Amid the many vagaries of marketing research, one thing is clear: Consumers lie. About what they want. About what they need. Sometimes they do it purposely. Most often they simply don't seem to realize what they're doing at all. Mr. Pradeep and his peers in the field of neuromarketing say they have the solution.
Machiavellian Tactics: Hidden Persuasion in Business and Politics Today
Many regard Niccolo Machiavelli as the founding father of political thought control. He was the strategic adviser to the Florentine Republic in the early sixteenth century, and was one of the first to compile a written guide for rulers on the acquisition and deployment of political power. His book The Prince circulated privately during his lifetime, and was only published after his death because it was thought that its advice on the use of cunning, deceit and guile was far too dangerous to fall into dissident hands. ‘It would be best to be both loved and feared’, is one of the instructions he offers would-be rulers. ‘But since the two rarely come together, anyone compelled to choose will find greater security in being feared than in being loved.’ The book was banned by the Catholic Church, who added it to its Index Liborum Prohibitorum, while no doubt keeping several copies in the Vatican library for the guidance of senior members of the all-powerful Roman Curia. It became one of the bibles of the Founding fathers of the American colonies, John Adams finding its advice invaluable, particularly the practical guidance it gives on the centralization of power and the control of rebel factions.
Persuasion Strategies
These strategies are aimed at convincing those in high power to change so that power is shared more equitably and oppressive practices are reduced or eliminated. There are three main types:
1. appeals to moral values (the super-ego);
2. appeals to self-interest (the ego); and
3. appeals to self-realization (the id).
Hidden Persuasion - Using Subliminal Messages in Language
Placing subliminal messages into language was first attempted with hypnosis and the best way to explain how to do it is to take a hypnotic example. A hypnotist might say something like, "you may find that you want to relax or just rest and maybe even close your eyes or just keep them open if you want to".
To the uninitiated this sentence is straight forward with no hidden meaning or subliminal messages. However, when the hypnotist uses hypnotic language to say exactly the same thing he changes this sentence into one with 2 hidden subliminal messages embedded in it!
It all begins with the tone of voice the hypnotist uses. Upon hearing this you may believe you are being offered a choice i.e. that the subject can relax and close his eyes only if he wants to. However, he has only given the subject two choices - he can either relax or rest. No other choice is given!
No comments:
Post a Comment