Politics of the subconscious

[ztn]

The politics of the subconscious

The cover story of the February 28 2005 issue of U.S. News and World Report delves into the power of the subconscious mind and how it and not the conscious mind is responsible for most of our daily decisions and thought patterns. Though the article did cover political persuation itself, it does touch on the how correlations between images, thoughts, memory and "mental vision" affect our preferences and decision making.

Part of the article refers to a research study on cola done in Blink Magazine. "Even with a less preferred taste, Coke remains No. 1 in the softdrink world." However when 67 committed Coke and Pepsi drinkers were given a blind taste test, Pepsi won hands down. When the labels of the cans were shown, however, 3 out of 4 picked Coke. Why? "The researchers scanned the brains of the participants during the test and discovered that the Coke label created wild activity in the part of the brain associated with memories and self-image" while Pepsi simply did not. Besides, the eery Blue/Red comparision, I find this to be similar to the Democratic vs. Republican dilemma. In poll after poll, focus group after focus group and study after study, people, with no party labels given, invariably lean to the liberal/democratic position over the /conservative/Republican position. These studies, it must be said, involve unslanted questions. The choices are between two trains of thought with adequate context as to not lead the respondent to one choice or the other. However when the choices are labeled with party name or ideology, respondents tend to fall in line with their self-ascribed political indentification. This phenomenon is something the Democratic Party needs to address. If it weren't so serious, it'd laughable how much the population leans left on issues but then votes the other way because of preconceived biases based on irrational perceptions and inconsequential rhetoric void of substance or relevance to any policy. There's also a section on subconscious interpretations of right and wrong (page 60) that I'll save for another time.

your thoughts...

[david_vincent]

1. The right has known this all along...

and the biases they rely on aren't so much preconceived as planted. It's precisely because the right knows that people naturally tend to gravitate leftward that they have developed and refined the art of propagandizing, something that the left has neglected to do.

[DenverDem]

2. New Dem slogan "Pull your head out of your ass!"

The publican mind scam is even more powerful than Coke, because the wrong wing uses the powerful sociopathological urges of fear and it's corrolaries racism, bigotry and inferiority complex. Stupidification of the masses begins with the first glimpse of a cathode ray tube (or lcd or plasma, now) and is completed by the "education" system that teaches kids how to answer multiple choice questions but purposefully does not teach them to THINK. Consequently, it is no surprise the sheeple will vote for whoever their mind control overlords instruct them to. Those of us immune to propaganda and mind control are a diminishing breed because it is much more demanding to seek the truth and call the bullshit.

[gottaB]

3. Yes, that's a keen insight

I will add to that, and offer a criticism. The opinion polls you are talking about are not "unslanted." They are looking at policy positions. That reflects a bias of a large class of educated elites. The notion that politicians are primarily put in place to enact and carry out policy would seem to be a rational view of government. In fact, it may be rather be rationalist. Alienation, identification, persuasion and deception are political realities. Their operations do not conform to the expectations of naive rationalisms, but they are nonetheless susceptible to reasonable inquiry.

Associations do exist between political parties and evocations like warm fuzzies, scary monsters, apple pie, and the like. The finest gramscian analysis cannot undo them. At best it might provide insight into the way things work. I say this with some sadness, and also an abiding faith in a human potential for surpassing the self: One cannot hope to emancipate the masses from the structures of their own minds. Revolution, if it comes, comes from within. It is possible and indeed desirable to assist people who endeavor to make such a journey, but ultimately one person's destination cannot be set by another.

This philosphical point suggests to me that while a revolutionary poetics may be useful for the left, especially at this time, in the long run it cannot assure victory or the establishment of any political utopia. We can enlarge our capacity for understanding and communicating, and we can make the moral choice to help people rather than hinder them.

[Just Me]

4. Here's a HEAVY inquiry: WHO shapes the subconscious?

Used to be, our subconscious was shaped within the communities in which we lived.

In the last 40 years, more or less, that has changed considerably,...considerably.

