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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Apr 17, 2026

Online Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation of Dorsomedial and Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex in Cognition Decision Making, and Cognitive Dissonance
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Influencing choice without awareness.

Jay A Olson1, Alym A Amlani2, Amir Raz1

  • 1Department of Psychiatry, 1033 Pine Avenue West, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3A 1A1, Canada; The Lady Davis Institute at the SMDB Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, QC, Canada.

Consciousness and Cognition
|February 11, 2015
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Magicians can subtly influence choices without awareness, a phenomenon called forcing. Research shows this influence is highly effective, even when participants don

Keywords:
Decision makingForcingFree willMagicPersuasionSense of agencyVolition

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Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Social Psychology
  • Neuroscience

Background:

  • Magicians frequently employ 'forcing' techniques to guide audience choices unconsciously.
  • Understanding the psychological mechanisms of such subtle influence is crucial for cognitive and social sciences.
  • The feeling of free will can be experimentally probed by studying non-conscious decision-making.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the mechanisms underlying the magician's 'forcing' effect.
  • To identify stimulus and personality predictors of influenced choices.
  • To explore the interplay between awareness and choice in decision-making.

Main Methods:

  • Study 1: A magician influenced card choices (98% success) with low awareness (9%).
  • Study 2: Participants viewed rapid card sequences, with a longer-displayed target card.
  • Analysis of stimulus and personality factors correlating with choice and awareness.

Main Results:

  • Magician's influence was highly effective, with most participants unaware of being guided.
  • Stimulus and personality factors predicted choices, contingent on awareness of the influence.
  • A tendency to select the longer-displayed card in the rapid sequence was observed.

Conclusions:

  • Combining real-world magic demonstrations with laboratory experiments offers powerful insights.
  • This research provides novel methods for studying the subjective experience of free will.
  • Subtle environmental cues and individual differences significantly impact non-conscious decision-making.