Why are we swayed by those around us?

Suggestibility

, explained.
Bias

What is Suggestibility?

Suggestibility is the tendency to accept and act on ideas or information suggested by others, often without critical analysis or independent judgment. In some cases, it involves the capacity for physical and  verbal suggestions to elicit responses to actions outside of an individual’s conscious awareness.12

suggestibility cartoon of a man petting a lion

Where this bias occurs

People are considered suggestible if they act or accept suggestions based on the input of others. It is a trait that individuals have to varying degrees and the factors influencing how suggestible we are include our self-esteem, age, upbringing, assertiveness, and situational factors.1 Researchers also believe that lack of knowledge or flawed organization surrounding the subject matter being conveyed can also impact a person’s level of suggestibility.15 

Imagine the following scenario. During a team meeting, the senior project manager casually mentions that one specific brand of software is "probably the best option" for an upcoming project. Even though the team hasn’t reviewed other options yet and has no prior experience with this particular software, several members immediately agree and support the suggestion, assuming the manager must have reliable insight. As a result, they skip a thorough evaluation of alternatives and proceed with the recommended software. 

This example demonstrates how suggestibility can lead individuals or groups to hastily adopt an idea without fully questioning or analyzing it, potentially resulting in suboptimal decisions or missed opportunities to explore better alternatives that could have been uncovered through a little bit of thought or reflection. 

Another example of suggestible behavior in our everyday life is contagious yawning.2 Contagious yawning happens when a person starts yawning after seeing another person yawn, even if the first person is not tired. Yawning is an example of suggestibility because we are influenced by the behavior of others without being consciously aware of it.2

Suggestibility is perhaps one of the most important concepts in the history of modern psychology and psychiatry. Over the years, it has been equated to a range of other cognitive phenomena and human traits, including gullibility and persuasibility, hypnosis, the placebo effect, and neuroticism.19 There is no single trait of suggestibility and can take a number of different forms that do not necessarily intersect. 

Researchers looking at suggestibility have proposed two different kinds of suggestible influence and two kinds of suggestibility corresponding to them: direct and indirect.13 Direct suggestion involves overt, unhidden influence, such as someone directly telling you that  ‘you shouldn’t smoke near children because it’s bad for their health.’ Indirect suggestion, on the other hand, concerns influence that is hidden, which subtly shapes perceptions by encouraging individuals to interpret or align with the suggested choice themselves. Subliminal messages, or hidden words or images that are not consciously perceived but that can influence a person’s attitudes or behaviors, constitute a type of indirect suggestion and can often be found in advertisements. 

Within these two distinct types of suggestibility, there are three primary areas effects which depend on the context and type of influence:14

  1. The placebo effect: When an individual responds positively to a medical treatment or intervention because they believe it will work, even if the medication has no active ingredients. This effect underscores the powerful connection between the mind and the body and how our mindset plays a role in the way we feel. 
  2. Hypnotic suggestibility: The degree to which an individual responds to suggestions from another person while under the influence of hypnosis. In this state, a person’s critical thinking and conscious control are reduced. Hypnotic suggestibility is part of the broader psychological trait of direct verbal suggestibility, which refers to the tendency of an individual to accept and act on hypnotic suggestions that are communicated explicitly through verbal instructions. 
  3. Interrogative suggestibility: The extent to which an individual is influenced by leading questions, pressure, or suggestions during questioning, such as during police interviews or psychological evaluations. Highly suggestible individuals may alter their answers in response to the authority they are confronted with, even if it isn’t directly hostile 

Both the placebo effect and interrogative suggestibility are considered indirect suggestion, while hypnotic suggestibility is categorized as direct suggestion. 

