Unseen Aspects of Behaviour: Beliefs that come and go

This not only applies to individuals who are free to change their minds or they should be! It can be a natural process within the individual; it can be natural within a small or large grouping, even national; it can be projected via advertising; a communication could be inadvertent yet effective; or it could be informed and deliberately designed.

Some comments on social engineering or pretexting, con tricks and scams are on the first page of Norman's Toukanalia Blog on 'Out-of-Character Behaviour' - now pasted in further down this Blog for reference.

To return here is http://unseenaspects.blogspot.com

People differ about hypnosis and what it can or cannot do. For instance it is usually said that people can't be made to do things that would be in conflict with their usual behaviour or belief system. Clearly the way round that would be to change the belief system. That doesn't necessarily have to be under hypnosis, but more in the ordinary way of things with the type of impression management or propaganda used.

NLP or neuro-linguistic-programming also gets a mixed reaction in people. There are plenty of books on how it can be used ethically as a part of therapy, and plenty more on how to get underneath a person's usual barriers with advertising or confidence tricks, or by just being smart. One book I'll mention briefly is 'Never be Lied to Again' by David J. Lieberman. He is suggesting that one sets up what's called an anchor to reinforce people telling you the truth, i.e. you don't get lied to again... This isn't quite the same thing as subliminal messages in supermarkets which encourage shoppers to buy more or to discourage them from shoplifting, but they are connected.

Then there's something called a 'convincer' which can be an object, an idea, a piece of information or disinformation, with the aim that a person is more likely to follow a belief or instruction if there is something to hook it on. Ever watched a stage magician and listened to the actual wording too? I spent a virtual fortune of £120 on a set of CDs about it. Clever, expensive, and how did I get talked - or talk myself - into that?

Project Middle Ground was started in America by Dr Paul Simpson, a therapist who wrote 'Second Thoughts: Understanding the false memory crisis and how it could affect you'. Perhaps Dr Simpson's approach of working with families involved in the controversy is not directly applicable in the UK, but that does not mean there may not be an alternative approach to suit our culture.

Various academics at UK universities have written papers about bridging what might seem an impossible divide. Sadly people tend to fight a particular corner, but Dr Simpson showed that it is possible to try for a middle ground, with some considerable effect. Several books shedding light on how some misunderstandings could have arisen have been written in America since 1995. It seems a pity to let all of that, plus what has been achieved in the UK, remain unattended for the most part.

http://www.youtube.com/user/middlegroundable