Suggestibility Tests
Suggestibility Tests provide a little entertainment and help set a positive mood when you have a small group of people and need to know who will be the best subjects for your hypnosis session. They are necessary for three reasons.
1. Helps establish the depth of relaxation.
2. Establishes the suggestibility of the subject.
3. Convinces the subject that he is very relaxed or in a state of hypnosis.
These waking tests are used to test the suggestibility of a subject prior to relaxation. This is needed when you are looking for people to form study groups or when doing a demonstration before a group. If you are working before a small group giving suggestibility tests to two or three people, you may be surprised at the number of people in the audience who also respond to your suggestions.
Once at a regular monthly meeting of a hypnosis group, a guest hypnotist who helped overweight people stay on their diets gave a demonstration of his technique for our benefit. During the demonstration he suggested to the subject that she should no longer want bread to eat. It was a simple suggestion directed at the subject only, but a week later a friend who had been in attendance told me that he had lost all desire to eat bread. Needless to say, we knew he was a excellent hypnosis subject.
When watching a demonstration of stage hypnosis you will see the hypnotist send a number of people back to their seats. This is because they have failed the simple tests that he incorporates into his act. He will select the most suggestible people because he needs to put on a show. He can't afford experimentation or possible failure.
Within a small study group such as you might for for E.S.P. research, there is a great deal more time for working with people and waking tests take on less importance. We will discuss two of the different waking test as they are great confidence builders for beginners and good to use with a new group to build their confidence in you.
2 X 4 Test
One of the most enjoyable test is the 2 X 4 test. It can be done with only one person at a time as you have to catch the person when they fall backwards into your arms.
Have the subject stand facing away from you. Stand one step back of the subject and place one finger on top of his head. Place one fool in a supporting position as you perform this test and do not do this with a heavy person unless you are quite strong. Tell the subject to stand with his feet together, arms to his sides, and close his eyes.
PATTER: Now I want you to imagine that you are a 2 X 4 board standing on end being held up by my finger. You know that a 2 X 4 board cannot stand on end without support. See your self as a 2 X 4. When I remove my finger the support will be gone and you will start to fall backwards. Don't worry. I'll catch you. (Now remove the finger) Your support is gone and you are falling, falling. You cannot stand without support. You are falling. (Repeat this two or three times until he falls) Now you are perfectly normal in every way. Everything about you is as it was before. END
As you hold your finger on the subject's head, apply a very slight forward pressure. Just enough to make him tense slightly without realizing that he is. When you remove your finger, the imbalance caused by the feet being together combined with the forward pressure to the head will cause the 2 X 4 to fall. You will have converted a subject and have him ready to listen to your suggestions for a deep state of relaxation.
Arm Raising Test
Have the subject stand or sit in a comfortable position with the hands at his sides. Stand three or four feet away from him to allow room for his arm to rise and extend straight out.
PATTER: Relax now. Close your eyes and completely relax. And as you relax I want you to imagine that your right arm is as light as a feather. That's right, it is a light as a feather. As I count from one to ten the arm is going to become lighter and lighter.
1, your arm is beginning to to rise and it is becoming lighter and lighter. 2, your arm is rising higher now. 3, it is lighter and lighter. 4, rising higher as it becomes lighter. 5, higher and higher. 6, your arm is like a feather floating in the breeze. 7, lighter and lighter, higher and higher. 8, lighter and lighter just like a feather. 9, feel your arm rise. 10, that's right - straight out and floating like a feather.
That's good. your arm is perfectly normal now in every way. It has it's normal weight and strength and you are just as you were before. END
Arm Stiffening Test
This test has been used extensively by hypnotists for so many years that it's origins are lost in the history of hypnosis. It can be used for one or more subjects at once if you wish.
PATTER: Now as you relax deeper and deeper, I want you to extend your right are straight out in front of you. You feel your arm getting stiffer and stiffer as if it is made of steel. There is no joint at the shoulder. There is no joint at the elbow. There is no joint at the wrist. Like a steel beam, your arm is so stiff that you cannot bend it. That's right, so stiff that you cannot bend it. Go ahead and try. You can't bend it. It is too stiff. That's OK now. Stop trying. You have a joint at the wrist. You have a joint at the elbow. You have a joint at the shoulder. Your arm is perfectly normal in every way. You can bend it as you could before. END
As you tell the subject that he cannot move his arm, hesitate for a few seconds before telling him that his arm is OK. that will give him a chance to accept and test the challenge.