My favorite topic in sociology is reflection, and its special case is the closure of life situations on oneself (when a circumstance can become a cause and effect of itself, say, in a variant) and, as a variant of closure, when some criticism of an idea is used to implement the very idea ... Today we have the idea of \u200b\u200bmanipulation and brainwashing.

Usually the picture is accompanied by some text like this:

The radio announces that twice two is five. You are surprised.
Then the president confirms on the air that twice two is five, citing vague and incomprehensible evidence. You are indignant.
Then you go outside and say that twice two is four. For this you are hit on the head by specially trained people with truncheons, then they are taken to the department for control over arithmetic and with the help of truncheons they clearly explain that twice two is five. You come out of there enlightened and believed.
This is roughly how any democratic state functions.

Purely emotionally it seems that "yes, that's how it is," or "everything is true, they deceive us, they make us get on well," or "Orwell wrote about this in his famous dystopia." On this, the stream of thoughts of an ordinary person hangs up - and he flips through smart pictures further, lingering over each one for no more than 5-10 seconds.

Let's linger for at least one minute and find in the above quote and accompanying picture bad meaning, that is, a hidden attempt at manipulation.

- Firstly, the knowledge of some particular fact (for example, that 2 + 2 \u003d 4 or any other, even more complex) in itself, does not in any way affect a person's ability to think independently, to how correct it will be his life, how well he will understand reality and how much he will be a good person in general. Here, we are being introduced to the idea that the fact itself means something and for some reason is very bad when it is replaced by another fact - and we must certainly go out into the street in order to voice another fact, which is more correct in the opinion of the speaker (regardless of it interpretation). For example, here is another useful truth that the state will not tell you about: "The pig is not able to look into the sky." Well, knowing this, you should feel an attack of enlightenment, because 90% of people do not know this fact, but you do. Your life has improved, already now outbursts of kindness are tearing you from the inside ... Really? By the way, I lied, this very common fact on the Internet is a lie. Moreover, you don't even need to have a pig to check it, but you just need to know the shape of the Earth and look at photographs of pigs with their heads not lowered.

- Secondly, here we are deliberately told that the mass fact (2 + 2 \u003d 5) is wrong, and the single fact (2 + 2 \u003d 4) is correct. If we carefully observe people, then we will notice that in life it is just the opposite. Certain "unique" personalities most often make mistakes, but pass off their mistakes as the truth to which mankind, allegedly, has not yet matured. However, these people are caught like this and corrected with clubs. They are presented as fighters for truth and justice, and the layman gets the impression that they are really saying the right things. That is, in this quote, it is deliberately done so that a single person speaks the truth, and they beat him for it, whereas in life they often beat him not for the truth, but for delirium, and for being very annoying and odious. In life, it is this lonely sufferer in the picture who screams that 2 + 2 \u003d 5. This kind of reversal of a typical situation gives rise to the idea that the state is fighting against the fighters for the truth, while upon close examination, it is fighting not only with them, but it spends a significant part of its forces on more constructive activities. But this is not important to the layman, he needs to "expose" someone, to feel important, smart, knowing "the true reasons for everything."

- Thirdly, this story, enclosed in a quote, is making a fool of you. A democratic state is based on completely different principles, which have nothing to do with the direct suppression of a person's personal freedoms. Yes, in some cases, if the need arises, such freedom is suppressed by force, but in most cases it is done differently: by methods of more cunning manipulation (for example, with help), by instilling certain values \u200b\u200bin a person, by convincing a person of the correctness of a particular position ... This is not done with a club, it is done through the psychology of the philistine greedy for stupidity. Even this quote itself, which we are analyzing, is an example of suggestion. The layman who reads this and looks at the picture develops a false understanding of the methods of manipulation and a false understanding of the principles of the state's work in relation to it. Also, in parallel, a false idea of \u200b\u200bdemocracy is being introduced. Satisfied that he knows the whole truth about the methods of manipulation, our man in the street will then go and buy after listening. And he will think that he bent the system 🙂

- Fourthly, after viewing this picture, a person with an ordinary consciousness has the feeling that he is able to grasp with his ordinary mind how he is bent over. Of course, he knows that the picture and the quote cannot be taken literally, of course, there are no clubs, they are beaten not with clubs, but with certain forms of restriction of freedom and not at all for direct statements, but in general for any "objectionable" behavior. But no, even if you interpret everything figuratively, find here the "hidden meaning", then most people will escape the fact that all this nonsense simply leads him away. He was inspired with this phrase, as if he - without even knowing the basics of sociology, psychology, philosophy, religion, logic, politics, mathematics and many other (strictly necessary for social forestry) areas of science - is able to understand the methods of manipulation and effectively resist them. How will he do it? And the picture does not answer this question. Therefore, he will not do anything and will not do anything, he will only know about “how democracy works”, and after a while he will get the impression that “democracy is bad”. That's all that will remain in his head from viewing the picture. He will think he knows how he is being controlled, but in fact, he cannot know this. But for a manipulator, it is good when a person is sure that he is not being manipulated, because it is these people that are easiest to manipulate.

