Dorothy and Natasha: Psychology Lab Partners

Dorothy: A Classroom Demonstration

The scene: a simple university lecture hall. We observe the lecture, or perhaps a well-led discussion, already in progress. Dorothy has not been paying close attention. She may be in for a big surprise. The professor is still talking.

* * *

The questions some of you asked were, just how strong can a posthypnotic urge be?

Can someone have a posthypnotic suggestion inside their head, and not realize it?

How difficult is it to hypnotize someone, perhaps a pretty girl, without her being aware that it is happening? Give her some interesting ideas right inside her head, so that she is doing a task already, before she realizes it is of hypnotic origin? What if she decides she does not want to do our silly task? Will she still continue to do it?

Or, better still, what if she really, seriously objects, will she do it even when she tries not to do it?

Perhaps we can answer some of your questions with a little demonstration from among our group here. We shall seek an unwilling volunteer. Someone who may cooperate a little at first, but who would prefer to not be our unwilling subject. Yet someone just slightly curious enough to wonder how this will work out.

The parameters of the questions call for a girl, a pretty young woman. All females, please raise your left hand.

Very good. Now ladies, let's let your subconsciouses guide these hands in a few moments. But first, let's establish a pattern, a path your muscles will take to move your hands and arms. Lower your hands, and then raise them once again. Lower your hands again and let them raise back to the upper position again. Fine, now lower your hands and arms and simply let them relax.

Next, each lady, examine your own self for a moment. I will ask a few questions and when an answer is Yes, your arm will feel a tug upward.

If you have enough Yes answers, your arm will return to the lifted position of a few moments ago.

First question, are you female?

Do you enjoy surprises?

Do you enjoy being the center of friendly attention?

Are you fairly pretty?

Do you wish to avoid being hypnotized in this demonstration?

Do you think you are a person who can resist being hypnotized?

Do you think you will know for certain when you are hypnotized?

Can you tell that this demonstration is designed to hypnotize you?

Have you noticed already that your hand has moved upward?

You understand of course that I can speak to you on more than one level of your mind, without the other levels of your mind being as confused about it as your conscious level might become. Yes?

Good, and you have at least once in your life experienced a few moments, during a lecture like this, for example, when you realized you have missed a few words from the speaker, when, possibly, your mind has just wandered only a slight amount?

Of course, to overcome this tendency, you also decide to pay very close attention to what is being said from now on, even when you may not fully understand, in your head, what is being said to you, inside your head, that is.

Will it surprise you if I tell you that you have already been hypnotized?

Have you ever been such a helpful person that you volunteered for something without knowing exactly what it was you volunteered for?