Related Biases

Sources

  1. Addressing Suggestibility as a Psychological Phenomenon in Clinical Trials. (2019, March 05). Retrieved from https://www.fiercebiotech.com/sponsored/addressing-suggestibility-as-a-psychological-phenomenon-clinical-trials
  2. Clark, J. (2020, June 22). Does contagious yawning mean you’re nice? Retrieved from https://science.howstuffworks.com/life/inside-the-mind/human-brain/contagious-yawn.htm
  3. Hooper, Victoria-Rose; Chou, Shihning; Browne, Kevin D. (November 2016). “A systematic review on the relationship between self-esteem and interrogative suggestibility” (PDF). The Journal of Forensic Psychiatry & Psychology. 27 (6): 761–785. doi:10.1080/14789949.2016.1201844. ISSN 1478-9949.
  4. Watts, T. (n.d.). Suggestibility and Hypnosis. Retrieved August 05, 2020, from https://www.selfhypnosis.com/suggestibility/
  5. Murray, B. (2002, June). Countering the power of suggestion. Monitor on Psychology, 33(6). http://www.apa.org/monitor/jun02/countering
  6. Chambers, K. L., & Zaragoza, M. S. (2001). Intended and unintended effects of explicit warnings on eyewitness suggestibility: Evidence from source identification tests. Memory & Cognition, 29(8), 1120-1129. doi:10.3758/bf03206381
  7. Garry, M., & Hayne, H. (2013). Misinformation Effects and the Suggestibility of Eyewitness Memory. In Do justice and let the sky fall: Elizabeth F. Loftus and her contributions to science, law, and academic freedom. New York: Psychology Press.
  8. Hritz, A., Royer, C., Helm, R., Burd, K., Ojeda, K., & Ceci, S. (2015, April 08). Children’s suggestibility research: Things to know before interviewing a child. Retrieved August 05, 2020, from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1133074015000124
  9. Huffman, M. L., Crossman, A. M., & Ceci, S. J. (1997). “Are False Memories Permanent?”: An Investigation of the Long-Term Effects of Source Misattributions. Consciousness and Cognition, 6(4), 482-490. doi:10.1006/ccog.1997.0316
  10. Leichtman, M. D., & Ceci, S. J. (1995). The effects of stereotypes and suggestions on preschoolers’ reports. Developmental Psychology, 31(4), 568-578. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.31.4.568
  11. Lindsay, D. S., & Johnson, M. K. (1989). The eyewitness suggestibility effect and memory for source. Memory & Cognition, 17(3), 349-358. doi:10.3758/bf03198473
  12. Oakley, D. A. et al. (2021). Direct verbal suggestibility: Measurement and significance. Consciousness and Cognition, 89. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.concog.2020.103036
  13. Polczyk, R. (2016). Factor structure of suggestibility revisited: new evidence for direct and indirect suggestibility. Current Issues in Personality Psychology, 2(2), 87-96. 
  14. Fisher, Z., Opler, M. G. A., & Capodilupo, G. (2018). Addressing Suggestibility as a Psychological Phenomenon in Clinical Trials. WIRB-Copernicus Group. https://www.wcgclinical.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/addressing-suggestibility-as-a-psychological-phenomenon-in-clinical-trials.pdf
  15. McDougall, W. (2000). An Introduction to Social Psychology (14th ed.). https://ebookcentral.proquest.com
  16. Stock, A., & Stock, C. (2004). A short history of ideo-motor action. Psychological Research, 68, 176-188.
  17. James, W. (1890). The Principles of Psychology. Dover Publications.  
  18. Lamont, P. (2019). Hypnotism and suggestion: A historical perspective. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Psychology. 
  19. Evans, F. J. (1989). The Independence of Suggestibility, Placebo Response, and Hypnotizability. In V. A. Gheorghiu et al. (eds.), Suggestion and Suggestibility. Springer-Verlag. 
  20. Otgaar, H. et al. (2021). The link between suggestibility, compliance, and false confessions: A review using experimental and field studies. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 35(2), 445-455. 
  21. Zaltman, G. (2003). The Subconscious Mind of the Consumer (And How to Reach it). Harvard Business Review. https://www.library.hbs.edu/working-knowledge/the-subconscious-mind-of-the-consumer-and-how-to-reach-it
  22. Crawford, S. (2024, April 20). The Power of Suggestion in Marketing. Inkbot Design. https://inkbotdesign.com/the-power-of-suggestion/
  23. Kuna, D. P. (1976). The concept of suggestion in the early history of advertising psychology. Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences, 12(4), 347-53. 
  24. Smith, P. A. (2023). If I can’t predict my future, why can AI? Exploring human interaction with predictive analytics. Theses - ALL. 719. https://surface.syr.edu/thesis/719
  25. Houwer, J. D. (2020). Reducing interrogative suggestibility: The role of self-affirmation and positive feedback. PLoS One, 15(7). 
  26. Szpitalak, M., & Polczyk, R. (2020). Reducing interrogative suggestibility: The role of self-affirmation and positive feedback. PLoS One, 15(7). 
  27. Huff, M. J., & Umanath, S. (2017). Evaluating Suggestibility to Additive and Contradictory Misinformation Following Explicit Error Detection in Younger and Older Adults. J Exp Psychol Appl., 24(2), 180-195. 
  28. Aguado, J. F. (2015). Psychological manipulation, hypnosis, and suggestion. International Journal of Cultic Studies, 6, 48-59.

About the Author

Dr. Lauren Braithwaite

Dr. Lauren Braithwaite

Dr. Lauren Braithwaite is a Social and Behaviour Change Design and Partnerships consultant working in the international development sector. Lauren has worked with education programmes in Afghanistan, Australia, Mexico, and Rwanda, and from 2017–2019 she was Artistic Director of the Afghan Women’s Orchestra. Lauren earned her PhD in Education and MSc in Musicology from the University of Oxford, and her BA in Music from the University of Cambridge. When she’s not putting pen to paper, Lauren enjoys running marathons and spending time with her two dogs.

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