Category: Student Resources

Posted on by

Stop Talking and Explode! in 360°

Welcome to Virtual BOMB DISPOSAL at National Chengchi University in Taipei, Taiwan. https://youtu.be/AZyj04ln14M On 30 November 2016, I brought my Gear VR to class and students in my Communication course played the game KEEP TALKING AND NOBODY EXPLODES! https://youtu.be/25iop7UUt98 On 27 September 2017, I brought my Gear VR to class and students in my Communication course played the game KEEP TALKING AND NOBODY EXPLODES! In this game, one player is in Virtual Reality where they see a bomb they have to disarm. The other players have a manual on how to disarm the bomb and they give instructions to the…

Read more

Posted on by

Marina Abramović – The Artist Is Present

During the Soul Gazing webinar on Seeing into the Eyes of the Spirit (eXperiential Soul Gazing for Lovers and Beyond) (see here), part of the discussion came around to whether or not one needed to signpost the act of soul gazing or if the methods could be used without overt suggestion. In that discussion, I mentioned the wonderful live performance art exhibition by Marina Abramović, her The Artist Is Present show (see http://www.moma.org/interactives/exhibitions/2010/marinaabramovic/) in which one component of the exhibition is that Abramović sits in a chair for hours upon end and members of the public sit across from her,…

Read more

Posted on by

Fake Love Real Love . . . Acting as if You’re in Love leads to Actual Love

How’s this for a bit of fascinating research? If you pretend to be in love, you can actually fall in love for real! In Neurolinguistic Programming and Hypnosis training circles there’s an adage that is often used, “fake it ’til you make it” which is essentially based upon the idea that if you are unable to feel a trance effect then play a game with yourself that you pretend as if you do and pretend so well with the imagination so involved that essentially you begin to experience the target state. A number of recent studies into the likes of…

Read more

Posted on by

World’s Quickest Personality Test

Now, here’s something fun. Richard Wiseman, of Quirkology fame conducts the world’s quickest personality test. Follow Wiseman’s directions to discover what sort of person you are . . . personality wise, that is. Yes, it works; yes, it has genuine results; no, some few folks may have contrary results so it’s not one hundred percent accurate but it’s pretty good. Hypnotists will recognize that the test is based in part upon a suggestibility effect, one that I’ve used thousands of times. You can learn the original effect for this and other suggestibility effects in the training material below. Be sure…

Read more

Posted on by

Giving TJM . . . Film and Social Influence

As some of you are aware, I periodically teach courses in film as well as in critical thinking and social influence at the university. This commercial out of Thailand is a beautiful example of the Tear Jerker Moment set up as a means of creating a context for positive influence. Well done. Be sure to click subscribe on our Waking Dreams 3D/VR/AR/360° Youtube channel at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8wy50wAOGy3WgPMNbsOi2w – in fact, if you have not already done that, just go ahead and do that NOW. For more about 3D/VR/AR/360° Taiwan, head on over to https://www.facebook.com/groups/taiwan3d and join us. In Taiwan and wish…

Read more

Posted on by

A Quick Way to make People Feel BAD about Their Whole Lives

Esterh Inglis-Arkell at io9 reminds us of just how powerful social influence can be with a bit from the book Thiking, Fast and Slow. I should point out that while the example below is a rather negative one, the same social psychology principle works to make folks feel good. Want to find a way to psychologically crush your enemies? There’s an easy way to do it. All it takes is a quick question to make them think of the worst aspect of their life, and then asking them, directly, what they think of their life. Considering all the aspects of…

Read more

Posted on by

Ten Bets You’ll Probably Maybe Almost Never Lose

We say “almost,” because like many of the bets in Richard Wiseman’s earlier bar-trick videos, a few of these are liable to get you punched in the face. (I’m looking at you, #4. Ten to ten? Really?) That being said, some of these are actually pretty clever. Flipping your friend’s glass over so she can’t get to her drink relies on pressure and surface tension. Removing an ice cube with string is possible thanks to a phenomenon known as freezing point depression. (When the salt hits the ice it lowers the melting point of the solid, allowing the string to…

Read more

Posted on by

Reciprocity and the Give and Take of All of Us

In 1974, Phillip Kunz and his family got a record number of Christmas cards. In the weeks before Christmas they came daily, sometimes by the dozen. Kunz still has them in his home, collected in an old photo album. “Dear Phil, Joyce and family,” a typical card reads, “we received your holiday greeting with much joy and enthusiasm … Merry Christmas and Happy New Year’s. Love Lou, Bev and the children.” The cards from that year came in all shapes and sizes, but the basic message was the same. The writers wanted Kunz to know that he and his family…

Read more

Posted on by

Pretending to be a Superhero could make You more Altruistic in Real Life

Can pretending to fly around like Superman inspire you to save the day? Does great power truly encourage great responsibility? A new study suggests that stepping into the role of a superhero in the virtual world could spark more helpful behavior in reality, at least briefly. The study, conducted at Stanford University and published this week in PLoS ONE, tested the whether experiencing superhuman abilities in video games could encourage prosocial behavior. The participants were divided into four groups, all of whom participated in a virtual reality simulation. Two of the groups played a person with the ability to fly…

Read more

Posted on by

Puppies on Fire when Guided Imagery goes Wrong

When I teach experiential hypnosis with guided imagery, I stress an approach that is based upon consensual imagery and positive rider suggestions with an aim toward keeping the trance partner in a positive frame and emotional state. Some folks don’t think things through and cause all sorts of cognitive dissonance and worse. I would say the character of Britta in the wonderful television series Community is one of those folks, someone who’s had just enough training to be able to affect folks but doesn’t have enough competence or self-awareness of just how fucked up some of the things she says…

Read more