The "Science" of Manipulation
Attempts to influence the thoughts and actions of others are no doubt as old as time,but manipulation did not become a science until the early twentieth century,when Ivan Pavlov,a Russian professor of psychology published his research on conditioned (learned) reflexes.Pavlov found that by ringing a bell when he fed a dog, he could condition the dog to drool at the sound of the bell even when no food was presented. An American psychologist,John Watson, was impressed with Pavlov's findings and applied them to human behavior.In Watson's most famous experiment, he let a baby touch a laboratory rat. At first,the baby was unafraid. But then Watson hit a hammer against metal whenever the baby reached out to touch the rat,and the baby became frightened and cried. In time, the baby cried not only at the sight of the rat but also at the sight of anything furry,such as a stuffed animal.*Watson's work earned him the title "father of behaviorism."
Less well known is Watson's application of behaviorist principles to advertising. He spent the latter part of his career working for advertising agencies and soon recognized that the most effective appeal to consumers was not to the mind but to the emotions. He advised advertisers to "tell [the consumer] something that will tie him up with fear,something that will stir up a mild rage,that will call out an affectionate or love response,or strike at a deep psychological or habit need." His attitude toward the consumer is perhaps best indicated by a statement he made in a presentation to department store executives:"The consumer is to the manufacturer,the department store executives:"The consumer is to the manufacturer,the department stores and the advertising agencies,what the green frog is to the physiologist."
Watson introduced these strategies in the 1920s and 1930s, the age of newspapers and radio.Since the advent of television,these advertising strategies have grown more sophisticated and effective, so much so that many individuals and groups with political and social agendas have adopted them. The strategies work for a number of reasons,the chief one being people's conviction that they are impervious to manipulation.This belief is mistaken,as many researchers have demonstrated.For example,Solomon Asch showed that people's reactions can be altered simply by changing the order of words in a series. He asked study participants to evaluate a person by a series of adjectives.When he put positive adjectives first--"intelligent,industrious,impulsive,critical,stubborn,envious"--the participants gave a positive evaluation.When he reversed the order,with"envious"coming first and "intelligent" last,they gave a negative evaluation.
Similarly, research has shown that human memory can be manipulated.The way a question is asked can change the details in a person's memory and even make a person remember something that never happened!
Of course,advertisers and people with political or social agendas are not content to stimulate emotions and/or plant ideas in our minds.They also seek to reinforce those impressions by repeating them again and again.The more people hear a slogan or talking point,the more familiar it through careful thought.Sadly,"the packaging is often done so effectively that the viewer,listener,or reader does not make up his own mind at all.Instead, he inserts a packaged opinion into his mind,somewhat like inserting a DVD into a DVD player.He then pushes a button and 'plays back' the opinion whenever it seems appropriate to do so.He has performed acceptably without having had to think." Many of the beliefs we hold dearest and defend most vigorously may have been planted in our minds in just this way.
Many years age,Harry A.Overstreet noted that "a climate of opinion,like a physical climate,is so pervasive a thing that those who live within it and know no other take it for granted."The rise of mass culture and the sophisticated use of manipulation have made this insight more relevant today than ever.
*Modern ethical norms would not allow a child to be used in such an experiment
Translation:
自翻：
“技术”的操纵
在很早以前试图影响其他人的思想和行为这一点就没人怀疑，但是在二十世纪前还没有将其变为一种可操作的技术，当Ivan Pavlov,一位俄罗斯心理学教授出版他研究的（后天习得的）条件反射。Pavlov发现当他每次喂养狗的时候摇铃铛，那么当他没有食物提供给狗的时候，狗听到铃声还是会条件般的流出口水。美国心理学家John Watson,验证Pavlov的发现并将其应用于人类行为。在Wason的最著名的试验中，他让一个婴儿触摸一个实验室老鼠。刚开始，婴儿并不害怕。但是，随后当婴儿开始去触摸老鼠的时候，Watson就会使用锤子击打金属，婴儿开始害怕并且哭闹。同时，婴儿不仅害怕老鼠的场景，甚至任何带毛的动物都害怕，诸如喂饱了的动物。*Watson的工作使得他赢得了一个名声“人类行为学之父”
很少人知道Watson的行为学原则被运用到广告当中。他后半生生涯是为广告商代理公司工作，并且很快认识到大多数有效促成用户的广告都是付诸于情感，而非思考。他建议广告商去“讲（给客户）那些可以使其害怕的事情，煽动其感到一丝愤怒的事情，那些可以唤起人们情感或爱的回应，或者去挖掘客户深层的心里及习惯需求。”他的态度通过声明趋向于认为用户也许是最好的一个象征，这个声明是他告诉部门仓库的经理的一个观点：“客户对于制造商，对于部门仓库经理对于广告代理公司来说就像青蛙对于生物学家。”
Watson介绍这些策略的时候在1920年到1930年，刚好是报纸和广播开始盛行的年代。直到电视机的出现，这些广告策略才变得越来越精细越来越有效，越来越多的个体和团体，包括政治方面的和社会方面的开始采用这些策略。这些策略的成功有很多理由，其中一个主要的原因就在于人们确信自己不会受到这些操作的影响。很多研究人员所证实这种信念是错误的。例如，Solomon Asch表示人们的反应会随着按顺序出现的一系列词语的属性而轻易的发生变化。他要求学生参与者使用一系列形容词评估一个人，当他首先使用“智慧的，勤勉的，冲动的，批判的，顽固的，妒忌的”这种顺序的时候，参与者给出的是积极的评估，当他改变顺序使用“妒忌的”作为开头，“智慧的”作为结尾时他们就给出了消极的评估。
同样，研究人员表示人类的记忆也能够被操纵，其中一个方法就是通过提问改变一个人记忆中的细节，甚至可以让人们记起从未发生过的事情。
当然，广告商和参加了政治或者社会会议的人们不会满足于鼓舞情感及种植思想，他们还会试图不断的强化这些印象。越多的人听到这些标语或者焦点，这些就会变得越熟悉。不久之后，这些思想通过仔细思考后发展就变得无法区分。悲哀的是，“这些包装完成的如此有效以至于电视观众，收音机听众以及读者一点都来不及形成自己的思想。与之相反，他们将一些包装过的思想嵌入自己的脑海之中，就像将DVD放入播放器中一样。然后在一个恰当的时机，点击按钮“重放”这些观点。无需任何思考就可以自在的执行这些观念”。我们所捍卫的，最宝贵的那些活跃的信念也许就是通过这种方式植入到我们的脑海之中。
很多年前，Harry A Overstreet写到“思想的思潮就像物理的气候一样，让身处于之中的人很确信的认为这就是一件普遍的事情而没有其他” 群体文化的增强以及操作上复杂的运用让这种洞察力在今天比以往变得更加有意义。
现代道德规范不再允许孩子被用于实验。
