Tag: psychology

Quiet by Susan Cain

Posted December 4, 2015 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Non-Fiction / 0 Comments

Title: Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking (Goodreads)
Author: Susan Cain
Published: Broadway, 2012
Pages: 352
Genres: Non-Fiction
My Copy: Audiobook

Buy: Amazon, Book Depository, Kindle (or visit your local Indie bookstore)

I tend to think there are many misconceptions around introverts; we live in a world that seems to praise extroverts. Susan Cain tries to help people understand the importance of introverts and why we need a balance between the two personality traits. Susan is an introvert herself and found her job as a lawyer expected an extroverted personality. However embracing her introversion, she was able to prove herself a valuable employer and lawyer; so much so that she went on to become a negotiations consultant.

Quiet is a book that seeks out to explain the need for introverts, while also looking at the history between these two personality types. I myself am extremely introverted and my Myers–Briggs Type Indicator is INTJ (this can change over time but I will not go into that at the moment). I found it useful to understand the history in how society deals with introverts; some of which still feels very relevant today. I remember reading sections focusing on the 1950s and 60s, thinking this happened to me and is still happening in today’s society. This leaves me to think that people do not have an understanding on the personalities and how to manage introverts.

Susan Cain goes into a lot of detail with suggestions on how to fit into such an extroverted world, from developing a pseudo-extroverted personality to finding a quiet place to work. Obviously it does depend on your different situations but I think there were some interesting ideas to implement. She also goes into the problems with open offices and productivity levels as well as the extroverted nature of church. I was surprised by just how much this book covered.

I really enjoyed Quiet and feel like I learnt a lot, however it just makes me want to learn more, especially about the history (it is a vicious cycle). I want to give this book to my parents because I think they might actually benefit in learning about the topic. In fact I want to give this book to everyone, I feel like it is an important topic and we need to know that people are different and need to be treated differently. This is another book to fulfil my passion for learning about psychology and I would happily take some recommendations based on this book.

Enclothed Cognition & The Stanford Prison Experiment

Posted July 18, 2015 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Psychology / 0 Comments

While reading The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil by Philip G. Zimbardo, I have found myself thinking a lot about the Stanford prison experiment. This psychological experiment was led by Zimbardo and this book is his first full account of what actually happened. The Stanford prison experiment was a study into the psychological effects of the prison experience which was conducted at Stanford University in 1971. The funding for this experiment was provided by the U.S. Office of Naval Research, with interest from both the Navy and Marine Corps into the relationship between military guards and prisoners.

I first learnt about the Stanford prison experiment thanks to watching Veronica Mars (“My Big Fat Greek Rush Week” S03E02). However reading through The Lucifer Effect, I did not expect there to be so many different psychological ideas going on at once. I know simulating an environment will need different researchers and involve a lot of analysis but I kept thinking of different things that will need to be looked at and the list kept growing and growing. Take for example the experiences the prisoners would feel, disorientation, de-personalisation (as well as dehumanisation) and so much more. It was interesting that the guards took on this mentality that this experiment was looking at prisoner behaviour and felt the need to take on the role of a stereotypical guard.

The term “enclothed cognition” sprung to mind while reading the book. An idea that the clothes that you wear can psychologically influence you. Within an experiment of enclothed cognition, some people are asked to perform brain exercises; half were dressed in a lab coat. The results ended up with the group wearing the lab coat performing better than the others. They then went on to give everyone a lab coat, half were told it was a painter’s coat and the others, a doctor’s coat. The results were similar, with the people wearing what they thought was a doctor’s coat performing better than the others. The application of a military uniform and reflective sun glasses seemed to have a dominating affect towards the treatment of the prisoners.

There is a lot more worth talking about, with the Stanford prison experiment but I will live it with those few ideas. I am working through The Lucifer Effect slowly and I might add more posts about what I have been thinking. However I would like to mention that there is a movie called The Stanford Prison Experiment about to be released about what happened in this study that looks fascinating. I am very interested in seeing how it translates but I am sure it will be traumatising.

Not Drowning, Reading by Andrew Relph

Posted December 7, 2014 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Non-Fiction / 4 Comments

Title: Not Drowning, Reading (Goodreads)
Author: Andrew Relph
Published: Fremantle Press, 2012
Pages: 184
Genres: Non-Fiction
My Copy: Library Book

Buy: Amazon, Book Depository, Kindle (or visit your local Indie bookstore)

As a child Andrew Relph had a reading disability, but he never let that stop him. He realised the value and importance of reading and writing and worked harder to learn these skills. Now a psychoanalyst and professional conversationalist, Relph’s book Not Drowning, Reading explores his relationship with books and how they fit into his life experiences.

