5 July 2013 (Wednesday) - Stuff

This on-line psychology course has made me think. Did you know that just by seeing a word written down you would subsequently be more likely to choose that word in preference to others when given a choice. Which is how advertising works. If you see a particular brand name written on billboards, or posters for a politician there is a marked subconscious effect. You don't need to hear or see anything other than the name of what is being touted, but when you come to vote, or buy your new telly your brain remembers what its seen and you are more likely to choose what you've seen advertised. Even if it's rubbish you will still want to choose it over ones you haven't seen; purely because your brain is more familiar with seeing one word rather than others. It turns out that, given the choice, human nature will have us choose something we know we actively dislike over something we don't know.
It's called "Mere conditioning", and it's made me wonder just how much I do because I honestly want to, and how much I do because that's the way my subconscious makes me.

As I drove to work I had a wry smile. For the first five miles of my journey I had some fool driving not six feet from my rear bumper. He overtook (dangerously) at the first opportunity that he had, and then tailgated the next car. However I caught up with him at the road junctions in Challock (three miles later) and Thanington (six miles later) and at the traffic lights in Wincheap (eight miles later). He'd driven really dangerously to no advantage to anyone. the government is going to increase penalties for such stupid driving.

And with everything of interest over and done with by 7am the rest of the day was rather dull...


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