Manipulation
Opening Thoughts.
Manipulation. The Webster dictionary says “to control or play upon by artful, unfair, or insidious means especially to one 's own advantage” (Merriam-Webster) So what does this mean in the context of communication. It would appear that to manipulate someone is sinister in nature. That it is something bad or evil we do to other people for our own gain. But is it? Throughout this paper I hope to disprove this fact that manipulation is only used for malicious intent. Or maybe I’ll only help further the notion that to manipulate someone is a bad thing to do. Throughout this paper I will discuss several different forms of manipulation such as; Crowd Manipulation, Market Manipulation, Media Manipulation, and Psychological Manipulation. I will break down each of these to find their purpose and place in our society and to find if they is any “good” to be found in them.
Crowd Manipulation. Crowd manipulation is a form of soft manipulation. According to Wikipedia the definition is “the intentional use of techniques based on the principles of crowd psychology to engage, control, or influences the desires of a crowd in order to direct its behavior toward a specific action.” (Crowd Manipulation, 2012). This has and is still being used as a powerful tool for people to rally individuals to a cause. This was used during the Revolutionary War to rally the public against the British troops. Adolf Hitler and Winston Churchill also used crowd manipulation to gather more war assets for WWII. The location also has a lot of power when trying to sway a crowd to your position. Such as Ronald Regan giving a speech at the Berlin Wall or George W. Bush speaking at the World Trade Center shortly after September 11th, this can powerful imagery when speaking to crowds. But crowd manipulation is not always for political means. Sports teams often use mascots to help involve the crowd in sporting events, it may be the Michigan State “Spartan” or the University of Georgia
Manipulation. The Webster dictionary says “to control or play upon by artful, unfair, or insidious means especially to one 's own advantage” (Merriam-Webster) So what does this mean in the context of communication. It would appear that to manipulate someone is sinister in nature. That it is something bad or evil we do to other people for our own gain. But is it? Throughout this paper I hope to disprove this fact that manipulation is only used for malicious intent. Or maybe I’ll only help further the notion that to manipulate someone is a bad thing to do. Throughout this paper I will discuss several different forms of manipulation such as; Crowd Manipulation, Market Manipulation, Media Manipulation, and Psychological Manipulation. I will break down each of these to find their purpose and place in our society and to find if they is any “good” to be found in them.
Crowd Manipulation. Crowd manipulation is a form of soft manipulation. According to Wikipedia the definition is “the intentional use of techniques based on the principles of crowd psychology to engage, control, or influences the desires of a crowd in order to direct its behavior toward a specific action.” (Crowd Manipulation, 2012). This has and is still being used as a powerful tool for people to rally individuals to a cause. This was used during the Revolutionary War to rally the public against the British troops. Adolf Hitler and Winston Churchill also used crowd manipulation to gather more war assets for WWII. The location also has a lot of power when trying to sway a crowd to your position. Such as Ronald Regan giving a speech at the Berlin Wall or George W. Bush speaking at the World Trade Center shortly after September 11th, this can powerful imagery when speaking to crowds. But crowd manipulation is not always for political means. Sports teams often use mascots to help involve the crowd in sporting events, it may be the Michigan State “Spartan” or the University of Georgia
Bibliography: Crowd Manipulation. (2012, March 3). Retrieved April 16, 2012, from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crowd_manipulation Media Manipulation - Wikipedia. (2012, January 12). Retrieved April 16, 2012, from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media_manipulation Psycological Manipulation. (2012, April 16). Retrieved April 16, 2012, from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychological_manipulation psycological manipulation: definetion of psycological manipulation. (2012). Retrieved April 2012, 16, from sensagent: http://dictionary.sensagent.com/psychological+manipulation/en-en/ Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Manipulate-Web Page. Retrieved April 16, 2012, from Merriam-Webster: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/manipulate