So, the Behavioural Insights Team (BIT) was established in July 2010. Its objective is to make a reality of the Coalition Government’s intention to find ‘intelligent ways to encourage, support and enable people to make better choices for themselves’.
(http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/sites/default/files/resources/Behaviour-Change-Insight-Team-Annual-Update_acc.pdf)
So basically we are being told what is BEST for us. Making 'better choices' seems quite redundant here as it seems the team are using covert manipulation in order to educate and 'change' the public's behaviour. Such examples given were:
Alcohol – using multiple approaches
Building on existing, mainly regulatory policies
around licensing and under-age sales, a range of
other interventions have the potential to reduce
harms associated with alcohol. Some of these
have been picked up across government and
others outside government. They include the
following:
• Price signals – such as larger tax differentials
between high and low strength beers,
announced in the last Budget
• Social norms – increasing awareness
about actual levels of drinking by others.
Some studies have shown that this can be an
effective way of reducing excess drinking, as
most people overestimate how much others
drink. This approach is now being tested
through a specific ‘Drinkaware’ campaign with
students in Welsh universities.
• Reducing the prominence of alcohol
in store. Through the Public Health
Responsibility Deal, Asda pledged to remove
alcohol from the front of its stores from April
this year, joining Morrisons and Waitrose, both
of which have never adopted this practice.
Developing incentives that trigger
‘social proof’. One of the most powerful
influences on individuals is the behaviour of
other people. A trial with B&Q, together with
Kingston and Merton Councils, will offer a
discount for ‘green’ products that increases
with the number of neighbours who sign up.
In addition to the effect of the discount itself
– which has a good commercial basis as it is
often cheaper to insulate several adjoining
houses at once – we hypothesise that the
awareness that others are installing energy
improvements will in itself boost take-up.
Control areas will receive similar offers but
without the linking of discounts to the signing
up of neighbours.
It seems that we can't possibly make choices by ourselves, we need to be subtly guided (and bound up in consumption and commercialism!!!!):
mydata – making informed choices
easier – with first applications by
early 2012
We are helping consumers to access, control and
use data held about them by businesses through
a radical new programme of work called ‘mydata’.
Around 50 leading businesses, covering financial
services, retail, utilities, telecoms and online
platforms, have agreed to work with government
on ‘mydata’, and sector boards have been
established to drive progress, which are being
chaired by Professor Nigel Shadbolt. The potential
applications of ‘mydata’ are very wide ranging.
They might enable a consumer to identify which of
the 12 million mobile phone contracts is the best
for them (based on their past 12 months’ usage);
to understand what the average fat content of
the food they purchase from supermarkets is; or
to find out whether there might be better ways
of saving their money or using their credit and
debit cards. By helping consumers to access their
own data, we believe a market in useful apps and
websites will be stimulated – these will be able to
analyse a consumer’s data, to make choosing the
best deal easier.
Skinner, B.F. (1974) About Behaviorism. Cape: London
I picked up on some quite poignant quotes that is aiding me in my understanding of 'behaviour'. Can it can be 'predicted', is it affected by a 'feeling' so is it natural or a learnt process?
'We tend to say, often rashly, that if one thing follows another, it was probably caused by it- following the ancient principle of post hoc, ergo propter hoc (after this, therefore because of this). Of many examples to be found in the explanation of human behaviour, one is especially important here. The person with whom we are most familiar is ourself; many of the things we observe just before we behave occur within our body, and it is easy to take them as the causes of our behaviour. If we are asked why we have spoken sharply to a friend, we may reply 'because I felt angry'. It is true that we felt angry before, or as, we spoke, and so we take our anger to be the cause of our remark. Asked why we are not eating our dinner, we may say 'because I do not feel hungry'... We seem to be saying 'When I have felt like this before, I have behaved in such and such a way'. (p.10)
'How can a mental event cause or be caused by a physical one? If we want to predict what a person will do, how can we discover the mental causes of their behaviour, and how can we produce the feelings and states of mind which will induce them to behave in a given way?... We want to get a child to eat a nutrious but not very palatable food. We simply make sure that no other food is available, and eventually they eat'. (p.11)
'A person learning to drive a car responds to the verbal behaviour of the person sitting beside him; he starts, stops, shifts, signals, and so on when told to do so. These verbal stimuli may at first be directions, but they become instruction if verbal help is given only as needed. The driver's behaviour is then eventually taken over by the natural non verbal contingencies of driving a car. To learn to drive simply through exposure to those contingencies would take a very long time. The would be driver would have to discover what happens when he moves the shift lever, turns the wheel, presses on the accelerator, applies the brake, and so on, and all with great danger to himself. By following instructions, he avoids exposure to many of these contingencies and eventually behaves as the instructor himself behaves. The instructor has not 'communicated' his knowledge or his experience to the learner, the final uninstructed behaviour is shaped and maintained by the natural contingencies of car and highway. The instructor has made it possible for the learner to come under their control speedily and without harm'. (p.134)
'An important determinant of moral behaviour and a major components of character development is said to be 'willingness to follow rules', but a person 'wills' to follow a rule because of the consequences arranged by those who state the rule and enforce it'. (p.212)
Curtis' Century of the Self is a documentary about the role of psychoanalysis, marketing, and public relations in the US. I found this very powerful and influential in terms of the role of the Media within contemporary society. Again it reminded me of PR as 'controlling the mind'.
