Suggestibilitet

Suggestibilitet, or suggestibility, is the degree to which individuals are susceptible to external suggestions, prompts, or expectations that influence their opinions, memories, or behavior. It is a multidimensional construct studied in psychology and related fields, encompassing social influence, framing effects, and expectancy-driven responses.

In theory and research, suggestibility is examined across several domains. Social influence and conformity describe how people adjust beliefs or actions to align with others. Hypnotic susceptibility refers to responsiveness to hypnotic suggestions. Memory research demonstrates how leading questions and misinformation can alter recall, a phenomenon known as the misinformation effect. In health communication, placebo effects show how expectations can produce real physiological changes.

Individual differences exist: some people are more gullible or absorption-prone, while others are more skeptical. Trait and state factors, including mood, attention, fatigue, and context, modulate susceptibility. Children often show higher suggestibility to misleading information, whereas adults can be more stable but still influenced under certain conditions.

Applications and ethics: understanding suggestibility is important in education, therapy, and law, where the reliability of testimony and memories may be compromised by suggestion. Ethical concerns focus on avoiding manipulation and ensuring informed consent; clinicians use carefully guided suggestions within professional guidelines, while researchers strive to minimize bias and harm.

Related topics include misinformation effect, hypnosis, social influence, placebo effects, and leading questions.