The title Not Drowning, Reading is a fascinating one and also comes with an interesting backstory. It references a time the author almost drowned but also is a perfect metaphor for how Relph felt during his school years struggling with a reading disability. A feeling of struggling to keep his head above water and not get lost in the depths of the educational waters seems to give me an idea of the battle he was having internally. It is interesting to think that he went from an internal battle into a career helping others with psychological struggles.

Divided into essays on his life, Andrew Relph explores the impact literature has had on his life with continual references to his career as a psychoanalyst. Considering I have an interest in psychoanalysing literature, this was a fascinating read for me and gave me plenty to think about. Relph shares his love for authors like Martin Amis, Saul Bellow, William Shakespeare, Virginia Woolf and to my disappointment D.H. Lawrence. In fact his thesis was centred on Lawrence and the psychoanalysis.

For those people who don’t know, I consider Lady Chatterley’s Lover by D.H. Lawrence as one of the worst books I have ever read. I will admit that I just didn’t get the appeal and have never returned to Lawrence again. There are plenty of reviewers I respect and trust that love the works of D. H. Lawrence and while I hate to admit this, I feel like I need help in understanding the appeal. Lady Chatterley’s Lover was read when I first started out as a reader and there would be a lot I missed but I also suspect that it wasn’t the best starting point for me as a reader.

Now I have had a rant about D.H. Lawrence, I should return to Not Drowning, Reading by Andrew Relph. This memoir is a very deep look at his life and literature through the lens of psychoanalysis; this reminds me I need to learn about these literary theories but for others it might come across as a little dense. I was completely immersed and fascinated by what Andrew Relph had to say but I am well aware that compared to other memoirs about literature this might be too heavy on theory for some readers.

We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler

Posted November 28, 2014 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Contemporary / 0 Comments

Title: We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves (Goodreads)
Author: Karen Joy Fowler
Published: Serpent's Tail, 2013
Pages: 308
Genres: Contemporary
My Copy: Paperback

Buy: Amazon, Book Depository (or visit your local Indie bookstore)

First and foremost, I must advise this review will contain a slight spoiler about Rosemary’s sister Fern. I did try to write this review spoiler free but it proved impossible to talk about what made this book interesting without mentioning Fern. I am not sure if this is a real spoiler, as some covers and synopsis I have read give away that Fern is in fact a chimpanzee.

We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves begins in the middle of the story; Rosemary is in college, her brother Lowell is a fugitive, wanted by the FBI for domestic terrorism and her sister Fern has disappeared. As the novel progresses in a non-linear format, the puzzle starts to make a lot more sense. Karen Joy Fowler’s novel takes the tragic story of a dysfunctional family and makes it a little more complicated.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from Karen Joy Fowler, all I knew about this author was the fact she wrote The Jane Austen Book Club, which I got the impression was a chick-lit but it is a book about books so I plan to read it. After a little research I found that Fowler likes to blend genres; historical fiction with fantasy (Sarah Canary) and chick-lit with mystery (Wit’s End). Having now read We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves I know I need to experience her writing again. She appears to be an author that is willing to try something different and give the reader a different experience every time.

While the novel doesn’t begin at the start, the story really begins in the 1970’s when an ordinary Midwestern family take on a baby chimpanzee and raise it as Rosemary’s sister. The two toddlers grow up together, but this makes life a little complicated for Rosemary. While Fern did develop some human social skills; there were some negative effects for Rosemary. No, Rosemary didn’t start flinging poop at people, but her social skills cause plenty of problems when she went to school. They were close sisters despite some problems, but then Fern was taken away; the term ‘went to the farm’ was mentioned which is messed up.

This novel takes on a very complex subject and the mental and psychological effects on a primate in a human behavioural study but also the family involved. The book moves erratically over forty years of Rosemary’s life and the reader is subjected to the scars and damage this whole situation had on her. We are confronted with the difficult subject of advancing science and where we should draw the ethical line in the sand. However, you have Rosemary’s father who has a doctorate in physiological behaviours on one end of the spectrum and then her brother who is part of the Animal Liberation Front on the other side.

