Have you been zombified?

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

We tried to identify the main types of people, especially prone to zombies, and the main "hooks" on which gullible fish are caught.

Consultant on improving the efficiency of the staff of the "Web Business Workshop" Roman Makarenko is talking:

“In the past, a person had to live in a“flock”, accepting its rules, otherwise he would simply die. The fact that this law is still valid today is proved by a well-known study. Six people are sitting in the room - one test subject and five "decoy ducks". There are 6 chips on the table in front of them - 5 black and 1 white. Everyone is asked the question: "What color are the chips?" The arranged "pack" states that all are black, and 55% of the time the subjects agree with the majority. Of course, they doubt it inside, but nevertheless. It turns out that half of us are ready to repeat what their environment says - and this is a serious help to the organizers of information wars."

Obedient

Alarming events hit first of all on emotions. Plunging into them, we automatically fall into childhood traumas. Remember the parental covenant: "Obey your elders"? Adults do not forget him, but only transfer responsibility for their own lives from their parents to the heads of their own enterprise, city, country. The boss will say: “You feel bad, cold, hungry, you need to be saved,” we believe, because from childhood we remember that “Dad is always right”. There is simply no other scenario - a person cannot survive if no one tells how. So obedient children of strict parents, despite their age, also lend themselves well to being brainwashed.

AS A HERO

People always strive to be heroes and want to be on the side of the strong. So when a winner appears, most people automatically take his side, regardless of the hero's moral character. Winners are not judged. The logic is simple: being with a hero means being a hero yourself. This triumphant procession has only one "but": the defeated, when he comes to his senses, will take up the victor's model of behavior. And everything will start all over again: propaganda, playing off ideas and interests, conflicts. This pattern of behavior is many thousands of years old. And imitators are the third category, easily amenable to propaganda.

TRACES OF PROPAGANDA

In times of information warfare, it is necessary to learn to distinguish truth from fiction and to know the secret "hooks" that experts in psychotechnology catch us with. Natalya Loziychuk, the founder and director of the Speaker training center, explains: “People are led primarily by two things - fears and stereotypes (thinking and behavior). Therefore, to make it easier to influence a person, he needs to turn off logic and turn on emotions: scare, offend, praise, promise gifts - you can act in different ways."

BREAK FOR HORROR

To begin with, the person is told a creepy story about how "a herd of X-men mocked a small group of Y-men." After such a passage, the subsequent information is no longer argued and confirmed by facts: the picture turned on emotion and people "fell for" the "horror".

PROTECT YOUR LITTLE

It is important to pay attention to the speech technique, which is often used: the unwanted are usually called “herd”, and their actions are “mockery”, while “theirs” are described and shown as a “small group”. There is a certain stereotype that has been actively formed in all of us since childhood: it is not good to beat those who are smaller in number, they need to be protected.

It is a moral norm for our society to help the weak and those who are in the minority in battle. Whoever violates this law commits an ignoble act and even a crime. And if there is a crime, then it should be followed unswervingly (again a stereotype) by punishment. The conclusion to which is summed up: "people X should be punished."

GENERALIZATION

Another manipulative trick is overgeneralization. In this case, not only those responsible for specific actions are called criminals, but also those who sympathize and do not speak out against.

LAZY SECRET

"Who owns the information - he owns the world", especially if this "someone" owns information about the world, about people and about the main features of people. One of these traits is laziness. This is another "trick" that propagandists are betting on. They know that checking, doubting and analyzing information is hard work, and to do it, you need desire, patience, perseverance, and most importantly, developed critical thinking. Not everyone has such a set of qualities, so propagandists do a lot for their listeners and viewers themselves. This is how a candy appears that is easy to swallow and impossible to spit out.

NON-STOP

The main thing in propaganda is consistency in maintaining the main, key messages. Moreover, they should be extremely clear and simple, aimed at specific target audiences of listeners and necessarily influencing their motives (needs). A classic example in this sense is Lenin's message "The land to the peasants, the factories to the workers."

FLY OUT OF INFOCHAOS

There are a huge number of information monsters in the modern world - we will learn not to succumb to them.

“In order to resist propaganda, one must first of all admit:“Yes, I can be a victim of outside influence,”says Natalya Loziychuk. - This recognition is the first step to resist external influences. However, many people do not want to agree with this. "How?! I, so educated, well-read, constantly aware of all the events and news - and can I be some kind of victim? It's just impossible! " Such an emotional reaction is fully explainable by our defense mechanisms: "I am good, and I cannot be bad (a victim)!"

It is also important to look for answers to the following questions: What are the goals of the person (group of people) who is giving me this news? Do they just inform me or do they want to influence my opinion? What do they want to convince me of? How proof does this all sound? How is this supported? What means are used for this: words, video sequences, something else? What kind of reaction does the speaker expect from me, and is that really what I want?"

IMPORTANT RULES

In addition, in order to extract the truth from a multitude of news and messages, you need to know a few more rules that Roman Makarenko offers:

To check the information, and to the one that you are not going to check, do not turn on emotionally.

Always ask the question, "Do I need this information?" - and do not rush to answer. Look for a different look at the problem, because the unambiguousness of judgments is the first sign that you are zombified. When you hear any gossip, ask yourself: "Is there a different opinion on this?"

Look for "your" way out. 70% of people make decisions by choosing from standard options, without even thinking what else can be done in this situation. For example: "If a war starts, I will go to fight and become a hero, or I will hide in a basement and then I will survive, but I will become a traitor." The person does not think that one can not go to war and at the same time not be a traitor, but there is such an option (assistance in the rear, for example).

Argue with yourself. Our brain is designed in such a way that it directs us to seek confirmation, and not refutation of an already formed opinion. For example, a candidate for deputy or presidency says: "I will sit in the chair - I will raise everyone's salary and pension." People, of course, want to believe it, and they do not even think about the price they will have to pay for such a “gift”.

Useful video on this topic:

1. Me and others. 2010 year. A new version of the famous Soviet film

2. Test your brain- a program about attention and our brain. The peculiarity of human thinking is shown on the example of various tricks and tricks. You will take a series of tests and find out how well you can concentrate.