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Sunday, May 12. 2019

Invisible Influences

We flatter ourselves with the idea that we make our own decisions, arrive at our own rational conclusions, etc.


If psychology has taught us about the unconscious influences that tend to control our thoughts and choices, the current social "science" of influence and persuasion addresses the external forces that control our minds. It is darn interesting, but depressing.


As a prof of Marketing, Berger surely knows how to sell us but gives us tools to see through it all too.


Recommended:  Invisible Influence: The Hidden Forces that Shape Behavior 


Posted by The Barrister in The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation at 13:58 | Comments (3) | Trackbacks (0)

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Why would I read a book whose goal is to persuade me that the human mind is impotent for dealing with reality?
#1 snopercod on 2019-05-12 15:36 (Reply)
I tend to be a contrarian. I have used that philosophy in investing and purchases and it has paid off. I tend to doubt what I hear and question the motives of anyone speaking and writing to the public audience. I also realize that without due caution this could make me wrong more often then correct in my judgements so I take my time and do due diligence when I am interested in something. I really believe that this works for me and could work for others as well. I fully understand in advance if anyone disagrees in fact if you do I would applaud you.
#2 Anon on 2019-05-12 16:50 (Reply)
Amateur psychologists flatter themselves that we don't make any of our own decisions, but that we instead merely respond passively to outside influences. Surely the answer is somewhere in between? It would be an unusual person who was 100% aware of the outside influences that could sway him from perfect justice or rationality without his immediate conscious awareness, but that doesn't make us complete robots, either. We don't have anything like that complete a comprehension of free will and determinism.
#3 Texan99 on 2019-05-13 08:37 (Reply)

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