Classical conditioning is a fundamental way to teach people meaning. It is used to trigger a subconscious reaction to a stimulation that does not have any natural meaning. What I mean by this is, classical conditioning is designed to help people make connections between what they are experiencing and what they are taught.
Classical Conditioning: A form of learned association whereby a subject is trained to associate a neutral stimulus with a second stimulus of some significance, either positive or negative. (http://psychcentral.com/encyclopedia/classical-conditioning/)
In other words, one action that does not have emotional significance can trigger a reaction that does have an emotional significance.
A great example of this is, the old dinner bell to signal dinner is ready. Old cartoons had a person hit a triangle (musical instrument), and in turn that would let everyone know to stop what they were doing and come inside to eat. The triangle itself does not have a positive or negative connotation, but the people have been trained to hear it and understand they are going to be fed. This in turn can lead to a subconscious reaction of your mouth watering whenever you hear a triangle played.
Do MLMers use classical conditioning??? Absolutely! One of my favorite examples of classical conditioning in MLM involves the way people dress. Everyone has watched enough television shows or seen enough people in business suits, to connect that attire with a certain status (usually a significant status). People who wear suits tend to demonstrate success, power, wealth, and importance. MLMers utilize this to their advantage to help build self-confidence in otherwise fragile people. This also helps MLMers to build credibility when approaching another individual, preferably someone who is also wearing a suit. Many subconscious questions about that person can already be answered simply because of the associations we have with people wearing suits.
One other important way that MLMers utilize Classical conditioning is through the videos and presentations. They rent out conference rooms and stadiums to show significance and success. They show videos of mansions, sports cars, and trips to also show wealth, success, and power. These are carefully designed to create CONfidence in the new MLMers.
If you have other ways that MLMers use classical conditioning in their "business" please share them in the comments below!
Classical Conditioning: A form of learned association whereby a subject is trained to associate a neutral stimulus with a second stimulus of some significance, either positive or negative. (http://psychcentral.com/encyclopedia/classical-conditioning/)
In other words, one action that does not have emotional significance can trigger a reaction that does have an emotional significance.
A great example of this is, the old dinner bell to signal dinner is ready. Old cartoons had a person hit a triangle (musical instrument), and in turn that would let everyone know to stop what they were doing and come inside to eat. The triangle itself does not have a positive or negative connotation, but the people have been trained to hear it and understand they are going to be fed. This in turn can lead to a subconscious reaction of your mouth watering whenever you hear a triangle played.
Do MLMers use classical conditioning??? Absolutely! One of my favorite examples of classical conditioning in MLM involves the way people dress. Everyone has watched enough television shows or seen enough people in business suits, to connect that attire with a certain status (usually a significant status). People who wear suits tend to demonstrate success, power, wealth, and importance. MLMers utilize this to their advantage to help build self-confidence in otherwise fragile people. This also helps MLMers to build credibility when approaching another individual, preferably someone who is also wearing a suit. Many subconscious questions about that person can already be answered simply because of the associations we have with people wearing suits.
One other important way that MLMers utilize Classical conditioning is through the videos and presentations. They rent out conference rooms and stadiums to show significance and success. They show videos of mansions, sports cars, and trips to also show wealth, success, and power. These are carefully designed to create CONfidence in the new MLMers.
If you have other ways that MLMers use classical conditioning in their "business" please share them in the comments below!
They also use anecdotal stories to portray success. One diamond I saw told a touching story of how when his daughter gets married, he would ask his son in law what his best (job) offer was. He would then offer double and the son in law would "work" for him which would really be jus traveling and enjoying time with the family.
ReplyDeleteAbout a dozen years after I left Amway, that same diamond filed chapter 7 bankruptcy.