A little bit on how you are being controlled

Social Psychology and Marketing: The Consumption Game. Understanding Marketing and Consumer Behavior Through Game Theory.

Now most laymen will think they make their own decisions more so than they actually do.
Fact of the matter is, you are being bombarded by a constant stream of marketing to influence what you think, how you behave and react, who you vote for, what you like and even fear, as well as the very simple aspect of what you buy from where.

It's not just advertisements.
It's everywhere.
The aspect in Marketing through Social Psychology turn your friends, relatives, loved ones, and even children into living billboards to influence you, and essentially tell you what to think.

A dated but still important illustration of this can be seen in Vance Packard's classic 1960 book The Hidden Persuaders, Vance Packard claimed that large corporations manipulated consumers, using advertising techniques. John Kenneth Galbraith and others have repeated a similar view.
Here's a review on the material with some background from OutlawPsych

It's 2013 now. Consider the wonderful vector Social networking sites provide for 'marketing'; influencing opinion.
If 10 of your friends LIKE it, chances are, you'll probably click on 'LIKE' as well.
If your friends are wearing it, drinking it, listening to it, posting pictures about doing it, the social influences involved set up a predisposition in favor of you also taking part.

You are who you hang out with.

As mentioned, this extends much further than getting you to shell out some paper for a product.
This is about owning your brain, or at least a part of it.

Why do you think the government is out to get you?
Why do you think Big Pharma is poisoning you?
Why do you think anything you think and believe?

Ever wonder where these thoughts come from? Have you ever considered that you're being PROGRAMMED to think the government is out to get you, or any number of the many many many other topics that fill up this site with Chicken Little ranting and raving?

Keywords typically associated with topics anyone with an IQ of 80 can look out for are: TRUTH and OPEN-MINDED

Anytime you see the word TRUTH or OPEN-MINDED as either a selling point, or listed as a requirement in any bit of information, you can bet good money it's programming.

Truth is self evident. It doesn't need advertising, and as an adult you should be more than capable of making up your own mind, so, when you see anything or anyone going out of its/their way to fly a TRUTH flag, your stink-o-meter should be buzzing and flashing like crazy.

It's likewise the same with "Open-Minded". If you have to sell your soul or go on some mysterious inner spiritual journey of 'self' discovery to comprehend or understand something, well, that journey you're going on is a journey in which you're being taken for a ride.

Oh, the indignity of it all.
I can almost count the hate mails and respected foe notices already.


You don't have to believe me.
Feel free to do your own research.
Start reading, beginning with John B. Watson (one of my heroes)
Follow through with all the Behavoirists and then work your way into Carl Jung (another one of my heroes), as well as Abraham Maslow, and, well, ...
Just take the FREE online Psychology courses here.
(That link goes to 700 FREE online courses from top Universities, not just Psychology)
Take the opportunity to improve yourself, for free, whatever the case.

After that, you can get into more marketing oriented studies, as well as game theory, and/or read into works as described earlier by Vance Packard.

Yes, it's a lot of work and reading, but, nothing worth having, or understanding should ever be expected to come easy.

Then again, you're more than welcome to continue believing and following everything you come across that is the "TRUTH", or requires an "OPEN MIND".
Some people, actually, most people rather readily enjoy, or at least take to being told what and how to think, all the more so when they think they're doing it of their own free will.

Druscilla how is sex used to program males and females?

reply to post by Druscilla


A lot of people (unfortunately) by media/advertising; and word of mouth by people they trust; are influenced greatly on how to think, what to say, what to buy etc...to me thy are under forms of hypnotism.

Then there are some people who are aware of the above; and do not buy into all the attempts to infiltrate and influence their choices in life.

It is my opinion that many on ATS are aware of the attempts upon them to be non-thinking zombies; they are awake and aware...and they do think for themselves and make the choices they want.

reply to post by Druscilla


Now THAT'S what I'm talking about. A thread with some substance. I like it when people put some thought into what they're doing instead of just name-calling like you tend to do sometimes. I'm not trying to jam you up, I'm just saying.

I think I'm gonna friend you.

Someone who thinks their ideas are radical to the point where people will dislike them out of general principle is my kind of thinker.

I agree with you 100%. People are gullible and most either don't know it or don't care. I don't know if I'd go so far as to say that marketing = brainwashing, I think it depends on how far a consumer wants to take their believability in what they're told.