We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves becomes a novel not only full of psychological drama but also about how we treat animals and the environment. There are plenty of complex issues that the reader has to work through but I found that Karen Joy Fowler presented her argument perfectly. Not just jamming her ideals down our throats, she told a story and let us she just how damaging the situation can be. Each part begins with a quote from Franz Kafka’s short story “A Report to an Academy” (“Ein Bericht für eine Akademie”) which is about an ape called Red Peter who learns how to behave as a human and presents his report to an academy of his transformation. This tiny little addition to the book really help seal the deal for me, as this is a satire on the Jews’ assimilation into Western culture as well as a look at evolutionary theory.

I have to admit from the beginning of this novel I wasn’t sure what to expect, beginning the book in the middle was interesting but I was sceptical on how it would work. Karen Joy Fowler handled every delicate issue with such confidence and ease; I was on board with what she was doing really quickly. Yet again I am left with the feeling that I need to learn the literary theories in the psychoanalytical field, I think there is so much worth exploring. Even if you are not interested into a deep dive into psychology, this contemporary novel is fantastic and I would recommend it to anyone with an interest in some good fiction.

The Fictional Woman by Tara Moss

Posted July 19, 2014 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Non-Fiction / 0 Comments

Title: The Fictional Woman (Goodreads)
Author: Tara Moss
Published: Harper Collins, 2014
Pages: 352
Genres: Non-Fiction
My Copy: Library Book

Buy: Book Depository (or visit your local Indie bookstore)

Tara Moss is probably best known as a person you hate; she seems to succeed in everything she puts her mind to. Starting her career early at 14 as a model, she always dreamed about being a writer. People don’t encourage others to be writers but they do tell girls that they should be a model. Eventually she did and it took her around the world and taught her so much; the experiences may not have been all good but it helped shape her life. Eventually she did start writing and her Makedde Vanderwall become a huge success and she created this character as a way to explore her interests in forensic science, psychology and other topics. Now with nine fiction novels under her belt Moss is giving us her first non-fiction book, The Fictional Woman.

The title comes from the idea that people tend to dismiss and stereotype others. Tara Moss is no stranger to this; she even took a polygraph test to prove she wrote her books. While this book starts off as a memoir it is important to know that this is a social critique on the world and feminism. The book begins as a memoir to provide context, an understanding of Tara Moss’ struggles and her life helps to see where The Fictional Woman is coming from. Historical context is also an important part of understanding feminism as well, especially when it comes to gender equality and pop culture. There have been plenty of Spiderman (too many), Zorro and James Bond movies but there has never been a Wonder Woman movie. In literature, the female archetype stems from fairy tales and medieval fiction, heroines tend to face off another woman, often older and depicted as witches. Cinderella type stories require a man in order to live happily ever after and even chick-lit often portrays a gender inequality.

The Fictional Woman explores this imbalance in pop-culture and society and looks at where these archetypes come from. It is impressive to see the amount of research and information Tara Moss puts into this book; it really was eye opening. I highly recommend people read this book but I need to warn everyone it may contain triggers. I’m surprised to see that the imbalance is so prominent in today’s society and I am trying to make more of an effort to read a balance of authors. The problem I found is I tend to pick up books without taking notice on of the author, sure it sometimes easy to know their gender but I don’t research authors before starting a book. I try to make more of an effort and it is an area I need to work on.

I’m really impressed with Tara Moss, she seems to succeed in everything she does; sure I’m a little jealous that she is so talented but I still feel motivated. For those interested, I recently wrote a piece about an author event with Tara Moss on Boomerang Books if you are interested, I talk in a lot more detail about The Fictional Woman. I have never spent so much time thinking about feminism, I plan to do a lot more of it, even read some more books on the topic. I might even incorporate it into my critical reviews; it is an important topic that needs to be addressed.

My Bookish Manifesto

Posted May 10, 2014 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Literature / 20 Comments

I love my blog, I’ve been very proud of it and I can’t think of anything better. I like to spend my time playing with it, slowly improving it and writing posts for it. I don’t make money off my blog but it is a real passion of mine and something I plan to continue for a very long time. Recently I read a fantastic article on advice to young critics, while this is focused on the TV and movie industry I think it is still relevant to what I want to achieve.

Feeling all inspired by this article, I started thinking about what I want to achieve in life. I want to be considered a critic and I would love to get paid to do what I love but if that never happens I will still enjoy doing it. I’m not satisfied to with my current skill level and I want to continuously be improving. I took the advice given in the article on board and decided to adapt it to reflect my intentions. Being as pretentious as I am, I’m calling this my book critic manifesto.

