The performer is very knowledgeable about hypnotic induction, and this is a great induction. I had a little chuckle when he suggested "staying up past your bed time" right before Mr. Mandel actually went under. From start to finish he is priming and reinforcing Mr. Mandel for the actual induction, testing his suggestibility and compliance, prepping him for the physical touch, and then uses a non-contact induction to actually hypnotize him. I thought it was quite clever. Where Mr. Stern got impatient is that when performing stage hypnotism vs clinical hypnotism where there is a presupposition of willingness to follow the suggestions, there is some "prep work" involved to "prime" the subject to be hypnotized. No one can be hypnotized against their will (that's not to say that hypnotic language patterns cannot be used covertly to persuade, but that's a different discussion), so when working in a performance setting you go into it with no idea how open to suggestion the subject might be, what their conception of hypnotism is vs the reality of hypnotism, how resistant they might be to suggestion, and there are exercises that are often necessary to frame the subject into willful compliance ("yes framing") and establish a rapport enough to make them comfortable enough to follow the suggestions. Technically speaking this was a very well executed induction and have no reason to question its effectiveness.
From an ethical standpoint, the Manchurian Candidate scenario is by and large fiction. No one can be hypnotized to do something that would create a cognitive dissonance from the contrast with their own morals and beliefs. Many people, myself included, understand that our compulsions are silly and may not be rooted in reality. Compulsions are learned behavioral responses to stimuli, not hard wired. I am not familiar enough to know if Mr. Mandel is truly pathophobic or if he has issues with touch, or where he stands with his aversion to handshakes. However, hypnotism can be quite effective in treating phobias, habits, and compulsions. In other words, somewhere deep in Howie's head he is perfectly willing to shake hands. At some point along the journey from unconscious thought to conscious action there is a roadblock. If it were me in the role of hypnotist I would have included an amnesia suggestion during the waking process, but that's just my opinion.
11 Jun 2015, 10:24 pm
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