The Meaning Of Life Part FourMany years ago a Russian Nobel Prize winning physiologist and physician named Ivan Pavlov trained a dog to salivate whenever the dog heard the sound of a bell. He accomplished this by making a surgical incision beneath the parotid salivary gland of his dog, so that he could tuck the gland inside out. With this done, whatever saliva was secreted by it could be seen, collected, and measured. He then deprived his dog of food and placed him in a harness. He inserted one end of a tube into the dog's mouth. At the other end of the tube was a bulbous devise filled with meat powder. Whenever he squeezed the bulb, meat powder would be quickly squirted into the hungry dog's mouth. With this done, he began his procedure. Pavlov would begin by ringing a bell. Immediately after ringing the bell he would squirt a small amount of meat powder into the hungry dog's mouth. The dog would salivate in response to the meat powder. Then he repeated the procedure again and again--ringing the bell and having it immediately followed by the meat powder. Finally, after several repetitions, he could ring the bell, omit the meat powder, and the dog would salivate to the sound of the bell alone. This model of learning became known as classical conditioning. Psychologists discovered that many of our emotions are learned through this model. If there is a neutral person, place, or thing, and this person, place, or thing becomes repeatedly associated with something good, we develop a good emotional feeling toward that person, place, or thing. We do not decide to like that person, place, or thing; it happens automatically because of the repeated associations. Psychologists refer to these responses as conditioned reflexes to denote their involuntary nature. In commercial advertisements we are presented with scenes which are designed to arouse some kind of emotional feeling. Frequently used are the emotions associated with sex, humor, success, the thought of self-improvement, or fun-filled social occasions. Then, through repetition, these are linked to the commercial product. The result is a conditioned reflex of a positive emotional feeling to the image of the product. You do not decide to like the product; it happens automatically because of the repeated associations. On Madison Avenue this technique is called Imaging. Many advertisers use Imaging. McDonald's uses this approach to sell its fast food. They direct their campaign primarily toward children, probably because children make most of the fast food buying decisions. Positive emotional images, such as a hamburger clown, Hamburglar, Mayor McCheese, Happy Meals, toys, and "food, folks and fun" are repetitiously presented on television and directly linked with McDonald's. Today McDonald's is the number one fast food chain in the world. Are they number one because they have the best tasting fast food in the world? Probably not. But for children it is an emotional decision, not a choice based on taste. Because imaging occurs on the unconscious level, most people are not aware of what advertisements accomplish. Many think that advertising is just a pleasant way to remind consumers that a product exists and deserves consideration. And some think it is but a small annoyance tolerated for “free” television programming. But the advertising industry and the companies who use their services know what imaging accomplishes. Advertisers do not pay billions of dollars for something that doesn’t work. Because we want to watch these “free” programs, we place ourselves into a harness so that our attitudes can be conditioned involuntarily. “But some say, “I don’t pay attention to TV ads.” My students used to tell me that. They’d tell me that during commercials they go to the bathroom, or raid the refrigerator. And I would say, “Two all beef patties,” and they would all would chime in, “Special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun!” Then I would say, “Big Mac, Filet of Fish,” and they would finish with, “Quarter Pounder, French Fries; Icy Coke, Thick Shakes, Sundaes and Apple Pies.” I would say, “I don’t want to grow up,” and they said, “I’m a Toys 4 Us kid.” I’d say “Who’s that kid,” and they finished, “With the Oreo Cookie.” Wanta play? I’m coocoo for… Tony the Tiger says… The best part of waking up is...… Double your pleasure, double your fun… In the valley of the, Ho, Ho, Ho...… Ring around the...… Good to the last...… Nothing says lovin’ like something from the oven and _________ says it best. Let go of my...… It's the quicker picker-upper. It's the real thing? Just do it! Don’t leave home with out it. I’m not going to pay a lot for this... !… It's the Uncola! You’re in good hands...… Like a good neighbor...… Look at all that we have learned from TV ads to which we do not pay attention. We know the words, and the image associations have been learned equally as well. Several years ago a student of mine was murdered. The killer took from his dead body $2, his Starter jacket, and his Nike shoes. I have known many students whose lives were dominated by the desire for goods for which the value was established by imaging. One of my students dropped out of school because he refused to go to school without a pair of Air Jordans. Similar stories abound. Lives dominated by such cravings are perverted by these irrational values. Why does our “free” nation allow massive mind control? It is good for the economy, and because it is an unconscious process, it seldom becomes the subject of logical examination. And we have free will, do we not? However, when you put human need on steroids, this may have unhealthy effects which warrant examination. Once again we have another topic for which education is paramount. If we are taught how the process of Classical Conditioning works and how it involuntarily conditions an affect to an image, then we may be less affected by the process. Or maybe we will rebel, head for the 'frig or the bathroom and truly pay them no attention at all. Good feelings can be destroyed by obsessions. And since good feelings are what life is all about, obsessions need to be minimized. The Meaning Of Life Part One The Meaning Of Life Part Two The Meaning Of Life Part Three The Meaning Of Life Part Four |