- Fifthly, in the above quote there is a built-in false idea of \u200b\u200bpeople: they are passive, they cannot resist the authorities when they do their duties incorrectly, and those who are active are re-educated. It seems that there is nothing harmless in this thought, because it reflects the truth. However, the truth can have a zombie effect: if you show only negative truth, a person will tend to the bad, and if positive, then to the good. This is how, for example, parenting works, based on this effect. So, a person who agrees with this quote (even in its figurative sense) automatically (and no alternative) agrees that people cannot fight the wrong power, which is necessary at once resent when the majority is mistaken, and as a protest, you need to tell the truth to people on the street, and not offer constructive methods to the local managers themselves, and also that any attempt to express an opinion against the system will be punished by forced re-education and that nothing can be done about it.

Of course, all this goes straight into the subconscious. Why? Because without comprehending the quotation and the picture critically, the thought is accepted by the subconscious as it is (as in NLP), and this is how - not critically - most people will look at it, who simply leaf through "in contact", keeping their eyes on each quote and picture no more a few seconds.

It would seem that you are taught with these pictures to resist the methods of manipulation, exposing how you are being manipulated, but in fact, this way you are manipulated even more. Have you read my article? Don't think about it! - scroll further.

Farewell to TV does not mean getting rid of information overload - and a story about this some time ago resulted in an interesting discussion (see "Digital diet against social networks"). In short, social networks, which have replaced TV for us, have become the same fast food for our brains as television has always been: we consume more than we need, we consume indiscriminately - and suffer subsequently.

However, it is now clear that parting with TV does not mean a guaranteed acquisition of freedom of thought - and this is a more terrible thing than electronic gluttony! If the effect of info-fast food is transient, passes quickly and without any particular consequences (we do not consider the habit of stuffing our “stomach” with anything), brainwashing through Internet resources can form stable emotions and opinions. And to resist him is damn difficult: after all, you, most likely, will not even notice that you are being tipped in the right direction!

The formal reason for the conversation was the report on the experiment, published the other day by Facebook employees (the work was carried out two years ago, but only now the results have finally been made public). The experiment was carried out interesting and bold: almost 700 thousand users of this social network became involuntary participants in it. At the same time, the idea is extremely simple: having direct access to Facebook's depths, the researchers changed the algorithm for forming an individual news feed for those very seven hundred thousand randomly selected users.

Changed in such a way that within one week for a specific individual, either posts with a pronounced negative emotional coloring, or clearly positively colored, disappeared from the feed. By the way, everything was done completely automatically, the cost of manual labor was zero. And after that, for again one week, the subjects were observed. The task was to establish whether it is possible to form / transmit emotional states in this way. Answer: you can.

The results speak for themselves. Those of the test subjects who were “fed positive” began to radiate “positive” himself: his posts acquired a predominantly positive emotional connotation. Accordingly, those who watched mostly "negative" in their feed for a whole week, and themselves began to show negative emotions. The effect is not guaranteed for a single person, but statistically significant. And this is a very valuable achievement from the point of view of psychology: after all, it turns out that telecommunications allow you to infect a person with emotions in the same way as personal communication (where the infectious effect has been proven: for example, a meeting with a smiling individual can cheer up), but without non-verbal signals. In this way, it is even possible to influence the well-being of people by exploiting the (scientifically established) connection between emotions and the physical condition of a person.

This result is much less pleasant in light of the possible mass brainwashing. After all, just like emotions, opinions can be formed. Earlier on Facebook, another group of researchers proved this by experimenting with search engine results to shape the "correct" political view of a group of voters. As in the case of social networks and emotions, the effect was statistically significant: by manipulating the search engine results (for candidate A, show more positive responses, for candidate B - more negative responses), you can increase the percentage of voters for the desired candidate.

These two studies (unfortunately, I cannot find a link to the original of the second one: I read it, dealing with "Sputnik", I am now passing it on from memory) were carried out by different people, slightly different methods, and even the goals were pursued different: in the first - pure science, in the second, an assessment of the amplitude of possible abuse. However, they have the same result, the dangers arising from them, too.

The first danger is this: it is difficult, if not impossible, to notice how we are "brainwashed" through the Net. We, of course, will notice propaganda in its pure form: slogans, custom articles, “correct” coverage of events, etc. But in experiments with social networks and a search engine, the news feed and search results are softly corrected: only some of the materials are excluded from them (not all! ), and it is impossible to detect such a change with the naked eye. News feeds and search engine results are informationally redundant, they always contain more data than a typical user is able to absorb, so the information content of the stream after the filter does not decrease at all: it simply becomes other.

The second danger: Internet services, to which we are accustomed, do not even require special permission for such data manipulation. We already gave it to them! In the case of Facebook, for example, permission for all sorts of experiments is spelled out in the user agreement, with which each user voluntarily agrees upon registration.

