participants’ prior belief or disbelief in the paranormal played a key role, with half of disbelievers correctly stating that the table didn’t move versus just a third of believers. Our questionnaire also asked people whether they had had any unusual experiences during the séance. It seemed that the atmosphere we had created caused people to experience a whole range of spooky effects, with one in five reporting cold shivers, a strong sense of energy flowing through them, and a mysterious presence in the room.
The message was clear. In the same way that simple suggestion can be used to fool people into recalling illusory childhood events, so it can also make a significant proportion of people experience the impossible.
A few years after the séance show, I teamed up with a television company to explore whether the same sort of techniques could be used to create a belief in New Age mumbo-jumbo, and even persuade people to part with their hard-earned cash. Before the study started, we visited a local hardware shop and bought two objects—a brass curtain ring worth fifty pence and a chrome light-pull for two pounds. The manager of a large shopping center in Hertfordshire allowed us to carry out the study in the middle of his mall.
This initial phase of the experiment was designed to establish a baseline. We stopped people, asked them to place the brass ring or light-pull in their hands, and tell us whether they felt anything odd. Perhaps not surprisingly, no one reported a thing. It was time to introduce some suggestion. I explained to the next set of passersby that I was a psychologist, that I had designed two objects to make people feel slightly unusual, and was now road-testing the designs. Again, people placed the objects in their hands. This time the reaction was quite different. Whereas before we had encountered nothing but blank faces, now the suggestion began to play with their minds. People started to report all sorts of slightly odd effects. Some said that the objects made them feel relaxed. Others said that they caused a slight tingling sensation. Often they would get an effect with one object and not the other, and they were keen to know the difference between the two. When I asked how much they would be prepared to pay for the objects, people estimated between five and eight pounds.
So far we had employed only verbal suggestion. Now it was time to add some visual elements into the mix. I donned a white laboratory coat and bought two cheap boxes for the curtain ring and light-pull. I approached a variety of shoppers and, once again, people were kind enough to help out. I explained that I was looking for honest feedback on the two devices, which were designed to elicit some strange feelings. This time the reactions were even more extreme. One person said that the brass curtain ring made him feel high. Another said that the chrome light-pull made him feel as if his hands were magnetic and attracted toward one another. Another said that she felt as if there were electricity running through her hands. It was a dramatic demonstration of how easily suggestion can be used to part the gullible from their cash. How much were people now prepared to pay for the fifty-pence brass ring or two-pound light-pull?
The estimates ranged between fifteen and twenty-five pounds.
3
BELIEVING SIX IMPOSSIBLE THINGS BEFORE BREAKFAST
Psychology Enters the Twilight Zone
T he Savoy Hotel in London is famous for fine dining, attentive service, grand interiors, and, of course, a three-foot-high wooden black cat called Kaspar. In 1898, a British businessman named Woolf Joel booked a table for fourteen at the hotel. Unfortunately, one of his guests cancelled at the last moment, leaving him with just thirteen diners. Deciding to ignore the old wives’ tale that says it is unlucky to have thirteen people around a table, Woolf pressed ahead with the meal. Three weeks later, Woolf returned to South
The message was clear. In the same way that simple suggestion can be used to fool people into recalling illusory childhood events, so it can also make a significant proportion of people experience the impossible.
A few years after the séance show, I teamed up with a television company to explore whether the same sort of techniques could be used to create a belief in New Age mumbo-jumbo, and even persuade people to part with their hard-earned cash. Before the study started, we visited a local hardware shop and bought two objects—a brass curtain ring worth fifty pence and a chrome light-pull for two pounds. The manager of a large shopping center in Hertfordshire allowed us to carry out the study in the middle of his mall.
This initial phase of the experiment was designed to establish a baseline. We stopped people, asked them to place the brass ring or light-pull in their hands, and tell us whether they felt anything odd. Perhaps not surprisingly, no one reported a thing. It was time to introduce some suggestion. I explained to the next set of passersby that I was a psychologist, that I had designed two objects to make people feel slightly unusual, and was now road-testing the designs. Again, people placed the objects in their hands. This time the reaction was quite different. Whereas before we had encountered nothing but blank faces, now the suggestion began to play with their minds. People started to report all sorts of slightly odd effects. Some said that the objects made them feel relaxed. Others said that they caused a slight tingling sensation. Often they would get an effect with one object and not the other, and they were keen to know the difference between the two. When I asked how much they would be prepared to pay for the objects, people estimated between five and eight pounds.
So far we had employed only verbal suggestion. Now it was time to add some visual elements into the mix. I donned a white laboratory coat and bought two cheap boxes for the curtain ring and light-pull. I approached a variety of shoppers and, once again, people were kind enough to help out. I explained that I was looking for honest feedback on the two devices, which were designed to elicit some strange feelings. This time the reactions were even more extreme. One person said that the brass curtain ring made him feel high. Another said that the chrome light-pull made him feel as if his hands were magnetic and attracted toward one another. Another said that she felt as if there were electricity running through her hands. It was a dramatic demonstration of how easily suggestion can be used to part the gullible from their cash. How much were people now prepared to pay for the fifty-pence brass ring or two-pound light-pull?
The estimates ranged between fifteen and twenty-five pounds.
3
BELIEVING SIX IMPOSSIBLE THINGS BEFORE BREAKFAST
Psychology Enters the Twilight Zone
T he Savoy Hotel in London is famous for fine dining, attentive service, grand interiors, and, of course, a three-foot-high wooden black cat called Kaspar. In 1898, a British businessman named Woolf Joel booked a table for fourteen at the hotel. Unfortunately, one of his guests cancelled at the last moment, leaving him with just thirteen diners. Deciding to ignore the old wives’ tale that says it is unlucky to have thirteen people around a table, Woolf pressed ahead with the meal. Three weeks later, Woolf returned to South
Similar Books
