suggestion, in psychology, process of leading a person to respond uncritically, as in belief or action. The mode of suggestion, while usually verbal, may be visual or may involve any other sense. The suggestion may be symbolic. For instance, a person who is allergic to roses may develop an attack of asthma from looking through a seed catalog. Suggestion, or suggestibility, plays a significant role in collective behaviour, especially in social unrest, and it constitutes the central phenomenon of hypnosis (q.v.).