Manipulation

Shoppers walking into their favorite stores may think they control their buying decisions, and make up their own minds. That they only purchase the products they want to buy, at prices they want to pay. But, increasingly, retailers have learned how to manipulate shoppers, and encourage specific behavior.

Studying the impact of our senses, it has been learned that buying patterns change when customers are allowed to touch items, and that smells and background music can greatly influence buying decisions in subtle ways. A major insight is the estimate that 95% of decisions are made subconsciously, largely influenced by appearances. How things look.

Marketers also have discovered the impact of color. Different colors actually tend to attract specific types of people, and colors actually can help foster buying decisions. They have learned that warm colors tend to motivate impulse buyers, while cool colors are most effective with shoppers with predetermined buying patterns.

The fact is that we experience many types of manipulation in the world. This has become a specialty of politicians and crafty marketers. We can feel the impact in the programs we watch. The things we read. The conversations we listen to. The advertising we see.

The Bible describes this process as being “conformed to the world.” Being squeezed into a mold shaped by others. Instead, the Bible teaches us to “let God re-mold your minds from within, so that you may prove in practice that the plan of God for you is good, meets all his demands and moves towards the goal of true maturity” (J.B. Phillips translation).

As you go through life, be sure to fill your mind with God’s Word. Be sensitive to the guidance of the Spirit, on the alert against manipulation, focused on God.