Edward Bernays and Group Psychology: Manipulating the Masses - YouTube

the Conscious and intelligent

manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in Democratic society

Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of Society constitute an invisible government?

Which is the true ruling power of our country we are governed our minds are molded our tastes formed our ideas suggested

Largely by men we have never heard of in almost every act of our daily lives

Whether in the sphere of politics or business in our social conduct or our ethical thinking we are dominated by the relatively small?

Number of persons who understand the mental processes and social patterns of the masses it

is they who pull the wires which control the public mind who harness old social forces and

Contrive new ways to bind and guide the world

This passage was written by Edward Bernays the nephew of sigmund freud and a pioneering mind behind

advertising Modern Propaganda in the field of public relations

Bernays influence was enormous relying heavily on the insights of his uncle he developed highly successful

Manipulation techniques which are still used today not only by companies to sell consumer products

But also by the powers that be - in the words of béarnaise control and regiment the masses in

This video will explore some of bernays most intriguing ideas paying particular attention to his insights on how group pSychology

Can be used to control and manipulate the masses in his classic work group pSychology and the analysis of the ego?

sigmund freud described group pSychology as being

concerned with the individual man as a member of a race of a nation of a caste of a profession of an

Institution or as a component part of a crowd of people?

Who have been organized into a group at some particular time for some definite purpose in other words group pSychology?

attempts to understand how an individual's behavior

Thoughts and emotions change when becoming a part of a group

The tendency of Human beings to form groups was selected for in our evolutionary past due to the survival benefits it offered

Ancient humans who organised into tribes were more likely to survive and reproduce in the harsh environments in which they lived

however with the help of Modern technologies

Humans today have transformed the environment in a manner which renders the survival value of tribal organization obsolete

But with that said the ancient and instinctual pull of tribal organization still looms large in the lives of most

With many people today identifying and hence

Stereotyping both themselves and others based on things such as race class gender

Nationality Religion or the political party or iDeology to which one adheres this continued proclivity to engage in group?

identification is according to béarnaise a function of the enlarged sense of

Self-importance that individuals derived from identifying with a potentially powerful, mass

Just as the wolfpack is many times as strong as the combined strength of its individual members

So to the individual centers the potential power of the group and it derives feelings of potency in identifying with it

beginning in the late 19th century a number of thinkers most notably freud and gustav leblanc

attempted to understand why people engage in group identification and how group identification affects one's mind and behavior as

Bernays noted the insights that emerged from this study caught the attention of those in positions of power

Who wanted to Expand their control of societies?

these people saw the potential of taking the theoretical insights of group pSychology and

transforming them into practical methods that could be used to manipulate the masses from outside of the public's eye a

task which form the basis of Bernays work in public relations as

Bernays explained in his book Propaganda

the systematic study of Mass pSychology revealed the

potentialities of invisible government of society by manipulation of the motives which actuate man in the group

These studies established that the group has mental characteristics distinct from those of the individual and is motivated by impulses and emotions

Which cannot be explained on the basis of what we know of individual pSychology?

so the question naturally arose if

We understand the mechanism and motives of the group mind is it not possible to control and regiment masses

According to our will without their knowing it

The Great potential of using insights from group psychology to control the masses is partly a function of the fact that an individual can be

influenced by a group or crowd even when physically isolated as

Bernays pointed out in his book crystallizing public opinion a crowd does not mean merely a physical

Aggregation of a number of persons the crowd is rather a state of mind

So long as one engages in group identification their mind and behavior will be changed by the enduring influence of group pSychology

Even with no other members of the group physically present to understand how the tendency of human beings to engage in group identification

Renders the masses manipulable we must turn to one of freud's ideas which heavily

Influenced the manipulation techniques developed by Bernays in his book propaganda published in

1928 Bernays explained it is chiefly the

Psychologists of the school of freud who have pointed out that many of man's thoughts and actions are compensatory

substitutes for desires which he has been obliged to suppress a

Thing may be desired not for its intrinsic worth or usefulness

But because he has unconsciously come to see in it a symbol of something else

The desire for which he is ashamed to admit to himself a man buying a car may think he wants it for purposes of locomotion

he may really want it because it is a symbol of social position an

Evidence of his success in business or a means of pleasing his wife

what freud suggested is that often there is a divorce between one's conscious thoughts and

Feelings and desires which do not fit with one self-image in which are therefore suppressed this fact rene is recognized

Renders human beings manipulable for what it implies is that if one can design?

