Manipulation, Biases, Critical Thinking & Insanity

How people can be manipulated so easily and how this relates to cognitive biases and thinking distortions? Plus, why is critical thinking so important to the future of the human race, sanity, and perhaps even human survival?

How the News Media Manipulate Views?

All the media has to do is focus on one thing and give less attention to something else. That’s how easy it’s to influence the views of thousands, perhaps millions of people. If the media were free and fair, and if they were on the side of the truth, this wouldn’t be a problem.

However, if the media start to align with a certain political side, we start to have a big problem. In my opinion, that’s exactly what has happened.

Most of the mainstream media has turned against the truth, and the majority of the population and the working class. Instead, they choose to pander to causes that don’t support the majority working class. For example, they will focus on stories that pander to minority groups, therefore, in a sense, sacrificing the majority.   

Cognitive Biases & Conflicts

Cognitive biases play their role. There are a few of these biases that relate to this issue. However, confirmation bias is probably the most obvious and influential when it comes to political views. Black and white thinking is also high up on the list of influential biases and thinking distortions.

Conflicts and political divisions are often the result of cognitive biases such as confirmation bias. When a person forms an opinion, and they encounter opposing views, two things can happen. They can consider that the opposing view has some validity to it, or, they can simply discard and discredit the opposing view. Unfortunately, the latter is more common.

This is confirmation bias. The ego cannot handle the opposing view. This could also be called a defence mechanism to protect the ego. Simply, they don’t want to be proven wrong, even discarding supporting evidence.        

Critical Thinking

The lack of critical thinking is concerning, especially considering that it has never been easier to research subjects and issues. Critical thinking is simply being critical of ideas and beliefs. This includes researching and seeking evidence in order to come to more reasoned opinions and beliefs.

Critical thinking is an antidote to cognitive biases such as confirmation biases. It also helps to put facts and beliefs into the correct order or hierarchy. The facts should be at the foundation of opinion, not the belief which can be formed from conformity and narcissistic tendencies to appear a certain way to the outside world.

Summary

It’s very easy to manipulate people, simply give them one side of the story. Then, due to biases and ego defence, people will stick to their views and opinions even when contradicting evidence is available. They simply deny, avoid, and distort any view or evidence that opposes theirs.