Mind Control Essay

Have you ever walked around a shopping mall intending to go to only one store, yet two hours later you’re still in the mall and you haven’t walked into the only store you planned to go into? What pulled you into the other stores? You were just walking down and all of a sudden you smelled a whiff of some good scent, so you walk into Abercrombie and Fitch. The smell hooked you in and then you began looking at clothes and the time just got the best of you and your money. Abercrombie and Fitch used a form of mind control to hook you in and get you to walk into their store and then buy their product. Today we will discuss the topic of mind control, how it affects us as students today, and how the media shapes our ideals and values with mind control. Mind control is defined in psychology as Social Influence. Social influence occurs every minute of every day. It’s the many ways in which people can manipulate other people’s perspectives beliefs and ethics. For instance, The Compliance Method is intent to make a shift in a person’s behavior, not in his perspective or belief. This is one of the biggest advertising campaigns that are being used so successfully today. It’s the â€Å"Just do it† approach. Persuasion, on the other hand, aims for a change in attitude, or â€Å"Do it because it will make you feel Blissful, Healthy, or prosperous.† Whereas the Education Method (which is called the propaganda method if you don’t believe what is being taught.) attempts to alter a distortion in a person’s beliefs, saying something along the lines of â€Å"Do it because you know it’s the right thing to do.† A common way that millions of people get brainwashed as young adults is as being students. Grading, humiliation, favoritism and other techniques, are used in most school systems to punish and reward certain behaviors and ideas. An abundance amount of kids learn in school for example, that t hey are secondary, stupid, inadequate, untalented , and failures thanks to absentmindedness or intended brainwashing done by teachers, who are commonly themselves brainwashed. Students furthermore learn not to be creative, not to question authority, not to be individuals or do things that differ from the mainstream way. Subconsciously they dread the disciplinary action and humiliation that came when they were in school years before. This is mainly the reason many adults  are afraid to ask their questions and thereafter never learn new things. This condition affects thousands worldwide and limits adult intellectual growth. Perhaps the most powerful, yet the least recognized form of brainwashing is in the media. The media affects our thought patterns, expectations, priorities and relationships. The advertising industry influences parents by making them feel that they can buy their children’s love. They accomplish this through linking love and guilt with the purchase of products. Instead of being a good parent, they minimize they’re guilt by buying their kid the newest product on the market. Parents spend approximately 16 hours a week with their children; while they’re children spend about 40 hours a week on any sort of media. This shocking statistic shows just exactly what is most influential in a child’s life. The media especially preys on kids and teens under the age of 24, because this is when they’re brains are most impressionable. You’ve probably noticed many teenagers imitating the dress and even the speech patterns of the rich and famous. Take the Kardashian’s for example, how many girls do you see trying to talk like Kim or look like Kyle? Isn’t it scary how easily influenced we are by what’s going on around us? Brainwashing happens every minute of every day. Whether it’s from the constant media were always hooked into, our upbringing or just the society we are living in today. Now that we are aware of what’s going on around us, we can make sure we agree with what is being fed to us and not just â€Å"do it† because were told it will make us feel a certain way, because it’s the right thing to do, or just do it because everyone else is.