Read a lot of different books – make sure to explore a wide range of genres, going outside more comfort zones and reading from more nationalities, different translations and genres.
Read from the back list – avoid only reading from the novels that have only just come out. Read books from all periods of time. Go back further than the 18^thcentury and try to understand how books from the past have paved a way for the present.
Learn about the book industry – the politics and what goes on behind the scenes, it is important to have a finger on the pulse of the bookish world and understand trends and strategies deployed by the publishers.
Write every day – Commit to writing at least one post a day, it doesn’t matter if they get published or not, develop a habit. Writing takes practice and the more you practise the better you will be come. This is an essential step for self-improvement.
Find time to read every day – I can’t improve as a book critic if I’m not spending time reading, make the time. Listen to audiobooks while working, driving or exercising. Carry a book (or ebook) at all times and use any free time to read a little more.
Write it down – any good ideas or notes I have need to be written down before I forget. I’ve started carrying a notepad with me and finding other methods to jot down notes and thoughts as they come to me.
Rewrite – Edit, edit and edit some more. First drafts are never going to be my best writing but I often don’t like to rewrite. I must disciple myself to put my best work forward and thing will mean rewriting.
Proof read – I’m lucky enough to have a great editor (my wife) who is supportive of my blogging. She generously takes the time to read over every post I write before it hits the blog. I have to train her to be tougher on me and tell me if I need to re-write something but with her help I will improve. However I need to make her life easier not harder, I need to make sure I’m not relying on her and I’m checking my work thoroughly before she sees it.
Read up on history and psychology – It is fascinating to see how helpful knowledge of history and psychology can help with critical thinking. I am to critique books, so I need to understand more about the historical context and the psychology behind it.
Study literary theory – I need to understand literary criticism better; I know I will never understand all the theories but a basic knowledge will be useful. I suspect that my primary focus will be Marxist and Psychoanalytical theory but I would also like to be able to read a book from a Feminist, Post-Colonial, etc. view point as well.
Learn about language – Read more books about language and grammar, they can be fun and I can learn a lot from them.
Interact with the bookish community – it is important to continually seek out people with different viewpoints, I don’t want to become an echo chamber. Interacting with people that read and review books differently to me will help me develop my style and avoid becoming stale. We don’t want to live in a world where everyone says the same thing and if I can spend time reading different opinions I hope to avoid being similar to the crowd.
Learn about creative writing – I sometimes wish I could write a story but I feel I’m better suited as a critic and a reader than an author. I do need to learn the tools of the trade so I can understand why an author does what they do and develop an appreciation for the craft.
Develop my voice – I feel like my style is very conversational and personal; this is how I relate to the novels and this is how I feel. With practice I can perfect my style but I must always remember what I’m trying to achieve and how I want to come across in my writing.
Avoid only writing reviews – I don’t want to fall in the habit of only writing book reviews, if I’m writing every day I’m never going to keep up. I will write non-review posts, about my bookish thoughts or what ever is going on in the bookish world. Memes are great but I don’t want to rely heavily on them.
Meet deadlines – If I’m going to request an ARC then I must make sure that I read and review the book before the deadline or release date. Non-solicited ARCs don’t need to be read before a deadline or at all. I have written a review policy that clearly states that not all ARCs will be read but I need to make sure if I’ve committed to one that I read it.
Don’t be afraid to be different – I’ve found that I often hate books that others may enjoy, I do enjoy writing a negative review and I must remember that there is nothing wrong with that. However I must also remember that the job of an author is hard and I must always use tack and constructive criticism. I can’t be afraid to try something different and have a voice that differs from the rest, stand firm in what I think and be uncompromising in my writing.
Be the best you can be – I need to learn that sometimes a piece of writing isn’t working and I should dump it and start again. I shouldn’t be afraid to start over, I want my editor to be hard on me and I should be hard on myself too. I can learn a lot from others and I must be willing to take criticism. It is a helpful to my growth as a critic and also essential. If I’m not happy with a piece how can I expect others to enjoy it. Try and try again until you get it right.
Just write – I know that there will be times where I will feel like I’m not writing well or am suffering from a writer’s block. I need to remember that I don’t have to publish everything I write to my blog. I can write a bad piece and then dump it and try again, I might get some decent lines out of my bad writing that can help form a better piece.
Have fun – This is a passion not a chore.

This is still a work in progress and I plan to add more to this manifesto when I think of it. I feel like I have a goal in sight and I want to work towards it. This is not about getting a job or anything like that; this is about developing my skills to be the best book blogger/critic I can be. I’m passionate about books and I love talking about them, I will improve and this is how I plan to do just that. If you have any good advice that I can add to this, let me know in the comments below.

