10 Things You Didn't Know about Psychological Power

There are many examples of the power of psychology, not least the ways in which it influences and shapes our everyday lives. Indeed, no matter how you spend your time and whether or not you consider yourself a psychological subject, there is a good chance that science will come into contact with it at some point in the near future.

It may well do this without you even knowing about it, as the science behind psychology tends to be rather discreet and isn’t always made available to the general public. On the other hand, the psychological power that is showcased in these following examples is very good at being noticed by people especially if they are a part of this power.

1. Psychology can influence governments

One of the ways in which people can discover the power of psychological knowledge is by looking at how governments use this knowledge on a daily basis. One example that is rather interesting to look into is the way in which psychology influences political elections.

There are many researchers who claim that this is especially strong between those who hold different political beliefs and those who have different social groups or affiliations. This occurs when these groups put their full trust into the hands of one candidate, as well as when they want to force policy change in certain areas.

2. Psychology can influence consumers

This is the example of psychology that many people are most likely to have heard of, and it’s the one that is most closely related to the psychological power that is offered by advertisers. Advertisers go out of their way to convince people to buy products, and they use psychology in order to varying degrees when doing this.

Their techniques vary between companies, despite each having similar-sounding scripts. For instance, brand name campaigns tend to be more subtle and less manipulative than those that use product placement or sponsorship. However, both have been shown to have a strong influence on the decisions of consumers when they see them in the media.

3. Consumerism can be influenced by the psychology of persuasion

Like many other things discussed in this article, consumerism is a form of psychological manipulation that is hard to resist. It’s a form of influence that appeals to consumers because it offers them the chance to be more engaged with the world around them. There is no better example of this than in the way brands use social media by putting up download links for their mobile apps on Twitter or Instagram a technique that has become known as tweet walling.

4. Consumerism is only effective when it is emotionally driven

When it comes to influencing consumers, brands often try to use psychology to persuade people by using the same strategies that make human beings feel a sense of fear and anxiety. After all, this is how the way people are wired works; if something or someone makes you feel safe, then you’ll want to be around them in order to avoid danger.

This doesn’t mean that everything labelled as ‘emotionally driven’ has been created by marketers and advertisers. A lot of times, this label has been given because an advertisement is too big and too harsh for some people to stomach especially if they don’t like the brand.

5. Emotion can be used to influence people through cognitive bias

There are many ways in which consumerism can be viewed as a form of psychological manipulation. One of the clearest examples is when brands use cognitive bias to get their point across to people who are making purchasing decisions even if they aren’t aware of what exactly they have been manipulated into doing.

Take, for instance, the example of brands that use hidden images in their ads and products. This is a very effective form of advertising because it makes it seem like you’ve discovered something new and that you have a better understanding of the world than other people who haven’t discovered it yet.

6. Consumers aren’t usually aware that they are being influenced in this way

A lot of people don’t realize that they have been influenced by the use of things like these. However, there is some evidence that people are being influenced in this way without even being aware of it. In one such example, psychologists found that companies may use certain techniques to trick consumers into thinking they’ve experienced a positive change when they’ve not actually done so.

7. Psychology isn’t always used to benefit the consumer

In the example above, it’s worth mentioning that there are many forms of psychological manipulation that have nothing to do with the consumer at all. Companies use things like cognitive bias in order to make life easier for themselves, while they also use the same techniques that make consumers feel anxious and afraid in order to get the best out of them.

This is why it’s important to know that more often than not, psychological manipulation can be used in both good and bad ways meaning that consumers have a number of different tools at their disposal when they need to make a purchasing decision.

8. Advertisers use emotional cues to make people feel something

Another thing that advertisers use is the ability to create feelings and emotions in people through means other than the ones already discussed and this is done with the help of some of the same techniques that are used in advertisements. For instance, studies have shown that ads for a brand may appear to be about an experience or a particular person, but they’re really about something quite different. This is done so that consumers feel like they’ve experienced something more meaningful than someone just trying to sell them a product.

9. Psychology is a widely used tool

There are far more psychological manipulations in place than are ever comically portrayed by most films, as well as in the media. Some forms of manipulation are more popular than others, but it would be foolish to think that all of them don’t exist. This is important because it means that consumers do have a number of different ways to seek out information and help make decisions when they have something specific in mind. Armed with this information, they can make better choices when they’re trying to find what they need or want.

10. Psychology can influence consumerism in the wrong way

A lot of people don’t understand that some of the psychological manipulations used on them by advertisers and brands aren’t necessarily being used to benefit them. This is something that is often overlooked, but it can be a very important thing to know if you want to make sure that you’re making well informed decisions. After all, it’s easy to see how you could see yourself or your friends becoming influenced by things like these without even realizing it.

In Conclusion

The way that advertisers and brands use psychology to influence consumers could be seen as a form of psychological manipulation, in turn. This can lead to things like the tendency for consumers to feel anxious, to avoid a situation because of fear, or simply because they’ve been told that something is bad for them.

While this can be used in the right way and can be used to help consumers make good purchasing decisions, it can also do quite a lot of damage. The key point is that anyone who is looking for help with making purchasing decisions should know exactly what psychological manipulations are being used on them so that they know how best deal with them.