had almost brought the situation to a far different conclusion.
Suggestion, or the belief in it is a very strong emotive reason to act or think in a certain way. Many people will be able to have it aid them in their lives, be it through therapy or for the means of entertainment. Some say that they are not influenced by suggestion, but when it comes down to it I think most people will have had suggestion intervene in their life in some way.
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