The only hope here is for the commercial essence of Internet companies. Facebook's own image is guaranteed to be more important than the money that any politician can (theoretically) offer it. The same with Google, Yandex, Microsoft, Yahoo! and other businesses that own large virtual structures. But it is no longer possible to vouch for those who are partially or fully under state control. He openly declares a bias towards "trusted sources" - and you should warn your older acquaintances what this is fraught with. Nor does VKontakte give confidence, in the place of the head of which the son of the VGTRK general director Boris Dobrodeev is being pushed.

But it will go to nuts and Facebook, whose employees “only” played brainwashing. Naturally, many did not like the fact that they might have been used as experimental rats - and during these hours a grandiose scandal flared up in the Western press, promising for weeks, if not months, to spoil the mood not for customers, but for the leaders and shareholders of the company.

Get to know the basics of brainwashing you need at least in order not to allow others to manipulate your mind, behavior, ideas.

If you're ready for something, it often just doesn't happen.

First, let's define the terms.

Brainwashing is the impact on a person so that he changes his opinion, behavior, beliefs, emotions, against his will and wishes, and often, to the detriment of his own interests.

Simplified definition from wikipedia.

Brainwashing is an impact on a person's consciousness in order to change his thinking.

Brainwashing, from The Law Encyclopedia

BRAINWASHING (eng. Brainwashing) - methods and ways of influencing consciousness in order to change a person's thinking, the way he thinks and what he believes, against his will and desire.

The term "brainwashing" was first used in the early 1950s. American journalist Edward Hunter for the translation of the Chinese colloquial expression hsi nao (literally meaning "brainwash").

From the 2015 Law Encyclopedia:

This is how the Chinese called the method of influencing American soldiers who were captured in Korea and held in camps run by the Chinese communists. The Chinese treated the prisoners very differently from their allies, the North Koreans. Koreans preferred cruelty and severe punishment to seek obedience. The "Red" Chinese specifically avoided the use of rudeness, carrying out the so-called "soft policy", a finely organized psychological attack on their prisoners.

After the war, American psychologists questioned the returning prisoners in detail to find out what had happened.

Chinese policy has been surprisingly effective. For example, the Chinese made sure that the Americans denounced each other, which was hardly observed during the Second World War. Almost all of the prisoners in the Chinese camps collaborated with the enemy in one form or another.

Basic rules of exposure:

1. Move from obvious statements to statements less obvious. If a person is told in the forehead that the communist regime is better than capitalism, then he will take a defensive position, will start actively looking for arguments in favor of his convictions, it will be difficult to persuade him. You need to start with theses that cannot be disputed. Such as: “there is unemployment in the USA”, “there is a huge gap between the rich and the poor in the USA,” etc.

2. Move in small steps. Nobody called on American soldiers to renounce their beliefs. At first, the prisoner of war had to agree with statements that would seem to be of little importance: "The United States is imperfect", "There is no unemployment under socialism." After this, the prisoner of war was asked to explain why this is so, then to make a list of ten main problems of American society, etc.

3. Lack of pressure while maintaining the appearance of freedom of opinion. They convinced the prisoners of war of something not with the help of violence, but with the help of discussion. When a prisoner was not talkative enough, he was criticized for insincerity; if he didn't move in the right direction, he was criticized for subjectivity and individualism.

4. Behavior control. Since it was a POW camp, everyone in it was subject to strict regulations. Certain hours were set aside to discuss the shortcomings and problems of the United States. Certain hours were devoted to criticizing the behavior, habits and views of each person personally - a kind of group psychotherapy session. As a result, the person leaving the camp carried a whole set of new sensations for himself.

A former prisoner of war, one of those on whom the brainwashing technology was developed, described his feelings as follows: “When I left China, I had a strange feeling: now I am going to the imperialist world. Nobody will take care of me. I will be unemployed and lost - everyone will look at me like a criminal. "

Brainwashing in Red China Book

The term "brainwashing" was first used in the early 1950s. American journalist Edward Hunter for the translation of the Chinese colloquial expression hsi nao (literally meaning "brainwash"). This expression was quoted by Hunter from his Chinese consultants describing its use after the communist coup. The spread of the expression was facilitated by the publication (1951) of E. Hunter's book "Brainwashing in Red China".

Get to know the basics of brainwashing just to keep others from manipulating your mind. Forewarned is forearmed.

So, this is how it works:

1. Insulation

Brainwashing can only be effective in relation to an isolated subject who receives little (or no) information from the outside, which is why brainwashing is possible only in a controlled society.

Truth: if you know the truth and the real laws of why, what and how happens, it is very difficult for you to impose a false point of view.

2. Chanting

There is a reason why the chiefs use chants. Get people to repeat a simple slogan over and over. This will drown out their inner thoughts, and yours will highlight.

Truth: when the crowd screams, it condenses the meaning of what is being said - look, everyone is talking.

3. Imitation

Imitation is the truest form of brainwashing. Repeat the last words spoken by the person and they will be more open to you and your suggestions. He will have the illusion that you think the same as he does.

Truth: Don't get fooled by this manipulation technique.

