Suggestion

An idea or proposal put forward for consideration and which is the subject of acceptance or rejection;

hinting at something without directly stating it. A statement like “The committee might want to question this person’s integrity” implies that the committee members ought to do so.

Suggestion also means presenting ideas or images in such a way as to reveal certain elements or qualities and to conceal others, often with the goal of persuasion in mind. An estate agent might tell a vendor to bake something sweet for an open house so the house will seem warm and inviting to prospective purchasers – to ‘suggest’ a good atmosphere in their minds. The power of suggestion can create an impression to make some situation, person, or problem look or seem better (or worse) in some way than it actually is.

People attempting to persuade us of something, for example, that a particular claim is true (or false), will often use suggestion in pursuit of that objective.

In a general sense to be ‘suggestible’ is to be impressionable to the ideas of others, to be easily influenced by other people, or to be susceptible under particular conditions.

In psychology it is a process in which the presentation of an idea to a receptive individual leads to the acceptance of that idea.

Interrogative suggestibility involves the tendency for an individual’s account of events to be altered by misleading information and interpersonal pressure in a situation such as a formal interview – there is substantial variability in people’s susceptibility to highly suggestive and misleading questions during, for example, a police interrogation.

(see also: Interview effect)