Snow Dong, G7, RDF International School

When you believe in something, you have to put every single ounce of effort into achieving it, and you will succeed.

All of us, perhaps, have heard this kind of pep talk thousands of times over the years. You can easily finish my first sentence for me when you read the first few words.

Too good to be true, right? We know it is not always the case — people don’t achieve their goals, even when they believe in themselves and work hard, because the goals are just unreasonably challenging. I can’t get a million dollars by just wishing for it on my knees.

A more realistic statement might be that trying hard and going the extra mile will give us a feeling of satisfaction even if we don’t accomplish certain goals.

A search on Britannica’s website for “psychological suggestion” yielded a “process of leading a person to respond uncritically, as in belief or action.” This means a person can imply something, either on purpose or accidentally, which affects their behavior. In 1934, in New Delhi, India, psychologists worked with a prisoner about to be executed. The death row inmate was taken by the police to a dark room and told, “Due to the enormity of your crime, the court has sentenced you to death. The execution method for this death is by draining your blood!” Subsequently, the inmate was firmly tied to the bed, blindfolded, and his arms extended out of the bed and strapped down! A doctor then put a sharp scalpel’s knife edge on the prisoner’s arm, stating he was about to cut open an artery. As he finished speaking, the doctor gently scratched the skin of the man. Using no force, but cutting only a thin layer of skin, no injury was delivered. However, a metal bucket was placed next to the bed, and water trickled dropwise into it using a dropper bottle. The drops’ patter made the blindfolded prisoner think it was his blood draining into the bucket. Comments uttered were “It’s already 400 milliliters!” and then, “It’s already half a bucket full.” Terrified, the inmate’s listened to all this. A few hours later, the man was dead! He was scared, literally, to death!

Similarly, I learned of the Pygmalion effect, where, in 1968, another psychologist by the name of Rosenthal brought assistants to an elementary school. Young students randomly selected from classes were “tested” for their academic ability. After this random selection, Rosenthal gave the school a fictitious list of the “most promising individuals,” urging teachers to keep it confidential. This list accounted for 20% of the total number of students. Eight months later, it was found that the listed students showed significant improvement in their grades, and had more outgoing personalities, confidence, and thirst for knowledge as compared to their peers. There was no actual reason, other than beneficial treatment from teachers, as to why those students improved.

These two examples show, negatively or positively, the role that psychological suggestion plays in the success of humans.