I help companies market online from time to time and I make it a point not to get too deep or insidious with it all. They don't pay me enough. I don't do what I do with evil intent, I just try to drive consumers to the companies I'm freelancing for. How far a consumer wants to take that information is up to them. If they choose to be controlled by it, it's of no fault of mine because all I was doing was marketing. Brainwashing is a whole different animal in my zoo.

That's not to say that other people don't try to brainwash others for the sake of a buck, but I don't and I don't fall for their tactics either because I use watered down versions of them myself.

This is for you Druscilla. Seems like your kind of message.

youtu.be...

reply to post by Druscilla

Now this is a post I can respect. I would have put it in General Conspiracies or somewhere more relevant. The Gray Area is for personal, unverified claims--which this is clearly not.

I found myself in a Catholic mass earlier today. It's not something I typically do, but it was a family gathering that I couldn't ignore. I found myself a bit insulted at their methods for collecting donations. They just had a little, old woman trot out the money basket and jam it in your face for everyone to see whether you donated or not. Why not have a locked boxed near the entrance so you can donate discreetly if you choose? Because it's a strong-arm tactic to get you feeling guilty about not donating..and everyone can see this. The church is about a sense of community; and they use tactics to get everybody pitching in to the money basket.

Originally posted by Druscilla
If 10 of your friends LIKE it, chances are, you'll probably click on 'LIKE' as well.

And let's not forget the Asch conformity experiments that illustrate things like group think and peer pressure.


Are advertisers, media, and churches etc. etc. etc. using social psychology to exploit our tendencies? Most definitely. Again, why is this in a forum for unverified claims? Good thread, thanks.

Originally posted by NarcolepticBuddha
. Again, why is this in a forum for unverified claims?

Good thread, thanks.

Partially, because, similar to Taupin Desciple, who posted above you, some of the work I do involves some, erm, consulting in this sector, but, unlike Taupin Desciple who takes the more politically acceptable, what might be termed 'ethical' approach, I rather relish and enjoy every little dirty trick I can pull, and every limit pushed toward creating a zombie hoard of mindless slaves willingly doing my (Contract's) bidding while thinking they're actually doing it of their own free will.


Feel free, however, to notify Moderators and have this topic moved to more appropriate(?) Forum venue?

reply to post by Druscilla


Well, I don't see how it's controversial, or unethical, to ask people to take responsibility for their actions and decisions. But, anyhow I'm curious what your approach to psychology is. Are you psychodynamic, humanistic (no offense whatsoever, but I don't see this as being you,) or behavioralist (my money's on this one) ?

You mentioned Jung and Watson as being influences. Just curious what your theoretical approach is.

reply to post by Druscilla

Anytime you see the word TRUTH or OPEN-MINDED as either a selling point, or listed as a requirement in any bit of information, you can bet good money it's programming.

ooh! you forgot the word SCIENCE.

I think druscilla is partly right, but advertising is based on our primal need to tell others about our accomplishments and share them. I know they use subliminals and signals to influence the brain and body which is wrong to do. But is advertising for mcdonalds any worse than saying to your cave dweller friends, "hey i just killed a mammoth, time for some tasty food."? Though the mammoth had less preservatives. And sex to me is another form of communication, and it can break us down into slaves of it because of the chemical stimulations that it causes, and in that state we become susceptable to suggestion because we think we owe someone else for gratification. But you already knew that im sure.

I do generally agree with the OP but I'm going to wait and see what others say first before I comment with my opinion. All the comments seem positive so far but I will wait for the negative ones and then join them a perhaps get on Druscillas foe list. It would be cool to be on the foe list but I will wait until someone tells me what to decide. I'm not reallly sure. Anyone?

Hrmmm..... Good post, anyone live in Florida here? While I was working in Cocunut Grove on a project me and my affiliates came under the assumption that SEX sells in Florida.... This is the only place I have ever seen a double d manikin in a bikini in the window of a store.... Additionally, there was a half naked man laying on a 3/4'' oak floor promoting his company... Sex sells, it's everywhere in Florida and everyone wants the Brazillian Butt there... Well I can't say everyone but it was blatently advertised as well....

This was my experiance in Florida and I agree wholy with the OP, if it means anything. Hope my examples helped.

reply to post by NarcolepticBuddha


As much as I love behaviorism for the early work in 'mind control' through exploitation of preconditioned/natural socio-economic-cultural-sexual responses, or even going the extra step in conditioning a target group to express a desired response, it's like trying to play a piano with a couple of hammers.
Music can be made, but, it's not exactly Chopin.