Propaganda or psychological operations that bypass the conscious and rational faculties of the individual

targeting instead suppressed emotions and hidden desires

It is possible to move people to adopt beliefs and behaviors without them being aware of the underlying

motivations leading them on as

Bernays explained men are very largely actuated by motives which they can feel from themselves

It is evident that the successful

Propagandist must understand the true motives and not be content to accept the reasons which men give for what they do

It is possible although often difficult for an individual to become aware of the underlying motives driving their beliefs and actions

Through honest and critical introspection however once once it comes to the effects of group identification

such critical introspection becomes nearly impossible a

Group is extraordinarily credulous and open to influence wrote freud. It has no critical faculty in

Identifying with a group the individual subordinates self analysis and a discerning search for the truth in

Favor of maintaining group interests and cohesion and with their critical capacities weakened by the influence of group

psychology they become highly susceptible to

psychological operations designed to Target suppressed or

Unconscious desires and emotions in the modern day there appears to be forces operating through the mainstream Media and popular culture

Which are attempting to increase the individual's proclivity to engage in certain types of group identification?

namely

identifications that divide the population into conflicting groups

this phenomenon has potentially dire consequences for both the stability and freedom of a society as it allows those in power to

Institute the age-old tactic of divide and conquer

In his book discourses on Livy

Machiavelli noted that those who have held power over a population have long realized that a population

United is always stronger than those who rule over it and thus stretching back into ancient times

Rulers have sought to divide the many and weaken the force which was strong while it was united through the use of

Those methods which promote division

By dividing a population along lines such as race class religion gender or political preference or in other words into groups

naturally prone to clash the effects of group pSychology render rational discourse and debate between individuals in these separate groups

extremely unlikely each group Bernays wrote considers its own standards ultimate and

Indisputable and tends to Dismiss all contrary or different standards as indefensible

unable to settle differences in opinions Via Rational discourse

groups whose belief structures Clash tend to revert to more destructive means in

their attempt to defeat those they perceive as a threat a

Society dominated by such groups is thus easily divided in

increasingly hostile conflict and as a result not only does the population as a whole become weakened as

Machiavelli pointed out

But its eyes are diverted away from the actions of those operating behind the scenes

Who constitute in the words of Bernays the invisible government who controls the destinies of Millions?

While there is nothing wrong with deriving a sense of belonging based on the commonalities

We share with others it is misguided to base our personal identity

primarily on our group memberships in

Terms of our evolutionary history it is only fairly recently that we developed the ability to become aware of ourselves as individuals

Separate from any group or tribe

This was a crucial development in consciousness as the existence of a society based on individual rights and personal liberties is

dependent on A

Population which has developed this capacity for individual consciousness or in other words on a society of individuals who?

understand themselves and treat others as

individuals first and foremost

As Eric Newman pointed out in his classic work the origins and history of consciousness

prior to the development of this capacity for

Individual consciousness the group and group consciousness were dominant the individual was not an economist

Individualized entity with a knowledge morality volition and activity of its own it

Functioned solely as a part of the group and the group with its super ordinate power was the only real subject

seen in this light the proclivity of

Individuals today to engage in group identification is not only a danger to the freedom and stability of a society

But it is also a regression of consciousness back to a more primitive

psychological state and therefore from the Standpoint of Modernity A

Pathological tendency that needs to be overcome or a sigmund freud put it

Each individual has a share in numerous group minds those of his race of his class of his creed of his nationality

ETC, and he can also raise himself above them to the extent of having a scrap of independence and originality

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