Why I Read Confronting Books

Posted November 21, 2013 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Literature / 4 Comments

I listen to a lot of bookish podcasts and one of my favourites is The Readers. This week on The Readers they talked about Comforting vs. Confronting Reading which got me thinking. So I thought I would try to articulate my response about Confronting Reads. I read a lot of confronting books and I have been thinking about why I do this for a while now. When The Readers spoke about this topic I thought it was time to blog about it.

One of the reasons I like confronting reads has something to do with my interest in transgressive fiction. I like to understand the mind-set of flawed characters and how their minds work. I have an interest in psychology, while I doubt I’ll ever fully understand it completely. It is the same reason why I like TV shows where the men always make mistakes. There is something about getting into the mind of someone who is making mistakes so you don’t have to.

Consider this; if you read Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov, Tampa by Alissa Nutting, The Yearning by Kate Belle, Me and Mr Booker by Cory Taylor and other books with similar themes, does that make you more likely to be a paedophile? I think not. Reading is an emotional experience and if you are part of the suffering and the mistakes of the protagonist, then you probably don’t want to experience it in a more extreme and realistic way. For me, I read about serial killers because I want to understand why a person would have that desire to kill without having first hand experience. Does that make sense or am I missing something here?

There are also many other reasons to read a confronting book; most of these books are satirical and are trying to send a message. Look at Tampa, not only is this a disturbing look at a female sexual psychopath, it is also a look at the schoolboy fantasy of an older woman or the fantasy of getting a boy before he has been corrupted by society; trying to show the reader that these fantasies are extremely damaging. A young boy is not developed enough to handle a purely sexual relationship with an older woman without getting attached or if you get a man before he is corrupted, you are just doing the corrupting.

I find a confronting novel far more enjoyable, I like the macabre and I like a darker plot, but most of all I like that satirical messages in these book (read my post on Satire if you still think it is meant to be humorous). The lessons learnt and the experiences had, may prevent me from making the same mistakes. I’ve made plenty of bad mistakes in my past and the consequences are not pretty. I much rather someone else experience them while I enjoy the book with a cup of tea in my hand. What do you think about confronting reads? Are there more reasons to read them that I haven’t covered here? Let me know in the comments.

Perv: The Sexual Deviant in All of Us by Jesse Bering

Posted November 17, 2013 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Non-Fiction / 2 Comments

Title: Perv: The Sexual Deviant in All of Us (Goodreads)
, 2013
Pages: 288
Buy: Amazon, Book Depository (or visit your local Indie bookstore)

Jesse Bering, award-winning columnist and psychologist, wants to talk about perversions. We are deviants in one form or another; we may not be paedophiles, or into voyeurism and exhibitionism but there maybe something in our past we rather not discuss. In Perv, Jesse Bering looks at the psychology of having a fetish outside the norm and compares it to the difficulties he faced growing up in the 70s and 80s as a gay man.

This is an interesting book; it doesn’t condone sexual abuse or committing a sex crime. This rather looks at the psychology of paraphilia’s and makes the reader think about it in a different light. Just because someone has a fetish for something unusual doesn’t make them any less human. Bering looks at cultural thought, imprinting, conditioning and compares them to his own struggles as a homosexual.

While he looks at things like zoophiles, paedophiles and bestiality, he also looks at other perversions. Cross dressing, bondage, sadism and tries to get the reader to accept people as human. Just because they have this desire doesn’t mean they are committing crimes, these people are struggling and dealing with the guilt. As Bering states, sometimes they often feel like they have three options in life; depressive sleep, being institutionalised or suicide. Neither of these solutions seems effective at solving the problem.

I thought I had a decent understanding of the GSM (Gender and/or sexual minority or LGBT if you prefer) lifestyle but this just throws so many questions. I’m not comparing GSM with paedophilia, I’m just saying that the psychology of sex is so complicated and how can you treat people with paraphilia without a decent grasp on it. Especially a paraphilia that was so rare that no one bothered to find the Greek name for it.

There wasn’t much about paraphilia’s as I wanted; I was hoping to learn more about these ‘out of the norm’ sexual preferences. Not because I want to make fun of them, the whole thing is just fascinating. My favourite paraphilia discovered from this book is auto-plushophilia (look it up). I think this book looked at paraphilia’s in a new light, I hope this will help me understand them a little better and make it easier to accept them. I now think the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders approach to paraphilia’s are very dated and destructive. If psychologists don’t approach the treatment of these people struggling in a more accepting and human way then these people will never get the help they are seeking.

