Yes, or No? And Everything In-Between

Photo courtesy of Microsoft

 

                Imagine you are watching a police or legal-procedural drama on television. Someone has just been sworn-in to testify in court, and an attorney begins to fire questions at the individual sitting in the witness box. Almost immediately—and then, seemingly every other question—the witness’ lawyer wants to have the opponent’s question stricken from the record or declares that the question or statement is irrelevant, etc. Meanwhile, the witness seems to limit every answer to a “yes” or “no” response, usually per his or her attorney’s instruction for damage control. But sometimes, if the opposing counsel is very lucky, a question strikes a nerve and the witness not only answers the question completely and honestly, but also provides information that helps to wrap up the entire case.

This scenario makes for great television, but it isn’t restricted to the small or big-screen. Rather, it happens to some extent every day, during the course of just about every conversation you have with the people you know. Most people have had an experience where they ask, or someone asks them, a direct question, and what should be a simple response becomes a complex answer that lasts as long as a talk-show monolog. Conversely, their or the other person’s answer may be so blunt and concise that the rest of the conversation stalls. So, what is going on? What influences people to provide a detailed and even complicated answer to a simple question; and why is it so hard to inspire more than a monosyllabic response from others?

Quite simply: suggestibility. According to John Kappas, Ph.D., suggestibility refers to how we learn and process information. Someone who has physical suggestibility perceives and responds to information as it is presented in a direct and literal context. If you ask a question, he or she will provide a yes or no answer. Conversely, an individual who possesses emotional suggestibility perceives stimuli and processes that information as a metaphor or inference. This person will analyze the query for a subtext and is likely to provide information in the response that can cover the various possible or inferred aspects of the original question. Of course it is possible to consciously “control” how you will answer a question or decide which and how much information you will reveal without an attorney on-hand to advise what you should say. However, since suggestibility is created in the subconscious mind, most people don’t bother or even think about whether they will provide an in-depth or curt statement before they speak. At the end of the day, they (and you) generally, automatically pour or mete out specific pieces of information because that is how they have learned and know how to interact in the world.

For more information about this topic, read my December 27, 2013 blog titled “Emotional and Physical Suggestibility”; and my December 28, 2013 blog, “Sources of Suggestibility.”

 

 

 Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified hypnotherapist based in Southern California. She graduated with honors from the Hypnosis Motivation Institute in 2005. For more information about Calminsense Hypnotherapy®, please visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/.

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