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Project 10

Name ______

Date ______

The Power of Suggestion

The Power of Suggestion in Everyday Life

Think of a product that you once purchased because its packaging or an advertisement influenced you to try it. Try to find a picture of the packaging or advertisement. If you cannot find a copy of the packaging or advertisement, write a brief description of it.

  1. What was it about the packaging or advertisement that you found especially convincing or interesting?
  1. If you had not seen the advertisement, or if the product were packaged differently, do you think you would have purchased this product?
  1. How influenced do you think you are by the power of suggestion?
  1. Are you more influenced by certain sources of suggestion (e.g., the media, friends)?
  1. Are you typically aware of the influence that the power of suggestion has on your behavior, or are you typically inattentive to this influence?
  1. Can you think of a time when you witnessed another person being influenced by the power of suggestion?
  1. What are some other areas of your life that are influenced by the power of suggestion? Give two examples.
  1. Recall a time when the suggestion of another person influenced you or another individual in a negative way.
  1. Recall a time when the suggestion of another person influenced you or another individual in a positiveway.
  1. Can you think of a time when you influenced a person with a remark or gesture?

Therapy and the Power of Suggestion

Video: Dr. Comer

  1. Do you think that the therapist is suggesting to the client that she is not ready to stop therapy?
  1. How might clients react to this suggestion? Could it affect their thinking and their confidence?
  1. How do you think you would react?
  1. Can you think of other ways in which clients might be influenced by the power of a therapist’s suggestions?
  1. How can the power of suggestion be of value in therapy?
  1. How might it be harmful in therapy?

Multiple Personality Disorder: The Power of Suggestion

Video: Tony

What comments did Tony’s therapist make that may suggest to him that he has multiple personality disorder, lead him to act accordingly, and guide him to switch personalities?

Final Questions

  1. Although some theorists believe that the power of suggestion helps account for dissociative, somatoform, and certain other psychological disorders, many other theorists believe that this proposition overstates the actual power of suggestion and overlooks more compelling explanations for the psychopathology. What do you think?
  1. Explain how the questions by Tony’s therapist might, in fact, be constructive and therapeutic, rather than iatrogenic.
  1. How can therapists be sure that their suggestive questions or techniques (e.g., hypnosis) are helping clients to discover inner truths rather than creating new beliefs or attitudes?