Choices and Illusions (11 page)

There are only white circles between the black frames.

47

Choices and Illusions Interior.indd 47

6/20/13 3:41 PM

CHOICES AND ILLUSIONS

Read the following:

Figure 13

This is a classic example of context perception. You probably

read, “THE CAT.” But look closely. What is the difference between

the
H
in the word
the
and the
A
in the word
cat?
Remember, we often make up the context and/or decide on an approved context.

The lines below are really equal in length.

Figure 14

The interesting thing about illusions, as with the previous one,

is that even though you know it’s an illusion, you nevertheless see the two lines as being of different lengths—the illusion still influences your judgment.

The following photo was used to promote a seminar enti-

tled
Change Without Thinking
that I taught in Malaysia at the Putra Centre.

48

Choices and Illusions Interior.indd 48

6/20/13 3:41 PM

What We perceive and Fail to perceive

Figure 15

did you notice the missing part of the face? look closely at the

space behind the right lens of my glasses. This photo was among a

selection of photos I’d had taken. Several months later, after many people had seen and approved the picture for PR purposes, someone noticed the defect behind the glasses. The brain is so used to

filling in the blanks that most individuals do not even see a defect such as this until it is pointed out to them.

If this sample of illusions has tricked you, then perhaps tak-

ing a closer look at your own expectations, beliefs, perceptions, or perceptual defenses is in order.

Although optical illusions are widely circulated on the Internet,

most of the illusions used in this chapter were reprinted with per-

mission from Antonio Zamora at
www.scientificpsychic.com
. If you enjoy cognitive illusions and would like to see some more, please visit my website,
www.eldontaylor.com/choicesandillusions
.

49

Choices and Illusions Interior.indd 49

6/20/13 3:41 PM

Choices and Illusions Interior.indd 50

6/20/13 3:41 PM

PsYChologiCal

defense MeChanisMs

“Be careful that victories do not carry the seed of future defeats.”

— r A l p h W . s o C k m A n

A number of psychological defense mechanisms are designed

to protect our self-image. Most people are aware of at least some

of them. Those that are known as perceptual defense mechanisms

include the following:

Denial.
As implied by its name, the mechanism of de-

nial is simply one of denying. Often the denial occurs through

projection— that is, projecting blame or fault onto another.

Fantasy formation.
Fantasy formation creates a perceived reality out of fantasy. If motives cannot be satisfied in the objective external world, they may become a perceived reality in a dream world.

Some psychologists suggest that the appeal of much of our enter-

tainment is oriented to satisfying our fantasies for adventure, affection, and security perhaps not so vividly experienced otherwise.

Introjection.
Introjection allows one to place blame on one-self. This self-directed blame or punishment defends against dis-

appointment or disillusionment in another. For example, a child

feels unworthy of the parent’s attention because the parent pays

no attention to the child.

51

Choices and Illusions Interior.indd 51

6/20/13 3:41 PM

CHOICES AND ILLUSIONS

Isolation.
Isolation involves the avoidance of connecting associations to related ideas that produce anxiety. One set of data is isolated from an associated set: birth is isolated from death, war from mourning, nuclear arsenals from murderous horror, and so forth.

Projection.
Projection allows one to project blame or responsibility onto another.

Regression.
Regression is a mechanism common during seri-

ous illness. Essentially, one regresses to an earlier age, usually as a dependent, when one felt safe and comfortable. The individual

returns to an earlier state of development in which someone else

assumed responsibility and where fewer, simpler, and more primi-

tive goals existed.

Repression.
Generally repression censors or prohibits memo-

ries, associations, and adjustments from conscious awareness. like

an invisible filter, this mechanism prevents the conscious mind

from “seeing” painful memories and stymied motives. Personal

experiences ranging from embarrassment to cruelty are often sub-

ject to repression.

Sublimation.
Sublimation redirects basic drive mechanisms.

Sublimation is simply the substitution of acceptable behavior to

satisfy basic motives that might be met equally well in a primitive sense by some form of unacceptable social behavior. Aggression

motives, for instance, are often satisfied by sports activities. The process of sublimation is to find avenues in which basic motives

may be satisfied in a manner acceptable to the individuals and to

society.

In addition to these eight mechanisms, several miscellaneous

escapes and defenses are considered by some theorists as con-

tributing to our basic perceptual defenses, which show us only

what we want to see about ourselves and the world around us.

Several mechanisms can function at one time; in that case, the

boundaries overlap, making it difficult to differentiate between

the mechanisms.

52

Choices and Illusions Interior.indd 52

6/20/13 3:41 PM

psychological Defense Mechanisms

Basic perceptual defenses show each of us

only what we want to see about

ourselves and about the world around us.

Repeated experiments have adequately demonstrated that the

conscious mind is not a necessary part of information processing.

In fact, the unconscious can, and quite frequently does, operate

without the conscious, or is at least unknown to it. Freud once put it this way, “The most complicated achievements of thought are

possible without the assistance of consciousness.”

Manipulating Your Mind

We’re ready now to take a look at an example. let me first

introduce what you are about to see and warn you that some of

the images are for adults, not for children. Several years ago an

anonymous individual sent me an advertising training manual

after reading my book
Subliminal Learning.
The manual described in sophisticated terms the reason for embedding sexual taboos in

advertising and provided the graphic example that I will show you.

The bottom line to all the psychobabble is this: the sexual embeds

are not consciously recognized due to perceptual mechanisms,

but the result tends to augment product recognition because of

increased dwell time (the time taken to view the ad or even to take a second glance before one turns the page). Judge for yourself.

What follows first is the finished advertisement. next you will

see the artist’s rendition made before setting a real model and

props in place for a photo session designed to replicate the artist’s portrayal. After that you will see the same image, but this time

with the embeds outlined so they cannot be missed. Finally, you

will see the outlined embeds alone. I have intentionally used four

separate pages in this book to prevent visual clues giving away the embeds early. Please take a moment to study the first two pages

before viewing the embeds closer. (To see these illustrations in full color, go to
www.eldontaylor.com/choicesandillusions
.)

53

Choices and Illusions Interior.indd 53

6/20/13 3:41 PM

Choices and Illusions Interior.indd 54

6/20/13 3:41 PM

psychological Defense Mechanisms

The advertisement:

Figure 16

55

Choices and Illusions Interior.indd 55

6/20/13 3:41 PM

Choices and Illusions Interior.indd 56

6/20/13 3:41 PM

psychological Defense Mechanisms

The artist’s original conceptualization:

Figure 17

57

Choices and Illusions Interior.indd 57

6/20/13 3:41 PM

Choices and Illusions Interior.indd 58

6/20/13 3:41 PM