The behavioral school still plays a part in conditioning people for a desired response without them even knowing they're being manipulated. Look at Facebook.


That isn't exactly just a funny meme.

Cell phones are another fine example of people willingly spying on themselves and their friends what with GPS, cameras for video or recording, and oops the phone just turned on in my pocket all by itself.
Not exactly coincidence.

The next step is getting everyone to put all their information on "The Cloud", or "Cloud Computing".
It's happening right now.
Another 10 years and consumer-level computers with hard drives for local storage will be a rarity.

These, of course, are long term conditionings.

More immediate influence can be garnered through the social influence of human bot-nets.
10,000 entirely fictitious 'people' operated by a mere 100 real-life handlers to tweet, blog, like, comment, friend, follow, and instagram, tend to have a wonderfully surreptitious but influential effect on trends and interests where the human propensity for following the (perceived) crowd takes over which then adds to the chorus where real people are influencing other real people.

It's still a little ham-fisted and brute force-ish, but, we don't don't have mind-control beams or rays to just make people hear, do, or think what we want, no matter what some people here on ATS (even posting in this thread) seem to believe.
Sure, voice to skull tech was played around with, but, don't let your imagination (or paranoid delusions in some cases) run away with you. Using the same reasoning that "they must be more advanced by now" that's entirely abused as a false assumption on these conspiracy sites is like those assumptions about the "Atomic Age" where we'd have flying cars, and cities in space, and oh so much more.
Some things simply aint so.
Not everything evolves exponentially or gets developed to science fiction level sophistication. Look at nuclear power. We still don't have Buck Rodgers ray guns, or Star Trek Phasers either.

Anyway, there I go babbling.

Originally posted by ZetaRediculian
I do generally agree with the OP but I'm going to wait and see what others say first before I comment with my opinion. All the comments seem positive so far but I will wait for the negative ones and then join them a perhaps get on Druscillas foe list. It would be cool to be on the foe list but I will wait until someone tells me what to decide. I'm not reallly sure. Anyone?

ZetaRed, you should know by now I don't play the 'respected foe' game, other than to make fun of it when people add to my rather fine collection of notices.

Something to think about: The highest compliments anyone can pay me is to have an emotional response; reply with vapid vindictive, or heavenly praise, personal attacks of any kind, marriage proposals, whatever, it doesn't matter.
It absolutely tickles me when people come unglued over little words on the screen. At that moment, I own them, at least temporarily.
The highest insult or affront is to ignore me entirely.
People tend to rather enjoy attacking me, disliking me, and starring away at anyone that attacks me.
Want stars? Follow my posts around the board and attack me regardless of what I say. You'll develop you're own ATS cult following.

reply to post by Druscilla



People who talk about the marketing boogieman usually never have much experience in the real business world. People who talk about the marketing boogieman ususally do not know how it actually works or what it does.

All the ads and media you described are just one side of the coin. The same technologies let us communicate with others around the planet in an instant or are actively used to protect nature and resources.

You can´t have a modern technological world that creates places like ATS for example, and then be all wide eyed and surprised that people are trying to sell you stuff with it.

Trade is one of the oldest businesses in the history of humanity. Marketing has always been a part of that.
When a fruit vendor puts some of his goods in front of the store, that is marketing.

So let me ask you OP, have you yourself ever marketed a product? Did you ever create something for the public and tried to sell it? Do you have real world experience in the evil marketing industry?

reply to post by Druscilla


Are we being pyscologically bombared this way for the sake of being controlled to be better consumers; or is there a more sinister reason behind this.

Think about this Druscilla what is the raw product output of this pyscological programming it is human beings having emotional reactions. Mabey its a possible a non human intelligences behind the whole thing. Mabey what these intelligences want is to farm human emotions which they feed on.

Neural Linguistic programming comes to mind, obviously, with your OP. Also this linkLinklink
In general, I don't cite what someone else called wackapedia, but nevertheless, I think the info here is pertinent to your OP. Just a snippet from that article, which I am sure you are quite familiar with, given what you have written:

McLuhan is concerned by the size and the intentions of the North American culture industry. "Ours is the first age in which many thousands of the best-trained individual minds have made it a full-time business to get inside the collective public mind," McLuhan writes in his preface to the book. He believes everyone is kept in a "helpless state engendered by prolonged mental rutting is the effect of many ads and much entertainment alike."[3] McLuhan hopes Bride can reverse this process.

