As promised yesterday, I’m going to continue by talking about the psychological manipulations used by people to help sell and reinforce lies.
This could be a never ending post, given how many tricks there are out there. Fear not however. Typically there are only a handful of tricks needed or used. With that in mind, let’s dive straight in. First is one that’s been around forever. It’s even a cornerstone of “How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie:
What I’m talking about is flattery. The idea of flattery is as old as time but Carnegie helped legitimize it as a tool, and show the masses how to use it effectively. Now psychology has a few different terms for it: “The Warm Glow Heuristic”, “The Complimentary Glow Effect”, etc… The point is, it works. Even when the person knows it’s being used. The only real exception is if the speaker is being completely artless and self serving.
The point is that making a person feel smart, that they’re admired regarding something, etc… builds rapport, and lowers defenses.
Now Add Some Benefits to Society into the Story Behind the Lie:
As cynical as my personal experiences the last few years have made me, the fact remains that most people are truly good. Given the opportunity, they’ll do what they can to help others. This is why the vast majority of con artist schemes involve stories of somebody needing help. True of the infamous Nigerian Prince email scam all the way down to somebody needing a handout because their car ran out of gas while traveling out of town
Helping others and doing the (perceived) right thing makes people feel better about themselves and the world. So, when a lie or manipulation involves the above two elements, there’s a good chance it’ll be believed. Watch every TV show or movie con used to get past guards into a secure building. It’s almost always using those two tools. It’s so effective that social engineering to gain physical or electronic access is even more popular than outright hacking with hackers. Just go to Google or YouTube and search the term. It’s amazing how many videos will come up.
Social Engineering is something to be covered separately however. There’s too much depth to the specific topic. For now, just know there are similarities between it and other forms of lying and manipulation.
Likewise, if a “bad guy” can convince a person that their desired actions are a benefit to society, or that not following the suggested path is harmful to society, they are more likely to believe a lie or manipulation.
Next Add a Villain to the Mix:
This is primarily seen in efforts involving widespread lies. It serves primarily as a distraction, keeping the victim focused on the supposed wrong doer instead of on the actual liar.
Examples of this are legion. The easiest and most readily acknowledged is how countries will dehumanize an enemy country during a war. That’s usually not done with truly evil intent however. It’s about troop morale and making it easier to fight an enemy.
Let’s stick with the truly dark side of vilifying a group though. Probably the most notorious example I could use is Hitler and Nazi party vilifying Jews and other groups as the cause of all of Germany’s woes during the 1930s. It’s outright horrifying how easy it was for them to sell attempted genocide to a desperate, scared and starving German public. All the elements above, along with the lie being repeated often enough, were in play.
False Duality of Choice:
This should probably be higher up on the list. TV shows and movies are full of this concept as the writers try to steer characters down a path that fits the desired outcome to the story. It’s used in real life constantly as well. Let’s take an extremely easy example from the Nigerian Prince scam: Either you give the people access to your accounts to help hide the Prince’s funds, OR he’ll go bankrupt (if he’s not killed), and the country will suffer horribly as a result. Obviously there are tons of other options IF the situation had been real. The earlier manipulations help add to a false sense of urgency and cloud the target’s logic, keeping them from looking for other options.
Reality is that there’s always a middle ground, win-win option to any situation or disagreement. Greed, fear and ego get in the way though. Duality of choice, something being an either or situation, is always a sign that someone is being lied to and manipulated.
Lastly There’s Herd or Mob Mentality and Aversion
Mob or Herd Mentality shouldn’t take much explaining. Once a movement, (good or bad), truly gets going, a desire to fit in can overcome common sense. Doubly true when there’s a belief that the overall goal is something good. Otherwise decent people will suddenly find themselves more open to the idea that the ends justify the means, even to a ghastly level at times. This is also part of the reason the German public went along with Hitler’s insanity.
Aversion is only a little more complex of a topic. Essentially you make the issue or situation so toxic that the average person just doesn’t want to deal with it, leaving the extremes on either side to stand as the defenders of their imagined truths. It sadly comes about naturally when one really pushes the envelope on vilifying others. In extreme cases, it can even become unsafe for people to speak out. They become labelled as a part of the vilified group.
Now let’s put it all together.
Modern, Real World Examples:
The easiest to give but hardest to accept example is our current political environment, both here in the U.S, and elsewhere if much of what I read is to be believed. Look at any given political speech or commentary, almost any discussion of any social issue, the vast majority of media coverage of any of those items… by ANY given side of the topic. You are almost guaranteed to find all the elements I’ve listed the last two days being used:
Misinformation based on partial truths
Talking points being repeated over and over instead of debated
Puffing up the audience’s self esteem or ego
Convincing the audience that they’re doing something good by following the speaker
Vilifying and dehumanizing the other side of the issue
Presenting the issue as only having two possible choices or only one choice with everything else being equally bad.
Encouraging the herd mentality and making the issue too toxic for anyone who doesn’t blindly follow.
People who are quick to say “that’s the other side, not MY people”, should find themselves stepping back and objectively analyze what they’re being told. Democrat or Republican, while the actual stance and rationale may vary, the overarching tactics used to promote the agenda are exactly the same.
I’ve challenged several people over the last 5 or so years to show me a single example of a news story, commentary or political speech that doesn’t have all these elements. All I’ve ever gotten back is “well, not my people”. Nobody has yet to show me said example.
It makes me wonder about the state of society in general when everybody from big business to the green movement is willing to use the exact same tactics that Hitler used to promote the final solution.
The only way it’s ever going to change is if people start developing a conscience and say enough is enough. You can’t legislate true morality though. What’s worse is that morality and values have become dirty words, poisoned by all the above tactics.
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