Why do you do what you do?

Can YOU be manipulated?
Do you think you should be?
Do you always know if you are?
Can you manipulate others?
What do YOU think?

Why do you think you behave as you do? Is it always the same?

Perhaps it is because one of your parents behaved like that, or it was someone you admired, or even disliked!

Have you ever acted ‘out of character’? Or only when you’ve been to the pub?

Have you got home and wondered why you bought something, lost your temper and don’t know why, done something unusual or ridiculous – for you?

We all behave differently in different circumstances. The person who is hyper-serious at work may be a comic in private. They could be mean and miserable, yet a super-parent or spouse, or mean at home and jovial elsewhere.

Would you ever go to see a stage show of hypnosis? Would you go up on stage?

Would you go to a hypnotherapist if you had a problem, or a habit you wanted to break?

Do you feel you know more about yourself than anyone else does? Maybe your best mate knows you better than you know yourself.

Are there people you would trust with your life? Or let them persuade you to take a risk?

Could a stranger reach those hidden depths, by inspired guesswork or manipulation?

Do people get caught up in the heat of the moment, or in a group or crowd?

Would you join a cult or movement? What is one anyway?


In-Character/ Out-of-Character

Do you think politicians can put spin on things and make a difference?
Can you see the spin coming and deflect it?
Have you honestly never been influenced?

Do you think you can be manipulated?
Do you think you can manipulate others?
How do you think it works!

Can one ‘manipulate oneself’ to change behaviour etc?
How might that work?
Have you done it?

Make up a questionnaire for yourself or other people – you may be surprised at some of the answers

Are you an independent thinker?

Do you believe in character profiling?

Do you believe in astrological types?

Can you pigeonhole a person’s behaviour for all circumstances?
Does stress make a difference?

What effect might stereotyping or labelling have on you? Or on someone else?
Is it fair?

Can you copy someone’s behaviour?
Can you influence someone?
Do others colour your moods?

Do you believe in ghosts?
Do you believe in ESP?
Do you believe in past lives?

Are people responsible for all their actions?
Is there such a thing as ‘normal?

Any other questions?

BOOK LIST for 'Out-of-Character Behaviour'

‘Going Postal’ by Mark Ames
'Critical Mass: How one thing leads to another' by Philip Ball
‘Phantoms in the Brain’ by Blakeslee & Ramachandran
‘The Eternal Child’ by Clive Bromhall
‘The Wayward Mind’ by Guy Claxton
‘Multiple Man’ by Adam Crabtree
‘Lack of Character: Personality, Moral Behaviour’ by John M. Doris

‘Eccentric & Bizarre Behaviours’ by Franzini & Grossberg
‘Nature’s Mind’ by Michael S. Gazzaniga
'The Tipping Point: How little things can make a difference' by Malcolm Gladwell
‘Vital Lies, Simple Truths: The Psychology of Self-Deception’ by Daniel Goleman
‘The Human Brain’ by Susan Greenfield
'The Psyche in Medicine' by Dr Arthur Guirdham

‘Cows, Pigs, Wars & Witches’ by Marvin Harris
‘Mega Brain’ by Michael Hutchinson
‘Britain on the Coach’ by Oliver James
‘Transcultural Psychiatry’ by Ari Kiev
'Freakonomics' by Steven D Levitt & Stephen J Dubner

'Healing the Family Tree' by Dr Kenneth McAll
‘Programmed to Kill’ by David McGowan
‘Extraordinary Popular Delusions and The Madness of Crowds’ by Charles Mackay
‘The Sickening Mind’ by Paul Martin
‘Fugitive Minds’ by Antonio Melechi

'Guilty by Reason of Insanity' by Dorothy Otnow Lewis MD
‘From the Edge of the Couch’ by Dr Raj Persaud
‘The Psychology of Judgment & Decision Making’ by Scott Plous
‘Amusing Ourselves to Death’ by Neil Postman
‘A User’s Guide to the Brain’ by John Ratey
'The KC Factor' by D.H.S. Reid
‘Genome’ by Matt Ridley

‘The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat’ by Oliver Sacks
‘Remotely Controlled’ by Dr Aric Sigman
‘Opening Skinner’s Box’ by Lauren Slater
‘The Sociopath Next Door’ by Martha Stout
‘The Wisdom of Crowds’ by James Surowiecki

‘The Call of the Weird’ by Louis Theroux
'Thirty Years Among the Dead' by Carl A. Wickland
'Misunderstanding Cults' edited by Benjamin Zablocki & Thomas Robbins
‘Soul Made Flesh’ by Carl Zimmer



ALSO try Books by -
Ann Rule, Louise Hay, Eric Berne, Anthony Robins, Edward de Bono, Tony Buzan


BOOKS & ARTICLES on -
Hypnosis; Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP)
Advertising; Propaganda
Persuasion techniques; Mind control
True crime; Criminal profiling
Psychological profiling; Psychometric tests
Serial crime; Social control
Problem solving; Lateral thinking

ONE THING LEADS TO ANOTHER ?
ALL ROADS LEAD TO ROME?
WHAT DO YOU THINK?

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