[DARE to HOPE]

5. Exactly!

[stillcool]

6. I'm with you there....

Just finished reading 'Confessions of an Economic Hitman', and I believe it had the result the author intended...a questioning of what I truly believe. I have traveled this road many times in search of my own reality, and yet once again am surprised to find the simplicity of 'thought-belief-action' as it manifests itself.

[ztn]

9. I read that book

A real eye opener....I would often hear such blatantly cruel and greedy tales in the past. Though I believed there to be some truth to it, I would have thought it was as bad as Perkins (author) showed it to be. The shame and anger I felt.....my god!

[Just Me]

10. 'Thought-belief-action' is a consistently effective cognitive construct.

And, if you have the power to manipulate it in others,...well,...there are dangers and abuses which have simply been left essentially unaddressed.

[Discord]

11. Media.

Not even just the news, but the commercials, the programs, the magazines and the newspapers we read. We have been trained since birth to follow the crowd. Be one of the masses. Not make waves. Lose independant thought. Thats why the majority of artists are either left leaning or dissinterested in politics in general. They became artists because they could conceptualize creative thought. Think outside the box. Create from nothing. The general public has been led to believe from very early on that the news is a reliable source for "factual and unbiased" information. So, most people believe anything reported to be the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

[Morose]

15. The WHO is simple.

Just look at that glowing box in the living room. That's who.

[DemDogs]

7. There was something about this during the campaign

There was some study in California, I think, about subconscious response. I think the Ds did it, not the Rs. Anyone else remember this?

[kodi]

8. interesting. the right connects policies with values more effectively

usually, as you point out by imbedding the hook of their argument in the imagery of a person's self esteem and values that lie on the edges of consciousness where logic and rationality don't roam.

its why 40% of americans still believe saddam had wmds.

moderates and the left are less likely to employ such stealth methods because the basis of their arguments are built upon knowledge, not deception.

[calimary]

12. Got a link?

Seems to me this is spot-on.

It helps to explain the disconnect we now see in not one but TWO republi-CON Oval Office occupants: Reagan and duhbya.

Poll after poll in both those cases (in bush's case, this includes another new poll just freshly reported in the New York Times link here, BTW )
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x1279679

shows that majorities of the American people DID NOT AGREE with the policies of these two, and did not share their priorities. Yet they continued to vote for Reagan and duhbya anyway - because there was just something about each that they liked, somehow. Something inexplicable. The "I dunno, I just LIKE him, that's all" mentality.

So here we see the mechanics of that disconnect explained a little bit. MOST interesting and valuable. The Frank Luntz's of the world must study this stuff 24/7. Which means OUR SIDE needs to pay close attention to it, too. Wonder how long THAT'LL take?

[ztn]

16. No link, I was reading the current issue (Feb 28, 2005)

I was waiting to get my tires changed and saw the copy and began reading it. Since they had 2 copies, I took one. I don't know if you can access it online.

US News and World Report

[AgadorSparticus]

13. they sure seem to have this down to a science. we def. need to get on the

ball. nice thread topic. :thumbsup:

[NJCher]

14. all they have done is take marketing techniques

It's corporate America running our country; what other techniques would they use? These are sales techniques that they've developed over the past 40 years. There is nothing particularly new in what they are doing, other than corrupting government with sales techniques that used to be used primarily in the province of business.

As a marketing manager for numerous Fortune 100 corporations, I oversaw these tactics on a routine basis. I can hardly be unique. There is plenty of talent on our side to combat this strategy. Money? That's another story.


Cher

[ztn]

17. I think of Thomas Jefferson's warnings...

that an informed electorate is essential to a thriving democracy.

This "political marketing" is analogous to malicious adults duping a room full of little children into linking prudence and intelligence to avoiding sitting too close to the TV 'cuz it'll screw up their eyes. AND IT WORKS. Meanwhile the rational adult gets snubbed for saying you just shouldn't do because it's rude to other viewers and heck your neck might get sore!