It’s a circular argument that makes it impossible to argue whether hypnosis makes people respond to suggestion, or whether suggestibility makes people respond to hypnosis. People who are hypnotisable, the report goes on to explain, are highly likely to follow suggestions made by another person regardless of whether or not they are actually ‘hypnotised’. This is problematic as it takes us back to your chicken-dancing friend, who may indeed dance like a chicken regardless, making it impossible to study hypnosis independently.
