7 Psychological 'Tricks' That Are Total Bullsh*t

4. “Instant” Hypnosis

Instant hypnosis induction is certainly a high impact bit of showmanship, but can you really put someone into a hypnotic trance by simply catching them by surprise and telling them to "sleep".

Yes and no, it depends on your definition of "hypnotic trance". What's certainly not happening, is that the unwitting victim is instantaneously losing conciousness.

Most often, these "instant inductions" will be performed in front of a crowd, which immediately places a pressure on the subject to "play along", even subconsciously - they will also likely know what an induction is "supposed" to look like and will expect it to happen. This is all really part of the process of "priming" someone for hypnosis, by placing them in a situation in which they will do what you want.

When a subject is told to "sleep", they're really just closing their eyes, perhaps nodding their head forward. Although it looks as though they have immediately conked out, the process of sending them into a state of relaxation actually began long before that moment, and continues long after it.