4. We are at the same time

Find the enemy and show that he is against “us”. “We” versus “them” is a great scheme to generate strong emotions such as hatred and loyalty.

Truth: You can sometimes make a friend out of an enemy. Well, or just stop fighting. And for enmity there must always be a third person who benefits from it.

5. The illusion of choice

Give them a choice, but make sure that in any case, the result is the same. The key to success is making them think they have a choice, even if they don't. You will see whichever option they choose, they will be more confident in it and more willing to take on it.

Truth: If there are two options and they both don't suit you, look for the third.

6. Repetition

Repeat a statement or thought to sound convincing. Repeat a statement or thought to sound convincing. Repeat that the sky is red until everyone admits it.

Truth: It's just pushing through. Don't get carried away with it.

7. Maximalism

Describe everything exclusively in black or white. This is good, this is bad. This is the top, this is the bottom. People who do not recognize halftones are easier to convince to obey the order immediately, without further thought.

Truth: there are thousands of shades of gray, white, black. And you need to see the difference in them.

Make people believe they are in danger and save them from that danger. Provide safety and shelter, or suggest eliminating the hazard. Or just convince in every possible way to avoid danger and not look there - it's dangerous there.

Some scammers, for example, will tell their victims that they have been spoiled, so their luck has turned away from them. Then they will offer to remove the damage for a small fee.

Truth: Do not trust those who try to convince you that it is dangerous "there". Usually, everything is greatly exaggerated. Sort it out for yourself, look, weigh everything up with an independent look.

9. Use logic

Give reasons for each request. Don't ask to borrow a car. Ask to borrow a car so you can get to the pharmacy. If you have a reason for asking, it sounds logical. Even a strange request can be fulfilled if your words are full of logic. Fill the person with logical arguments.

Truth: Truth is simple. Look for the real reason for the behavior or things happening.

10. Monitor information

Provide information sparsely, quickly and in small portions. After a while, everything you say will sound significant, desirable, like the ultimate truth.

Truth: Study different points of view and basic laws of life. Then you can see the truth.

Many of these techniques are very well illustrated in George Orwell's book "", but more on that below.

Brainwash result

The result of the brainwashing is always the same: the person has not, though, not consciously changed his mind in the way the washers needed.

And the highest art is when "2 ⋅ 2 \u003d 4" becomes equal to 5.

In contrast, another method. The data, the laws of life are provided, which lead a person to a different vision of the world, a worldview. But this is based on an understanding of life and its laws. And a person here is free to abandon the idea - before he accepts it, he correlates it with his life, experience. If this is true, then he "takes it for himself." In essence, this is training.

Brainwashing program from Dr. Shane

But this brainwashing program in prisons was described by Dr. Shane of the University of Massachusetts, who initially dealt with issues of influence on people, and then switched to corporate culture and team building. I do not know how familiar the domestic jailers are with the developments of American scientists, but they actively use many of the described techniques in their practice. And very successful.
This, of course, does not reduce the crime rate.

So, Dr. Shane's 24 points:

1. Prisoners are placed in a place that should be sufficiently isolated from the outside world. Close emotional ties must be broken or at least weakened.
2. Natural leaders must be eliminated.
3. Collaborative prisoners are used as leaders.
4. Any group activity that does not overlap with the goals of the brainwashing is prohibited.
5. The names of the prisoners fit into false explanatory notes and denunciations that are later shown to others.
6. The prisoners are monitored, the collected information is passed on.
7. Opportunists and informants are used.
8. Prisoners should be convinced that they should not trust anyone.
9. Prisoners who agree to interact should be treated more gently than those who refuse.
10. Punish those who oppose cooperation by their behavior.
11. Mail should be systematically delayed and restricted.
12. Prisoners should be prevented from contacting those who do not agree with the methods of re-education and control.
13. All intra-group norms among prisoners are eliminated.
14. Prisoners should be aware of themselves as an isolated group that society has rejected.
15. Any emotional support must be destroyed.
16. Prisoners should not write to family or friends about living conditions in the prison.
17. It is necessary to allow access to books and the press, but make it possible to obtain only those materials that form the desired new model of behavior.
18. It is necessary to put individuals in new and ambiguous situations, the way out of which is unclear, and then put pressure on them, so that they, trying to get away from this pressure, to get a respite or advantages, choose a strategy of behavior that is beneficial to you.
19. Individuals whose will has been weakened or broken many times should be confronted with other prisoners who, to one degree or another, have already adjusted to the regime. Their task is to further destroy the individual's emotional defenses.
20. Techniques are used to weaken the character, such as: humiliation, slander, screaming (to cause feelings of guilt, fear and, as a result, greater compliance). They are used in combination with sleep deprivation, a very strict regime of detention, and constantly repeated interrogations.
21. Attempts to insincerely pretend that you have succumbed to the pressure of the environment should be met with even more hostility.
22. Constantly point out to prisoners through their cellmates that neither in the past nor in the present did they live in harmony even with their own value system.
23. Through the reduction of pressure and the recognition of the human dignity of prisoners, obedient conduct consistent with the purposes of brainwashing should be encouraged.
24. Social and emotional support should be created to encourage new behaviors.

