Social Influence

"People are inherently social creatures, and which makes us suggestible. Being open to the influence of others lies at the very heart of what it is to be human. Even for those among us who identify as introverts and claim not to need people, it is still a question of degree as to how suggestible we are. An essential skill of the ethical technologist, and indeed the self-aware citizen of the world, is to recognise when attempts are being made to manipulate us by playing on our emotions. This appendix outlines the seven principal ways that you can recognise an attempt to manipulate or brainwash you. The advertising industry and politicians have been using them for a long time. If you know what they are, you can avoid being unduly influenced. Forewarned is forearmed. If you know what propaganda looks and sounds like and how to deal rationally with it, you can then make an informed decision about whether to go along with it. The techniques outlined here were developed by the Institute of Propaganda Analysis (IPS), a U.S.-based organization set up in 1937 by Mather, Filene and Miller. These techniques are as true today as they were then and will still be true in the future. Why? Because they are rooted in human social psychology, and we do not evolve very quickly. We are innately susceptible to these techniques. It is not culturally defined. The techniques include the following: Name Calling, Glittering Generalities, Transfer, Testimonial, Plain Folks, Card Stacking and Band Wagon. The techniques have one thing in common; they are designed to appeal to our emotions rather than to reason. Neuroscience tells us that our emotions are an aspect of our primitive brain, the part we have in common with animals. Reason is a function of our evolved brain, the part that developed in more recent times. A normally reasonable person becomes unreasonable when their emotions are inflamed. The best defence against any of these techniques is to stay rational and gather enough information from independent sources to make an informed decision."