Blog #74 –Our Strong Emotions Can Be Used To Manipulate Us

There are several branches of psychology, and not all psychologists use the same ones in their work. One which gained favor in the early 20th century is called Behaviorism. Scientist John B. Watson is credited with founding this field of study, which demonstrated that at least some people can be manipulated just like dogs in Ivan Pavlov’s famous experiments. While many people object to the notion humans are not free agents in a world otherwise dominated by innate instincts, Watson’s experimental results have been used successfully to control large segments of the population.

Perhaps his most famous experiment can be considered immoral and unethical, but it proved his theory. He took a nine month old child who showed no fear of a number of different objects and taught him to fear such otherwise pleasant images as baby bunnies and Santa Claus. By combining nonthreatening objects with loud, irritating noises, he induced great fear in the young child that lasted far longer than the experiment.

When Watson was forced to leave academia, he began a new career in corporate advertising. His notion of controlling the general public through behavior modification became a preferred methodology for his firm and others because it was successful. He realized that logic doesn’t increase sales because people tend to be irrational. What sells is the induction of strong emotions like love, fear and rage. Image became more important than substance to major corporations committed to growing their businesses.

Like I mention in my book “It’s a Secret, So Pass It On: a Toolbox For Life,” many people are susceptible to advertisers who use a wide variety of emotion-inducing techniques to sell their products. There is no logic to the notion that men who drink a certain kind of beer or drive a streamlined, expensive car will attract beautiful women, but it sells.

There is often little if any truth to claims for beauty-enhancing products, but emotional people driven by their reproductive hormones are unable to think logically. Logic comes from the left side of the brain, and many people are predominately right-brained, emotional people who are unable to balance emotion with rational thought. They are highly susceptible to suggestion.

This reality has been adopted by governments, militaries and intelligence organizations throughout the world. Propaganda works. If people don’t have ready access to credible investigative reports from independent sources, or if they are so driven by fear induced repeatedly by erroneous claims from the people they trust to preserve their security, they will both believe and strongly support whatever lies they are told. The bigger the lie, or the bigger the emotion-inducing action, the more they will believe whatever they are told.

At times, it can seem Watson’s experiments have led to total control of the general public, but that isn’t correct. Those whose bottom line is logical thought rather than fear and other irrational emotions tend to believe the exact opposite of what they are told. They may keep these facts from others around them for self-preservation purposes; after all, irrational people may turn on them, assuming they are somehow an enemy. There are many people in the world who are not susceptible to fear-inducing stimuli. But the irrational ones buy the products and support their leaders to an extreme. If they yell the loudest, it can seem like there is 100% compliance.

Often neglected when studying Watson’s research is the fact he did an opposite experiment demonstrating fear and other strong emotions can be reduced through a process called “desensitization.” People can learn to lessen their fear if their exposure to offending images is increased gradually while being offered pleasant rewards. This is the exact same principle as injecting people with increasing levels of an antigen to reduce allergic reactions to it. Those most fearful may never be able to overcome their tendencies fully, but any reduction helps them gain a balance that improves both their physical and emotional health.

Behavioral dynamics can make many people susceptible to all sorts of deceit and treachery. Logic becomes their enemy if their emotional levels have been manipulated to an extreme. But those in between the extremes of rationality and irrationality are capable of adjusting their reactions over time to maintain balance. Emotions can be beneficial if in moderation, but allowing outside forces to manipulate us without considering their hidden agendas guarantees further manipulation by the powers that be.

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