How does brainwashing work? Your guide to understanding mass formation psychosis
How does brainwashing work? Your guide to understanding mass formation psychosis
What if I told you we don’t speak the same language?
What if this text is a translation into a language that only you understand?
Seems a little odd, because we normally think language is something categorical like “English” or “French.” But if we spoke the same language, then why is there so much misunderstanding and miscommunication?
There are many definitions of language.
Some have what’s called a structuralist view, which are grammatical rules of composition that communicate meaning. Noam Chomsky is the main proponent of this theory, which has common use in formal languages, formal logic, formal linguistics and computational linguistics.
An example is mathematical languages, which have a precise syntax with precise semantics, i.e., expressions and their meanings are exact. For most — these systems feel unnatural as language, which is why many struggle with mathematical concepts.
This leads us to the misconception about our spoken natural languages.
The meaning of a word in spoken dialogue is not equivalent to its dictionary entry. A dictionary is a controlled language — a precise syntax with descriptive semantics. Why is it possible to say something that encodes multiple meanings? It’s because we speak our own language, where internal interpretations can shift with context.
How do you communicate with someone that doesn’t speak your language?
This requires a common point of reference to guide interpretation. This is exactly what categorical languages like “English” and “French” are. They’re a common point of reference — or vocabulary — that we use to interface with each other. Misuse and distortions of established vocabulary causes misunderstanding and miscommunication.
Example
How many meanings are there to the word, Trump?
In its lower case form, it can be a noun, “a trump card,” or an intransitive verb, “to get the better of.” As a proper noun, it’s taken as Donald Trump. Your individual interpretation could mean “The Apprentice host,” “saviour of freedom and democracy” or “fascist dictator.”
Everyone has their own unique meanings for symbols. You can imagine conflict that arises between individuals that use the same word, but interpret it with opposing meanings.
It’s because we’re not speaking the same language, just using the same symbol.
Now you know why a joke may not land or no one understands your explanation.
So how does persuasion work?
Beliefs are predictive thoughts. If perception is composed of beliefs, then natural language is not reductive like logic, but a projection that shifts. Beliefs change over time through interpretation and emotional state.
Perception is misleading.
Example
Imagine reading a published paper on nuclear experimental data.
You say to yourself, “these are scientific facts, because the authors use data from calibrated instrumentation, use scientific methodologies and statistically correlate data with radiological models. These are reputable individuals from a reputable institution.”
With a published paper, all you have is context, text and your emotional perception. You were not there, did not perform any experiment — or analysis — and possibly don’t have the training to read the publication correctly.
Your emotional perception reacts to vocabulary from the text within a context.
Your perception of events constructs a belief in the assertive claims under the guise of ‘fact.’ These claims may be demonstrably correct, but may also be incorrect.
After all, repute means “believe that something is so.”
Publications are meant to be communications between academics.
Unfortunately, citations have evolved into modern propaganda.
Persuasion is a rhetorical exercise using context and text to alter emotional state.
A marketing funnel is used to describe a customer’s journey with a brand or product. It involves attracting, converting and maintaining customers, which may influence customers into action. There are multiple variations of the funnel, which was proposed in Bond Salesmanship by William W. Townsend in 1924.
Figure 1 illustrates a marketing funnel that generalizes persuasive messaging systems.
Initially, an audience responds negatively to a persuasive message — as described by the Emotional Response axis on the left. An emotional narrative is constructed using a wide range vocabulary to increase awareness and gain attention — as shown on the right. Vocabulary includes text, visual symbols and auditory input. Perceptual opposition decreases as the audience’s attention is held for consideration, i.e., when the audience is entertained.
The word entertainment means “to keep someone in a certain frame of mind.” Therefore, most consideration will occur during some form of entertainment.
The narrative starts with suggestive possibility. As the narrative progresses, conditioning techniques convert the audience from perceptual opposition to perceptual agreement through conflict. Once the audience accepts the persuasive message, they are pulled deeper into the narrative where they eventually become advocates. This is what propagation means from the word propaganda. The narrative is complete when the persuasive message becomes an active belief of necessity.
Table 1 describes each level of Figure 1 from the perspective of a messenger presenting a persuasive message to an audience.
The following is a set of conditioning techniques a messenger may use to create narratives and encourage audience conversion.
Psychological Conditioning — Cyclic experimental psychology techniques that train behaviour to associated stimuli.
Social Emotional Learning — Vocabulary sets with trained emotional association aimed at school children and corporate training. e.g., LGBTQ+, CRT, etc.
Persuasion Techniques — Commonly used linguistic and narrative techniques that create perceptual and emotional responses to messages.
Rhetorical Devices — Classical literary techniques and dialectical methods used to construct emotional narratives and alter perception.
Who is most susceptible?
The funnel draws in the most emotionally responsive.
The more ethical and logical the individual, the more perceptual opposition is created. Those that have a large ego, are fearful, chase desire and respond easily with anger are most susceptible to the funnel.
Have you noticed a theme with entertainment from the past few decades?
Entertainment has incrementally introduced immorality and unethical behaviour while promoting egotism, vanity, fear, desire and anger. Incremental introduction is called nudging. Perceived behavioural normalization nudges audience members to become more susceptible to future persuasive messaging systems.
Entertainment we consume loyally and advocate is full of persuasive messages.
What are some symptoms of persuasion?
Since the persuasion funnel is a polarized emotional shift, we’d except symbols used for individual language to also shift. This is represented in Figure 1 by the narrow vocabulary cross section at the loyalty and advocacy stage.
These are a few signs someone has been pulled down the funnel:
A narrow vocabulary that’s emotionally polarized.
Their vocabulary is repeated from media or from other social groups.
Contradictions to the accepted message produce mental stress and projection.
How did our society become so subverted?
Subversion occurs incrementally through demoralization and re-normalization at the individual level. What we see en masse is the final product of incremental influence over a long period of time.
It’s reversed the same way, which means counter operations starts with you.
Integrity is the mind’s firewall and anchor. Without it, the mind is susceptible and weak.
When it is lost, the mind becomes lost — a psychosis forms.
The term mass formation psychosis is now a household term. Proponents suggest that free speech and open dialogue are the keys to preventing its reformation.
Within free speech and open dialogue, strategic use of language is critical.
These are possible counter methods to reduce the pull of persuasive funnels:
Increase perceptual opposition through:
Questioning dialogues that introduce doubt.
Possibility and suggestive language.
Emotional de-escalation.
Avoid the use of:
Specificity.
Necessity.
Construct a counter persuasive funnel by:
Scripting an alternative narrative.
Producing alternative entertainment to hold attention.
Offering alternative solutions to conflict.
As we continue along to a New World — filled with perceived crisis — we have to construct new tools to lead those fallen astray. Our role is to become an anchor of ethics and logic that lights the way for those lost at sea in the storm of mass psychosis.
We are shepherds.
If you discover research, methods or have valuable anecdotes, please consider sharing them in this thread.
Never surrender your morals. Question everything. Don’t let your emotions best you.
Be mindful of funnels that lead to the Devil.