How to resist brainwashing

One of the easy ways. As soon as you suspect that something is wrong, you can take a piece of paper and write down your main ideas, the principles that are being attacked. Describe them, and why you adopted them for yourself.

Resurrect your original understanding of the situation each day. It will help you keep your vision of life even when you are under pressure.

Movies worth watching

View, but not imitate. Remember the boomerang law

But, it is better to know and be ready to apply such manipulation technologies to you, so as not to fall for the bait. The films are definitely 18+. The other movie "Saw" is much scarier and tougher.

A clockwork orange

"A Clockwork Orange" (or "Mechanical Orange" - English. A Clockwork Orange) is a 1971 film directed by Stanley Kubrick.

In the film, an exhaustive analysis of the causes of crime among young people, intolerance of the new generation to the usual moral values \u200b\u200band life foundations of modern society was made.

A Clockwork Orange. In Malay the word "orang" means "person" and in English "orange" means "orange". Robot.

More about the movie "A Clockwork Orange" on kinopoisk

George Orwell, 1984

Writer George Orwell completed work on his main book in 1948. The title of the novel "" is a hidden reference to the date of its creation (the last two digits are interchanged).

The novel was written in the early post-war years, when all of Europe experienced the horrors of Nazism. First of all, on the pages of 1984, the writer continued to develop the ideas that he based on his other famous story - Animal Farm, written a little earlier.

The formula for personal freedom in the book becomes the formula “2 ⋅ 2 \u003d 4”, as a symbol of common sense: “Freedom is the ability to say that twice two is four”.

But at the end, "2 ⋅ 2" becomes five. This is a book worth reading.

Freedom is the ability to say that twice two is four

Starcraft

A video about the history of the world of StarCraft. Although this is fantastic, but a perfectly suitable example of the use of brainwashing:

3 remedies for helplessness

Useful article from Elizaveta Musatova

Fifty years ago, American psychologist Martin Seligman turned all the ideas about our free will upside down.
Seligman conducted an experiment on dogs according to the Pavlov conditioned reflex scheme. The goal is to form a fear reflex to the sound of the signal. If animals received meat from a Russian scientist, then an American colleague received an electric shock. To prevent the dogs from escaping ahead of time, they were fixed in a special harness.

Seligman was confident that when the animals were transferred to the enclosure with a low partition, they would flee as soon as they heard the signal. After all, a living being will do everything to avoid pain, right? But in the new cage, the dogs sat on the floor and whined. Not a single dog jumped the lightest obstacle - did not even try. When a dog that did not participate in the experiment was placed in the same conditions, it easily escaped.

Seligman concluded that when it is impossible to control or influence unpleasant events, a strong sense of helplessness develops. In 1976, the scientist received the American Psychological Association Award for the discovery of learned helplessness.

And what about people?

Seligman's theory has been tested many times by scientists from different countries. It has been proven that if a person systematically:
- is defeated despite all efforts;
- is going through difficult situations in which his actions do not affect anything;
- finds himself in the midst of chaos, where the rules are constantly changing and any movement can lead to punishment -
his will and desire to do something in general atrophies.

Apathy comes, followed by depression. The man gives up. Learned helplessness sounds like Marya the Artisan from an old movie: "Whatever it is, whatever it is, it's all the same."

Sometimes even an abusive partner or tyrant boss is not needed. Gelya Demina, an internship student in Korea, tells how in one lesson a professor gave the class an assignment. From the letters on the pieces of paper, you need to add the names of the countries. When the time runs out, the professor asks those who are confident in their answer to raise their hands. And so over and over again. By the last assignment, half of the students turned sour.
“After we had solved all the points, we started checking the answers,” says Gelya. - The right side had almost everything right. And the guys on the left didn't have the right answers at all. The last task (D E W E N S - Sweden) was solved only by two out of ten people on the left side. And then the professor says: "Here is the confirmation of the hypothesis." The screen shows two versions of the test that we had. While the right-hand group received a perfectly normal test, the left-hand group had one letter mixed up in all tasks. It was impossible to get the correct answer in their case. All the salt was in the last question, about Sweden. It is the same for the two teams. Everyone had the opportunity to get the right answer. But over the past five questions, the guys completely convinced themselves that they could not solve the problem. By the time it was the turn of the right answer, they just gave up. "
How to resist chaos? What if the learned helplessness is already conquering the inner territory? Is it possible not to give up and not surrender to apathy?

Can. And here scientists are again at the same time with life.

Remedy 1: Do something.
Seriously: whatever. Psychologist Bruno Bettelheim survived a concentration camp with a politics of constant chaos. The camp leadership, he said, established new prohibitions, often meaningless and contradicting each other. The guards put the prisoners in a situation where any action could lead to severe punishment. In this mode, people quickly lost their will and broke down. Bettelheim proposed an antidote: do whatever is not forbidden. Can you go to bed instead of talking about camp rumors? Lie down. Can you brush your teeth? Clean. Not because you want to sleep or care about hygiene. But because in this way a person returns subjective control into his own hands. First, he has a choice: to do this or that. Secondly, in a situation of choice, he can make a decision and immediately execute it. What is important is your own, personal decision made on your own. Even a small action becomes a vaccine against turning into a vegetable.

