Could someone please explain to me the difference between suggestion and suggestibility in terms of forensic psychology rather than the dictionary... Thanks
2007-02-03 22:43:14 · 2 answers · asked by Belle 3 in Social Science ➔ Psychology
A "suggestion" is something that someone makes or responds to where they are describing a hypothetical scenario. For example, you can suggest a theory of how a crime happened. Suggestion may also occur on a subconscious or "subliminal" level. We are influenced by suggestion every time we watch an advertisement that influences us to buy something. American law enforcement officers often use suggestion to allow a person to infer that they know more than they do by leaving files about or letting the suspect see something that will suggest this. A famous example of the power of suggestion involves "false memory syndrome", a phenomenon in which a person undergoing hypnosis may internalise the hypnotist's suggestion that they were abused and accept them as memory. This is why forensic hypnosis is rarely admissible in court.
Suggestibility refers to a person's susceptibility to suggestion. A highly suggestible person will accept consistent suggestion as truth. They are usually mentally subnormal, immature and easily led. An example of this can be seen where a person with mental issues confesses to a crime they didn't commit after sustained interview with the police. Jessie Misskelley, one of the West Memphis Three, is a good example of how a highly suggestible individual can be coerced into a confession. Suggestibility is also used as an argument to refute paranormal experience. It is argued that a person in a dark room where they are told certain things occur will be in a highly aware, suggestible state and will interpret sensory data in a fallacious manner.
Why do people respond to suggestion? There are lots of theories, primarily centred around willingness to please authority figures, difficulty separating fantasy from reality and the unreliability of memory in general.
Hope this helps.
2007-02-04 01:46:43 · answer #1 · answered by queenbee 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
{To me} Suggestibility means that it could be or might be. Suggestion means that it does refer. Does that help. Good Luck.
2007-02-03 22:47:45 · answer #2 · answered by FromJLM 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