P. David Herring’s Post

Transcript

The ability for a leader to influence control and then weaponize a crowd is quite simply unique, but also a complex skill set to have. I thought it'd be instrumental to talk about this a little bit. There are a few parts to this process, but the five most manipulative or de individualization, fueling emotional contagion, simplifying the message and promoting an US versus them mindset and normalizing and. Extreme behaviors. There are tactics worth knowing if you'd prefer not to be a useful tool for someone else's agenda. Starting with the individuation. A skilled leader who understands crowd psychology knows that the first step to manipulation of a crowd. This could be not just a crowd, but a company, a bunch of people in the electorate, whatever. But it tries to dissolve individual identities and to turn the crowd into a collective. To start, it's done in a foundation. Patiently priming space where the group has worked to feel like they are part of and connected to something that is bigger than themselves. By setting the stage for influence within the within a group, a group setting I should say, focused on a higher cause. The leader is then able to leverage crowd psychology. They know that when individuals find themselves in a larger group setting, personal responsibility can quickly fade and anonymity sets in that critical thinking. Takes a back step and that people are more likely to act on impulse that they would normally suppress if they were alone. Once individuality dissolves, the leader then works to tap into the contagious nature of emotions within a group instead of appealing to logic. That's the key point. Instead of appealing to logic or national sorry or rational argument, the leader turns to lighting the crowds in motion. With well timed phrases and subtle or bold gestures, emotionally spark sparking things that the leader knows can spread like wildfire. This constant stimulation of feelings has a unifying effect on the crowd, suppresses critical thinking and strengthens the leaders influence when delivering the message. A savvy leader will work to share overly simplistic and emotionally charged concepts that will resonate with the audience by focusing on repetition. And straightforwardness. They'll look to transform complex ideas into more easily accessible beliefs. This approach of simplifying a complex issue makes it easier for the crowd to just bypass critical thinking and to become more suggestible, open, and eager to accept the narrative being presented to them. Then there's the divide and conquer portion of this sense of unity within a crowd can often arise when they are collectively identifying. For the common enemy, leaders exploit this dynamic, this dynamic with with with by by fostering a US versus them mentality. They know the antagonist doesn't need to be real. It doesn't need to be a real threat. It just needs to be something that resonates with the crowd's feelings. The leader knows that the perception of shared danger strengthens loyalty within the group. Loyalty to the leader helps to promote a singular mindset that amplifies the collective. And amplifies the collective focus. And finally, there's normalizing extremes. As the environment escalates, a skilled leader moves to normalizing extreme behaviors and will often frame them as necessary or even justified. What might initially seem shocking, like violence or rebellion or. Changing estimates or a whole bunch of things when framed as self-defense or a immoral duty. This shift is in perception is what what preps the crowd to embrace actions that would have normally been unthinkable before. And I just think that that we don't notice enough when we're being used in this way. Look at the simplified things that sometimes government folks like Florida's governor for example, said about fraudulent PA's and fraudulent attorneys. Bankrupting insurance companies, that was a dumb down US versus them kind of mentality, which allowed them to move into taking actions against these boogeyman and getting the public to get behind it in this kind of group thing. But there's lots of examples on this. This could be inside of companies, like inside of an insurance company, inside of a public adjusting company, inside of a TPA, inside of a law's office. I mean, it could be any number of things, and it could be used for good or it could be used for bad. But The thing is, groupthink is probably the most dangerous. Thing we ever deal with, and we ought to work hard not to be part of groupthink no matter where it is, because there's a lot of groupthink in the world in general, but a lot of this specifically in the claims tribe, Tisha.