The effectiveness of this method in the 70s was confirmed by Bettelheim's American colleagues. Ellen Langer and Judith Roden conducted an experiment in places where a person is most limited in freedom: a prison, a nursing home and a homeless shelter. What did the results show? Prisoners who were allowed to arrange cell furniture and choose TV programs in their own way became less susceptible to health problems and outbursts of aggression. Older people, who could furnish a room to their liking, start a plant and choose a movie for evening viewing, increased vitality and slowed down the process of memory loss. And homeless people who could choose a bed in a dormitory and a menu for lunch more often started looking for work - and found it.
The way to cope: do something because you can. Choose what to do with your free hour before bed, what to cook for dinner and how to spend the weekend. Rearrange the furniture in the room as you like. Find as many points of control as possible where you can make your own decision and execute it.

What can this give? Remember Seligman's dogs? The problem isn't that they couldn't jump over the barrier. So it is with people: sometimes the problem is not the situation, but the loss of will and faith in the significance of their actions. The “do because I chose to do” approach maintains or regains a subjective sense of control. This means that the will does not move away to the side of the cemetery, covered with a sheet, but the person continues to move towards the way out of a difficult situation.

Remedy 2: Away from helplessness - in small steps.
Ideas about myself "I can't do anything", "I'm worthless", "my attempts won't change anything" are formed from special cases. We, like in children's fun "connect the dots", choose some stories and connect them with one line. It turns out a belief about yourself. Over time, a person increasingly pays attention to experience that confirms this belief. And it stops seeing exceptions. The good news is that beliefs about yourself can be changed in the same way. This is done, for example, by narrative therapy: together with a helping practitioner, a person learns to see alternative stories, which over time combine into a new representation. Where there used to be a story about helplessness, you can find another: a story about your value and importance, about the significance of your actions, about the ability to influence what is happening.

It is important to find special cases in the past: when did I succeed? when was I able to influence something? when did he change the situation with his actions? It is also important to pay attention to the present - this is where small achievable goals will help. For example, clean up your kitchen cupboard or make an important call that you have been putting off for a long time. There are no goals that are too small - everyone is important. Did you manage? Happened? Perfectly! We must celebrate the victory! It is known that where attention is, there is energy. The more emphasis on achievement, the stronger the fuel for a new preferred story. The more likely you are not to give up.
The way to cope: Set small, realistic goals and be sure to celebrate their achievement. Keep a list and reread it at least twice a month. Over time, you will notice that your goals and achievements have grown larger. Find an opportunity to reward yourself with some joy for every step you complete.

What can this give? Small achievements help to recruit resources for larger-scale actions. Build self-confidence. String new experiences like beads on a fishing line. Over time, separate details will turn into a necklace - a new story about yourself: “I am important”, “My actions matter”, “I can influence my life”.

Remedy 3: A different look.
Seligman discovered the problem, and later his life and career he devoted to finding a solution. The scientist found that animals can learn to resist helplessness if they have previous experience of successful actions. The dogs, which at first could turn off the current by pressing their head on the panel in the enclosure, continued to seek a way out, even when they were fixed.
In collaboration with renowned psychotherapists, Seligman began to study people's behavior and their reactions to external circumstances. Twenty years of research led him to the conclusion that our tendency to explain things in one way or another affects whether we seek an opportunity to act or give up. People with the belief “Bad things happen because of my fault” are more likely to develop depression and a state of helplessness. And those who think "Bad things can happen, but it's not always my fault and someday it will stop," cope faster and come to their senses under adverse circumstances.

Seligman proposed a scheme for rethinking experience and restructuring perception. It is called the "ABCDE Scheme":
A - Adversity, unfavorable factor. Think of an unpleasant situation that triggers pessimistic thoughts and feelings of helplessness. It is important to start by choosing situations that, on a scale of 1 to 10, you rate no higher than 5, so the learning experience will be safer.
B - Belief, conviction. Write down your interpretation of the event: whatever you think about the event.
C - Consequence, consequences. How did you react in connection with this event? How did you feel in the process?
D - Disputation, another look. Write down evidence that challenges and refutes your negative beliefs.
E - Energizing, revitalization. What feelings (and possibly actions) have sparked new arguments and more optimistic thoughts?
The way to cope: Try to refute pessimistic beliefs in writing. Keep a diary to record unpleasant events and work them out according to the ABCDE scheme. Reread your notes every few days.

What can this give? Stressful situations will always arise. But with time and practice, you can learn to deal with anxiety more effectively, not give up on helplessness, and develop your own successful response and behavior strategies. Energy that previously served pessimistic beliefs will be released and can be invested in other important areas of life.

Outcome

Now you know what and how to brainwash. This is the manipulation of people.