The Century of the Self is a great insight into the ideas of manipulating the masses and Freud's theory to control the 'dangerous crowd' in an age of mass democracy. Rooted in Freud's psychoanalysis of how the human mind works, is the examining of inner feelings (expressing this in Vienna was seen as a threat of control at the time). Through the influence of Freud's theories, his nephew, Edward Bernays, examined and explored how propaganda can portray a person in particular, in this instance Curtis used the example of the reception Woodrow Wilson received in Europe during his visit. A mass persuasion drive within Europe, made the public see Wilson as a 'hero'. This was the affect of propaganda and manipulating the unconscious. It was quite interesting to learn and understand the use of the phrase PR. It came about as the term propaganda was seen as having negative associations as the term was bound up and associated with Nazi Germany, hence the term PR was born!
Edward Bernays (Freud's nephew) was particularly fascinated by the reception Wilson received during to his visit to Europe, and was keen to experiment with altering the way how 'big groups' think and feel. He realized that by satisfying people's inner selfish desires, this made them happy and docile; thus began the 'all consuming self' that has come to dominate society. He showed that American corporations make people want things that they didn't need by linking mass produced goods to unconscious desires (again this is rooted in the inner being and emotional ties). So this was the idea of persuading people to purchase products- that are seemingly linked to emotional desires and feelings. This shift from 'need' and the functional use of products (selling point) such as shoes or cars (which was being sold to the citizen at the time), to people being unconsciously trained through product placements, adverts and magazine articles to 'desire', thus shaping a new mentally; man's desires must overshadow his needs. The unnecessary became a necessity. We are no longer citizen but now consumer.
Bernays experimented in persuading women to smoke. A tough task, as cigarettes were seen as a symbol of male sexual power (everything has a symbol, meaning or denotation GAHHH- we can't escape it!??!). Bernays was hired to challenge this perception. During an pro- American rally during the war, Bernays told a group of women to hide a packet of cigarettes on their person and when he signaled, they were to 'light up'. Bernays was quick to contact the press and fed them the story that a group of suffragettes were partaking in a protest, which he elegantly created and titled 'Torches of Freedom'. The emotional and rationality bound up within this phrase and the symbolism associated with the Statue of Liberty (freedom etc) made women smoking socially acceptable. Despite this clear vision of manipulation, this small gesture made women 'feel' more independent. It meant that this paved the way for irrelevant objects to become powerful emotional symbols of how you wanted to be seen by others. Products are now a way of expressing our inner sense of self to others, through being manipulated into believing that products will nurture and appease emotional desires and feelings.
Working Progress- Website
Whilst researching, I was particularly inspired by the below image:
I particularly like the large, imposing 'M' as it's very powerful and intimidating. It was quite an influence on how I would envision the Medicon brand logo.
Even so, I particularly like this image as it's very bleak, and reinforces the idea of media control (which I'm exploring). Again, the colours work well together to emphasis 'Media Control'.
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| http://www.atlanteanconspiracy.com/2011/02/help-make-media-control-org-successful.html |
So here's my working progress of the image within the index page. I'm planning to incorporate a roll over effect on one aspect of the image that will reveal the message: No Freedom, No Power, No Voice. I'm going for the saturated black and white effect as it's quite 'dystopian' in style. I particularly chose the financial building in London as it is quite iconic, and through this, it will be semiotically read to be the building (control centre) of the now all powerful Medicon (use of bricolage- given the building a different meaning to its original). This again reinforces the idea of 'a possible future' (maintaining that suspension of disbelief and believability- that is apparent in the SF genre). I still need to incorporate the project title: Out of Control into the image, as of yet I am undecided on the type of style I'll go for!
I found this article on BBC_News_Health particularly interesting in terms of controlling behaviour, and in doing so subtly suggesting what children SHOULD BE doing, educating what children SHOULD BE doing, as well as the control in changing the 'time'.
Another article I came across:
Revealed: US spy operation that manipulates social media'
Again feeding into control behaviour and controlling the mind, but also being 'mainpulated' through PR etc. The basic gist of the article in a few sentences: ' The US military is developing software that will let it secretly manipulate social media sites by using fake online personas to influence internet conversations and spread pro-American propaganda'. Again this plays into the boundaries of the public and private, here, social networking sites aren't just for keeping in touch with people anymore, they are a channel for advertisers to track and target potential consumers for commercial gain. Similar to The Economist article shown below;
'Many people imagine they can hide from the hidden persuaders... Yet the marketers have a way of triumphing nonetheless, SAS, a software company, analyze social-media chatter to find people whose online comments influence others; companies can then target these 'influentials'.
However minimal it is, our details are being played like cards whether it be just our age group, location or gender to potential advertisers to increase their profit margins. Are we merely pawns on a chess board waiting to be played?!?!
'Many people imagine they can hide from the hidden persuaders... Yet the marketers have a way of triumphing nonetheless, SAS, a software company, analyze social-media chatter to find people whose online comments influence others; companies can then target these 'influentials'.
However minimal it is, our details are being played like cards whether it be just our age group, location or gender to potential advertisers to increase their profit margins. Are we merely pawns on a chess board waiting to be played?!?!
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