Social Engineering - Christopher Hadnagy [136]
Dreams and beliefs can be so ingrained in a person that separating them from the person can be almost impossible. When you hear the phrase, “I have a dream,” did you think of Martin Luther King? Some people’s dreams and goals are who they are, not what they think about.
People tend to be drawn to those with similar dreams and goals, which is why the phrase, “Birds of a feather flock together” applies so well in this discussion. But it is also why so many people can be manipulated.
Look at Christian televangelists, for example. People who have a faith and desire to believe in God flock together. Like-minded people can strengthen each other’s faith and desire to do the right thing, but a televangelist can use that ideology to convince people that God’s desire is for that particular church to prosper, therefore also lining the televangelist’ pockets with cash.
The televangelist gives a few motivating sermons and sheds some tears and suddenly people are sending in the checks. These televangelists use the tools of both financial and social ideals (see the following section, “Social Incentives”) to convert their listeners to their ideals so those people part with their hard-earned cash. What is interesting is that if you ask a follower how he feels about the preacher being way richer than he is, he believes it is God’s will. His ideal set has been changed or manipulated.
Ideological incentives can also be used for the good by educating people about morals, and even resorting to using fear as the incentive can have great effects on people. Ideological incentives are often taught to children through stories and fables that have meanings behind them. The Brothers Grimm are an excellent example of this type of incentive. Stories that often end in the bad characters suffering physical harm or even death and the good characters, persevering through all forms of hardship, getting a massive reward at the end builds on fear that being bad leads to death or some terrible punishment.
Ideological incentives are used in marketing, too, through placing ads where “like-minded” ideals often “meet.” For example, diaper companies market in family magazines, animal shelters market at zoos, athletic gear companies market at sporting events, and so on. This type of incentive gives a greater chance that the goods or services being advertised will be bought by those who share the same ideals.
Ideological incentives are used to bring one’s ideals in alignment with those of a like mind. Often, once people are sympathetic to a cause is when the manipulation tactics start. Again, not all manipulation is bad, but it has to be used in the proper way.
Social Incentives
Social incentives are probably the most widely used and the most complex set of incentives out there, especially when it comes to social engineering.
Humans are social by nature; it is what we do in normal daily life. Social incentives also encompass all the other types of incentives. The right relationship can enhance your financial needs and can also adjust, align, or augment your ideals. It could be argued that social incentives are stronger than the other two types of incentives.
The power that peer pressure holds over many people is easy to see. For young and old alike, the draw of conformity is powerful. Many times, that which is acceptable is directly linked to a social incentive. One’s outlook on life and self can be greatly affected by his or her social surroundings. In essence peer pressure can exist even in the absence of direct peers.
Am I good looking? Well, that depends. If I am in the United States where a supermodel is a size zero and the guys have muscles in places I didn’t know muscles existed, probably not. If I am in ancient Rome where maybe being larger meant I was rich and powerful, then I am. Your whole inner self is framed by your social view of the world.
In 1975, the U.S. Air Force ran a study entitled “Identification and Analysis of Social Incentives in Air Force Technical Training” to try to see the power of social incentives on