And to manipulate, according to the dictionary, means: to secretly control someone against his will. You can read more about manipulation.

And don't forget the saying, "What you sow, so you reap." Do not forget about the boomerang law: first you do it, and then, inevitably, you do it.

Materials used:

So, this is how it works:

1. Insulation

Brainwashing can only be effective in relation to an isolated subject who receives little (or no) information from the outside. This is why brainwashing is only possible in a controlled society.

2. Chanting

There is a reason why the chiefs use chants. Get people to repeat a simple slogan over and over. This will drown out their inner thoughts, and yours will highlight.

3. Imitation

Imitation is the most effective form of brainwashing. Repeat the last words spoken by the person and they will be more open to you and your suggestions.

4. We are at the same time

Find the enemy and show that he is "against us." “We” versus “them” is a great scheme to generate strong emotions such as hatred and loyalty.

5. The illusion of choice

Give them a choice, but make sure that in any case, the result is the same. The key to success is making them think they have a choice, even if they don't. You will see whichever option they choose, they will be more confident in it and more willing to take on it.

6. Repetition

Repeat a statement or thought to sound convincing. Repeat a statement or thought to sound convincing.

7. Maximalism

Describe everything exclusively in black or white. This is good, this is bad. This is the top, this is the bottom. People who do not recognize halftones are easier to convince to obey the order immediately, without further thought.

8. Fear

Make people believe they are in danger and save them from that danger. Provide safety and shelter, or suggest eliminating the hazard. Some scammers, for example, will tell their victims that they have been spoiled, so their luck has turned away from them. Then they will offer to remove the damage for a small fee.

9. Use logic

Give reasons for each request. Don't ask to borrow a car. Ask to borrow a car so you can get to the pharmacy. If you have a reason for asking, it sounds logical. Even a strange request can be fulfilled if your words are full of logic.

10. Monitor information

Provide information sparsely, quickly and in small portions. After a while, everything you say will sound significant, desirable, like the ultimate truth.

Paradoxical ways of brainwashing used by the media and described by world famous philosopher Noam Chomsky

Avram Noam Chomsky - philosopher, analyst, writer,
clever ... in a word, a rare type of person in today's circles
managers of media corporations and apparatuses
governments forming
public opinion.

He is disliked by US officials for his merciless criticism of the "way of life." Just one quote: "Why does no one notice that the Americans use the names of the victims of genocide in the names of military equipment" Apache "," Comanche "... I think if the Luftwaffe called military helicopters" Jew "or" Gypsy ", people would notice."

He characterized Barack Obama as a man without stable moral guidelines at the very peak of the popularity of the first black president of the United States.

Paradox! The Zionist Chomsky (he considers himself such) is not very favored in Israel and is reproached for anti-Semitism. The philosopher does not identify the promised land with the Jewish state and assesses his current policy extremely negatively. I think that in Ukraine, where Chomsky's father William was born and raised, he also would not have come to the court. The 84-year-old scientist's intellectual temperament is too great, directed against any form of personal oppression.

Without Chomsky's brilliant analysis and his ability to summarize disparate facts into a system of conclusions, the picture of the world in our eyes would look blurry. Thinking people and especially journalists need it. The linguist's “Ten Strategies for Media Manipulation” I would introduce into the curriculum of a vocational school. However, each person is interested to know what and how they invest in his consciousness. Meticulously evaluating food for the stomach, we are sometimes completely indifferent to the ersatz prepared for brainwashing. They are already many years old, but only today we began to understand the essence of global transformations in post-Soviet society. The authorities are trying to use communication channels in their own interests not only in Ukraine. But in our country, attempts at manipulation look especially overt and are carried out awkwardly.

Apparently, this is due to the general intellectual level of management and the equal distance of the elites from the European and Russian experience in media management.

Here are 10 strategies and techniques the media uses to brainwash:

1. SWITCH ATTENTION TO SECONDARY

To divert the attention of society from pressing social problems, switching it to topics that have no real meaning. So that citizens, like children, find another fun under their pillow every day, taking up the mind and time.

There are more than enough candies for electoral sucking: crimes, disasters, exciting topics for everyone like language or territorial differences. Anything that suits the authorities at the moment is suitable.

2. TO CREATE THE PROBLEM YOURSELF AND TAKE IT YOURSELF

At first, a situation is formed or is taking shape by itself, which impedes the development of society. Then the media bring the issue up for in-depth discussion. As the debate escalates, policymakers and managers come up with options to tackle the problem. Their participation in a topical hub for the country increases the ratings and support of the population.

Programs and methods of fighting corruption have been actively discussed by the media for 15 years. The phenomenon has reached enormous proportions through the fault of the state apparatus, but it is viewed as a natural disaster, for which there is no specific fault of leaders and politicians. Many activists have risen on the anti-corruption wave, but the corruption itself has not diminished.

3. TRAINING TO ADVANCES GRADUALLY

A proven method of preparing society to accept unpopular measures. Day after day, year after year, the media talk about the problem that interests the supreme power. And society develops the habit of calmly reacting to projects that are disadvantageous for itself: minimizing the functions of the state, methods and nature of privatization, mass unemployment, wages that are not able to provide a decent life.