You Are Not So Smart by David McRaney

Posted November 13, 2013 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Non-Fiction / 2 Comments

Title: You Are Not So Smart (Goodreads)
Author: David McRaney
Narrator: Don Hagen
Published: Gotham, 2011
Pages: 301
Genres: Non-Fiction
My Copy: Audiobook

Buy: Amazon, Book Depository, Kindle (or visit your local Indie bookstore)

We all believe we are rational and logical beings but just how accurate is that? You Are Not So Smart explores a range of different psychological and sociological ideas to show how much we don’t know. From cognitive biases, confirmation biases to the spotlight effect this book explores many ideas in a light hearted and accessible way.

I don’t know much about psychology but this book really gave me an interesting insight into cognitive biases. This is what I would call pop psychology; little pieces of information to think about without going into great detail. I never read the You Are Not So Smart blog but this book seemed interesting and I was curious about how the mind works.

Now that I’ve read this book, I have started listening to the You Are Not So Smart podcast, but haven’t read much of the blog. From what I can see, every chapter is a blog post, same format, same style and word for word. Makes it easy to write a book and if you are passionate about a topic it seems to work well.

The book started off really bland for me, I thought I would struggle to get through the book but then I became accustomed to the style. Then I was fascinated and couldn’t stop talking and thinking about what I learnt. As many people know, I have this blog to blog about my autodidactic adventures. It is weird; I thought going to university would give me more to blog about but it didn’t. This book has given me some good posts, and an interest in psychology.

I’m beginning to see the appeal to non-fiction, if it is fascinating, gets me thinking and gives me more blog posts from Knowledge Lost, then I’m happy. I’m going to try to read more non-fiction and I’m hoping to learn more about psychology. Yet another category to add to the blog that has been neglected for far too long.

This is easy to read and, as I said, took me a little while to get use to but I’m a fan. I’ll even read his next book; even if it is the same. I’ve been listening to the podcast and it has given me a few other books to read. Including the book I’ll be reviewing next, Perv: The Sexual Deviant in All of Us (review in a few days). Pop psychology, told in an easy and sometimes humorous way, but then again isn’t that what pop psychology is meant to be?

The Third Person Effect

Posted November 4, 2013 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Psychology / 0 Comments

My wife and I were raised in in religious homes, she was raised Catholic and I come from a Pentecostal background. This often leads to some interesting debating on theology. While we are both accepting of each other’s theological views, both seem to think we are right. In psychology this is known as the Third Person Effect.

The hypothesis predicts that individuals overestimate the information they receive while generalise others. There is a misconception that the information an individual has is based on experience or fact and anyone that may disagree are falling for lies or propaganda from sources you may not know or trust. While in truth, most thinks that anyone who believes differently to themselves are gullible. That means most people believe they are far less susceptible to persuasion that they really are. We are smart, intelligent and thus not susceptible to these persuasions (more on the Dunning-Kruger Effect in the future).

We are affected by persuasion from the media, family, teachers, mentors and religious leaders. Yet we never want to believe that we are being persuaded, we don’t want to think that others influence our opinions. When we see something that may not align with our person ideals we can be defensive or automatically disregard the message as a lie or a persuasion for the weaker minded.

You’ve heard it all before; “I can see right through those lies” “People are such sheep or so stupid” and my favourite, the theosophy I want to live by; “I prefer to lead, not follow”. A lot of people think this, and with mass media and even con artists out there, so many of us must be delusional. We might even go to the extreme as to think we need to help them, stop them from falling into the trap. This could lead to censorship, banning or maybe something worse. The ‘them’ we often try to save could be anyone, children or gay and lesbians and so on.

From one extreme of a harmless debate on theology to censorship or brainwashing; these may not be connected but the whole idea of the Third Person Effect and persuasion is an interesting one. We want to think we are independent thinkers and see ourselves as having an open mind. When we disagree with someone do we automatically think they are wrong? We may not want to try and help this weak-minded people that are ignorant of ‘our’ truth but we might shake our head or feel sorry for them.

Points to think and comment on

We tend to think we are not like the people that we work with or went to school with or even live in the same location as us. We are unique but everyone else is thinking the same thing.
Mass media often use research and marketing to try and cut through the Third Person Effect.
How can we truly be open minded and independent thinkers?