Social Engineering - Christopher Hadnagy [120]
Many of these skills require you to actually be interested in people, care about them, and empathize with them. If these are not natural abilities for you, then you must work hard to obtain those skills. I urge you to take that time, because the skills in the preceding section can lead you to being a grand master social engineer.
Imagine you could alter what you think to the extent that gaining these skills could be easier. Imagine now, too, if you could alter the thinking of your targets so what they experience is exactly what you want them to experience. Literally altering the reality of those you interact with, including yourself, is the next topic, and it will just blow you away.
Altering Reality: Framing
Framing has been defined as information and experiences in life that alter the way one reacts to the decisions one must make. From a non–social engineer point of view, framing is your own personal experiences and the experiences of others that you allow into your conscious mind to alter the way you make decisions.
Grocery stores use framing by putting “75% lean” on a package of ground meat as opposed to “25% fat.” These terms mean the same thing (both have 25% fat content) but one sounds healthier and is more appealing to the buyer, and that is why stores use 75% lean as opposed to labeling the actual fat content.
The preceding example is simple, but it is also one that helps to show the power of framing. Simply presenting the facts in a different way can make something seem good that would normally be considered bad.
The following sections look at a few areas where framing is often used so you can see how powerful it is.
Politics
Framing has long been used in politics. Simply the way campaigns or messages are worded can make a huge difference in the way the public perceives a message.
Consider, for example, George Lakoff, a professional cognitive linguist. In an interesting observation on framing in politics, he states the difference in how people perceive the use of the phrases “Counterterrorism as law enforcement” versus “Counterterrorism as war.” When the 9/11 attacks occurred, Colin Powell argued that they should be treated as crimes. When the public demanded more action and stricter policies, then President Bush announced the “War on Terror” campaign.
Another example is the Social Security program in the United States. The name implies that this program can be relied upon to provide security for the future.
Yet another example is the difference in the terms bailout versus economic stimulus. Bailout met with lots of opposition because it can paint a word picture of bailing water out of a sinking boat. But economic stimulus paints the mental picture of helping the economy by stimulating the economy. Both programs did almost the same thing, but simple wording made the latter term more acceptable.
Judith Butler, Berkeley professor and author of the critically acclaimed book Frames of War, wrote about how framing is used especially in western cultures when it comes to political agendas and war. In her book she explores the media’s portrayal of state violence:
This portrayal has saturated our understanding of human life, and has led to the exploitation and abandonment of whole peoples, who are cast as existential threats rather than as living populations in need of protection. These people are framed as already lost, to imprisonment, unemployment, and starvation, and can easily be dismissed. In the twisted logic that rationalizes their deaths, the loss of such populations is deemed necessary to protect the lives of “the living.”
These are just a few examples where framing is used in politics.
Using Framing in Everyday Life
The term frame of reference is defined as a set of ideas, conditions, or assumptions that determine how something will be approached, perceived, or understood. This definition can be helpful in understanding how framing is used.