The stimulus problem

We must consider the Socratic axiom "know thyself" to identify what enslaves us...

At all times, society is stimulated with advertisements that seek to stimulate interest in something in the viewer, either by attractive shop windows or by social networks that use algorithms in publications to filter out exactly what we are looking for.

According to philosopher Noam Chomsky, "The press can do more damage than the atomic bomb. And leave scars on the brain." With profuse stimuli, human beings are manipulated like a puppet in the hands of advertising, which controls our five senses.

In the case of smell, the vomeronasal organ is responsible for connecting smell with the brain, among several studies such as that of the Chinese Academy in Beijing, which concluded that homosexual men and heterosexual women react positively to a certain substance. In general, many people are attracted to the scent of the loved one's skin similarly to the pheromone, in which the human being becomes a doll in the hands of laboratories.

We are seduced by flavors (sweet, salty, sour and bitter). The taste buds on the tongue send signals to the brain with the aim of conquering any human being with “love at first sight”, leaving us slaves to food, which is often industrialized and ultra-processed, causing what we call hunger.

Vision is predominant among the senses. In a tenth of a second, the brain can interpret the message, identifying lighting, intensity, colors, positioning, among others. A certain color stimulates a behavior, as Robert Plutchik points out in the book "Psicologia das cores". Thus, the human being considers the appearance of the product as decisive at the time of purchase.

Auditory marketing, with the addictive sound of the game, the lively music in the clothing store stimulating happiness and irrational consumption, "improves the experience" of the clientele in order to lead the mass towards a certain behavior. The sound exerts an intimate relationship with the listeners, affective memory, awakening memories such as the crowing of the rooster and the ringing of the church bell.

With regard to touch, physical stores seek to have diversified experiences such as a free sample of a product for the customer to feel the material, checking whether the material is rough, soft, cold, hot, among other textures... The developers know exactly the trend that exerts force on consumption.

In view of this, we must consider the Socratic axiom "know thyself" to identify what enslaves us - our limits, our weaknesses, and all the ties. Only in this way will we achieve autonomy, sometimes escaping from the field of stimuli, sometimes managing them with the purpose of being masters of ourselves.

Jorge Gomes.

Pedagogue.