Illustrative case with tax and pension reform. When the government was in a hurry to introduce bills that were disadvantageous to society, the situation almost got out of control. The error was corrected by moving to gradual measures. The same result was achieved over a longer period of time.

4. DELAY PERFORMANCE AND PRESENT HOPE

Presenting unpopular measures as painful, but necessary, the authorities offer the society their phased application. It is easier for people to make sacrifices in the future than in the present. And they do not lose hope - suddenly everything will change for the better. People do not know when the gloomy "tomorrow" will come, and journalists do not try to assess the future consequences.

On the basis of deferred demand, the building of many reforms is being built, for example, the pension, the results of the introduction of which society will fully experience in a few years. 14 million pensioners still hope to receive from the state a level of security above the subsistence level.

5. TALK TO SOCIETY LIKE CHILDREN

Most propaganda speeches aimed at the general public use arguments, characters, intonations, words that are understandable even to young children or people with mental retardation. The infantilism of speech turns is not accidental. If they speak to you in this language, then you, too, unwittingly lower the level of your answers or objections, as if you are actually 12 years old.

The rule of communicating controversial vessels can be seen and heard in almost every discussion TV show and public speeches of politicians of all levels. In Ukraine, it is aggravated by poor knowledge of the language and a small vocabulary of ministers and top officials of the country.

6. BIRTH OF EMOTIONS, BUT LET THOUGHT STOP

Acting on emotions is a classic technique for blocking people's ability to rationalize. A short circuit, as Chomsky calls it, deprives a person of the opportunity to critically reflect on what is happening. On the other hand, the stimulation of emotional stimuli allows you to penetrate into the subconscious, and thus, it is easier to introduce fears, desires, fears.

The programs and rhetoric of politicians are full of words about patriotism, love for people and nature. A lot of calls for goodness, unselfishness, etc. are proclaimed. At the same time, there are a lot of warnings about the imminent collapse of the state, the intransigence of the people of East and West. At the headquarters of political parties, emotional provocations are planned, such as the overthrow of monuments, defamation of opponents and other trolling, forcing the enemy to swallow the opponent's spoon. Typically, this news takes the main pages of websites and newspapers. At the same time, serious analysis of events shifts from the front pages and prime-time, as not arousing the interest of the majority.

7. KEEP IN IGNORANCE AND CULTIVATE GRAY

Low education, ignorance and mediocrity are powerful tools in the hands of the media. Obeying your will is much easier when you have obedient material in your hands. "The quality of education provided to the lower social classes must be mediocre and meager, so that the ignorance that separates the lower social classes from the upper classes serves as a dividing barrier."

Chomsky calls this the silent weapon of the ruling elites. It is not only a matter of replacing specialists and analysts with “representatives of the people,” but also the destruction of the education system in the country. While politicians are fighting each for their own, the next generation is being raised in the laboratories of the educational sphere. In the minds of the future electorate, humanitarian values \u200b\u200bare replaced by technical ones, and their social purpose is reduced to the ability to make a living.

8. SHARE MEDIATION

While readers and viewers are surprised why there is so much stupidity, vulgarity and rudeness in society, these qualities become the criteria for selecting people for social elevators. Intellectuals are not needed by systems designed to fulfill the will of the top.

The press is actively involved in popularizing the mindless people for many reasons. Because some pay, others encourage, and others stand in line. Interviewing gray politicians is profitable. They are always open to meetings and do not hesitate to repeat the common truth for the hundredth time.

9. INCREASE THE SENSE OF OWN GUILT

Psychotherapists know that guilt is a stick that can easily hook even the most powerful person. The grip wielder, like a rafter, directs the masses of the logs into the desired stream. If the media makes a person believe in his own guilt for all the misfortunes around him, then it is easier to distract him from the struggle for economic and political rights. Self-deprecation leads to apathy and inaction.

You did not succeed in the Orange Revolution, which means that you are not able to change society, and any protests are meaningless. The revolution does not solve anything. The history of the country is a history of defeats for which the Ukrainians are to blame. Are not these words you hear from those who intend to constantly rule each of us?

10. KNOW MORE ABOUT PEOPLE THAN THEY KNOW ABOUT THEMSELVES

Thanks to advances in science and modern technology, the media have at their disposal such knowledge about society, which allows them to anticipate and anticipate trends and reactions of society. The media have a huge information resource and are able to manage people more than they themselves.

Every citizen of the country, when performing simple everyday operations: buying goods, registering property, loans, exchanging documents - the system imposes a thousand ways to leave as much information about yourself as possible. Having generalized and systematized it, you can get a powerful tool for influencing a person.

It is in vain to believe that all ten strategies are planned and implemented by certain people, a kind of Masonic lodge in power. Professor Noam Chomsky has collected only a set of tools used in modern politics. Something like a hammer, saw and pliers, with which you can do different jobs, but at a primitive level.