Hey what’s up guys! Kathy Gibbens here and first of all, I have to do a little celebration - WooHoo! This is episode 50! Yay! Did you know most podcasts never even get past 10 episodes? That’s the stat I've heard, and you’ve been with me through 50 episodes & I couldn’t be more grateful, so…YAY!
Alright, let’s start off with a review of a fallacy we covered earlier in this season, the Appeal to Tradition. When someone makes an appeal to tradition, they’re saying that something is better or more desirable because that’s how it used to be done in the past, or because that’s how we’ve always done it.
For example, if you hear an ad that says, “The way Grandma always did it.” you’ll know they’re making an appeal to tradition. They’re saying that this thing is better because it’s how your Grandma used to do it.
So, to help you sift through an Appeal to Tradition, ask yourself: “Is it really true that it’s better just because it’s old?”
If you want to review or hear more about this fallacy, go back & check out Episode 26.
Ok, we are on Part 5 of our Manipulation mini-series and I just want to be sure you understand why I’m including manipulation tactics in a series on logical fallacies. It’s quite simple actually…logical fallacies are errors in thinking and manipulation can also lead to bad thinking. In fact, a lot of manipulation tactics would really fall under the Appeal to Emotion fallacy because they’re playing on your emotions to make you feel guilty or feel bad so that you’ll take whatever action the person is trying to get you to take. BUT, if you can recognize it and know how to think well about what’s happening, you won’t be as prone to falling for emotionally manipulative tactics…and there are a lot of them.
So the manipulation tactic we’re talking about today is repetition. Repetition is the act of repeating a message loudly and very often in the hopes that you will believe it. The more you tell a certain story, the more believable it becomes. We could even say that repetition is a Propaganda tactic because it helps people buy into a message or belief.
Propaganda also uses repetition to control messaging and shape thoughts & beliefs. The more times people hear a statement, the more likely they are to believe it, whether it’s true or not! Repetition is used to get people to accept things they wouldn’t normally readily accept.
Here is an example from WW2 (of course, my favorite period of history) that shows how repetition was used to help shape thinking & action.
One of the terms Hitler used for the Jews was “rats”. This term was used to dehumanize them so the Germans wouldn’t see them as really being humans, and to associate them with an animal that was dirty & carried disease. This term was repeated over & over until people started to accept it and then to believe it. It was just one of the ways the Nazi regime was able to get the German people to go along with such heinous acts, and repetition played a big part. They wanted the people to hear the ‘rat’ messaging over and over again until they could begin to accept it.
Now, is repetition always bad? No, of course not! Repetition simply helps us remember things. The most times you hear a song, the closer you are to memorizing it. The more times you see a logo, the more recognizable that brand becomes to you. This is simply how our brains work. Advertisers know this and they take advantage of it. That’s why they pay massive amounts of money to have their logo displayed at sporting events…it’s an opportunity for lots of people to see their brand again & again. But, as with all these manipulation tactics, you have to look at the motivation & the end result. These companies just want to sell their products, but sometimes the motivations can be bad and harmful.Here’s another example that
So, the question to ask yourself : “Is this word or phrase being repeated in order to condition me to think or act in a certain way?” *repeat*
Alright, join me in the next episode where we’ll be talking about Exclusivity, and…
Remember: When you learn HOW to think, you will no longer fall prey to those who are trying to tell you what THEY want you to think and it all starts with asking one simple question: “Is that really true?”
