Media Hypnosis in Advertising and Politics

The power of suggestion has been most widely studied in hypnosis, but the essence lies not in a special state or trance but in an individual's susceptibility to suggestion, a personality trait that can be measured by a simple test. "Media Hypnosis in Advertising and Politics" relates hypnotic susceptibility to the effects of the mass media particularly with regard to the rise of Nazism after World War I and the creation of the American consumer economy after World War II. Public relations expert Edward Bernays said that: "the conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country." This book argues that Bernays was right and that Americans are in the process of abrogating fundamental rights in favor of values created by the media. Kenneth R. Graham, Ph.D. is an Emeritus Professor of Psychology at Muhlenberg College; a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania (B.A.) and Stanford University (Ph.D.); a former associate editor of the American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis; and a past-president of the Division for Psychological Hypnosis of the American Psychological Association. His biography appears in Marquis' Publications "Who's Who in America," and "Who's Who in the World."