But perhaps this link is more to the point:en.wikipedia.org... about McLuhan, himself. Sorry, wiki again. But anyhow:

The Global Village
In the early 1960s, McLuhan wrote that the visual, individualistic print culture would soon be brought to an end by what he called "electronic interdependence": when electronic media replace visual culture with aural/oral culture. In this new age, humankind will move from individualism and fragmentation to a collective identity, with a "tribal base." McLuhan's coinage for this new social organization is the global village.[44]
The term is sometimes described as having negative connotations in The Gutenberg Galaxy, but McLuhan himself was interested in exploring effects, not making value judgments:
Instead of tending towards a vast Alexandrian library the world has become a computer, an electronic brain, exactly as an infantile piece of science fiction. And as our senses have gone outside us, Big Brother goes inside. So, unless aware of this dynamic, we shall at once move into a phase of panic terrors, exactly befitting a small world of tribal drums, total interdependence, and superimposed co-existence. [...] Terror is the normal state of any oral society, for in it everything affects everything all the time. [...] In our long striving to recover for the Western world a unity of sensibility and of thought and feeling we have no more been prepared to accept the tribal consequences of such unity than we were ready for the fragmentation of the human psyche by print culture.[45]
Key to McLuhan's argument is the idea that technology has no per se moral bent—it is a tool that profoundly shapes an individual's and, by extension, a society's self-conception and realization:
Is it not obvious that there are always enough moral problems without also taking a moral stand on technological grounds? [...] Print is the extreme phase of alphabet culture that detribalizes or decollectivizes man in the first instance. Print raises the visual features of alphabet to highest intensity of definition. Thus print carries the individuating power of the phonetic alphabet much further than manuscript culture could ever do. Print is the technology of individualism. If men decided to modify this visual technology by an electric technology, individualism would also be modified. To raise a moral complaint about this is like cussing a buzz-saw for lopping off fingers. "But", someone says, "we didn't know it would happen." Yet even witlessness is not a moral issue. It is a problem, but not a moral problem; and it would be nice to clear away some of the moral fogs that surround our technologies. It would be good for morality.[46]
The moral valence of technology's effects on cognition is, for McLuhan, a matter of perspective. For instance, McLuhan contrasts the considerable alarm and revulsion that the growing quantity of books aroused in the latter seventeenth century with the modern concern for the "end of the book". If there can be no universal moral sentence passed on technology, McLuhan believes that "there can only be disaster arising from unawareness of the causalities and effects inherent in our technologies".[47]
Though the World Wide Web was invented almost thirty years after The Gutenberg Galaxy, and ten years after his death, McLuhan prophesied the web technology seen today as early as 1962:
The next medium, whatever it is—it may be the extension of consciousness—will include television as its content, not as its environment, and will transform television into an art form. A computer as a research and communication instrument could enhance retrieval, obsolesce mass library organization, retrieve the individual's encyclopedic function and flip into a private line to speedily tailored data of a saleable kind (Marshall McLuhan 1962).[citation needed]

Interesting thread, thanks for a good read.

Why do you think the government is out to get you?
Why do you think Big Pharma is poisoning you?
Why do you think anything you think and believe?


I don't think the government is out to get me, they just want my taxes just like they want others taxes. If I don't pay them then the government will be out to get me to pay penalties and interest.

I know big Pharma poisoned me. I can't say they purposely tried, they just neglected to tell everyone who would have problems with their drugs. They are making a treatment, it is not their job to cure diseases. I don't like the fact that they have ties to the development of food chemistry that they sell medicines to fix if we get sick.

Medicine is different, the Doctors are trying to build up the hospitals and other doctors business in the area, especially when their are a lot of medical workers in the area. We just can't afford to do this any more though, insurance costs are out of this world.

I'm trying to break free of the programming and examining why these other programmings in society exist and trying to find solutions.

I know people who were senators and representatives, I know a lot of cops also. They are all trying to do their jobs. I know good doctors and I know doctors that are trying to build up the medical field around here. I can't judge a doctor as bad just because they to keep their coworkers employed. I see that we need to get jobs building appliances and tools again in this country instead of training medical workers. This consumer based economy is a sham. It is going to fail and a lot of people are going to be depressed. The banks lending people more than they could afford is not evil, it is stupid. The lenders were being too friendly and bending the rules so everyone could get anything they wanted. They shouldn't have done that.