Cognitive distortions: how are we manipulated with their help?

Arthur Conan Doyle is said to have believed in spiritualism when a medium gave him a séance with his dead son. His friend Harry Houdini showed the writer that this was nothing more than a trick. But after the demonstration, the writer made a paradoxical conclusion: Houdini is also a medium!

What happened to Conan Doyle, scientists call cognitive distortion: the author of the detective stories was sure of the existence of «the other world» and found confirmation of this in new knowledge. Distortions arise because the brain makes decisions under conditions of lack of time, knowledge, or, conversely, when there is too much information.

Below are just some of the almost 200 described cognitive distortions, the knowledge of which is actively used in the work not only by «psychics», but also by various kinds of manipulators.

How do we select the most important information?

We are surrounded by too much information, we have to filter it all the time, and we are not looking for easy ways.

It is easier to perceive what is already in memory, and what is constantly repeated.

This laziness of the mind is an invaluable find for manipulators. Scientists have described at least 12 phenomena associated with this principle. People with more trust and sympathy relate to what they have more information about. Therefore, advertising is given even by those companies that do not need it. The negative side is that any repeatedly repeated lie can become the truth in the perception of a person. It doesn’t matter if it’s about a new smartphone, liquid soap, or a presidential candidate.

Strange and funny are remembered better.

The brain tends to overestimate the importance of amazing phenomena. Conversely, it skips expected or normal information. Therefore, pictures in presentations, advertisements with strange characters, things of unusual sizes and shapes are remembered by us better.

New information is evaluated in the context of previous experience.

This is related to the action of such phenomena as anchoring, contrast effect, framing effect. They force us to perceive information depending on the context.

If you are told about a price increase of 15%, and then the cost of the service will increase by only 5%, the change will seem insignificant. This effect is used, for example, by the city authorities, at first frightening with exorbitant parking rates, and later “reducing” the price to the level that they originally intended. What does the citizen think? «They listened to us!»

Only what is confirmed by our beliefs is perceived.

This is one of the most dangerous manipulations. After all, by default, ignoring excellent opinions means strengthening your own, even if it is erroneous. It is difficult to imagine a Republican who suddenly defected to the Democratic camp, or a staunch supporter of homeopathy who accepted the arguments about its uselessness. Brands also use this, starting to manipulate when the audience perceives them uncritically. But even if the consumer doubts the choice, the brain will “calm” him, finding arguments in favor of the choice already “in hindsight”.

At the same time, the opposite is also true. If something once turned people against, any denials will be useless. For example, if you once got poisoned in your favorite restaurant, you will not go there again. Confirmation bias, consistency bias, perceptual bias, and other effects explain this bias.

How to compensate for the lack of knowledge?

Only a part of the knowledge about the world is available to us, but we also strive to give it a logical meaning. What did the brain come up with?

Gaps in information are filled with stereotypes, generalizations and conjectures.

When there is not enough information, the brain starts to guess or turns to what it has learned from «credible sources», such as the opinions of the «majority» or authorities. This is how it works in American elections, where the primaries are stretched out for many months. Residents of the last states see how Americans voted across the country, and the chance that they will be on the side of the winning candidates is very high.

Even the most rational of us fall for the magic of the words «number 1 in Russia» or «choice of the best dentists.» And the information that a well-known actor or blogger uses the product (the effect of relying on authority) will completely convince us that the product is sensible.

Another particular example is the cheerleader effect, which makes people who are part of a team seem more attractive to us. That is why co-branding projects are so successful. The extreme may not always drink Red Bull, but the mention of the energy brand brings to mind images of sporting events that bring together active young people. More brands, more trust.

Memoirs are edited.

And this is a great field for manipulation, because others can also contribute to the appearance of false memories in us. Reinforcing this with the “pink retrospection” effect, manipulators use old photographs, nostalgic stories, and develop products “like in childhood”, according to GOST. Pink flashback smooths out the negative of the past, leaving in memory the best that was then.

Need to act fast

Desire to act immediately under the influence of limited time.

We will act quickly, and cognitive distortions will allow us to think that we influence the course of things. Thus, acting under the influence of the effect of the current moment heuristic, we do not want to postpone pleasure or profit and are ready to accept less attractive conditions, but “right now”. Therefore, a 50% discount today is a magnet, even if in a week it turns into 70%.

The priority is the completion of cases that have already been given time.

This helps us to finish what we started, even if there are more and more reasons to give up. Project managers are struggling with a project that has become hopeless, not noticing that they have been working in vain for a long time. In marketing, one of the most illustrative phenomena of this distortion is called the “IKEA effect”: we value the furniture that we have assembled with our own hands much more than the one that was delivered ready-made.

In terms of choice, preference is given to the least risky option.

Let’s explain with the example of the «bait effect». It is often used by manipulators to give «no choice» to rational people. This effect was described by Itamar Simonson, who during the experiment asked the participants to choose one of two models of shredders. Model «A» cost $56,95 and could handle 7 sheets at a time. Model «B» for $74,54 — with 10 sheets. As a result, 21% of the participants in the experiment opted for model B. In another variation of the experiment, model «C» was also introduced. It was more expensive and efficient than the ‘A’ model, and more expensive but less efficient than the ‘B’ model. With the advent of the third option, the share of those who chose the “B” model increased even more – up to 36,2%. That is why in McDonald’s or Starbucks a «standard» drink in terms of volume is a large, simple person who will not finish drinking it in other conditions. But in this way, companies replace the concept of a standard in our heads.

The result?

With the help of cognitive distortions, the brain successfully protects us from overload, helps us make decisions quickly and highlight the main thing. True, it is important to remember what flaws there are in these decisions. Our perceptual conclusions can be unfair, unconstructive, we can ignore the important and focus too much on negative experiences. This behavior is described by almost two hundred effects and phenomena of erroneous perception and information processing. And everyone is subject to them without exception. By knowing how the brain works, you are more likely to detect and stop those who are trying to manipulate you.