Manipulation Through Pleasure Written by Carmine Capaldo.

Essay by spyder227College, Undergraduate November 2005

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Humans can be manipulated by many things. Music being one of those things, how the industry focuses on several tactics and a wide range of human desires to attract,

appease and control individuals.

Darwin once said "... it appears probable that the progenitors of man, either the

males or females or both sexes, before acquiring the power of expressing their mutual love in articulate language, endeavoured to charm each other with musical notes and

rhythm." (Darwin, 1871, pp. 880). Does this mean in-fact that music is a natural tool of persuasion? We must first look at the different tactics used to manipulate an individual in a close relationship to understand how these tactics are applied to the music industry and/or media in general. There are twelve main manipulation tactics used: Charm (To be alluring or pleasing), Reason (To talk or argue logically and persuasively), Coercion (the act of compelling by force of authority), Silent Treatment (Maintenance of aloof silence toward another as an expression of one's anger or disapproval), Debasement (To lower in character, quality, or value; degrade), Regression (Relapse to a less perfect or developed

state), Responsibility Invocation (a calling upon for authority or justification), Reciprocity (the quality or state of being reciprocal), Monetary Reward (Of or relating to money), Pleasure Induction (To give pleasure or enjoyment to; gratify), Social Comparison (The act of comparing or the process of being compared.)and

Hardball

(threats, lies and violence) (Ann Arbor, Manipulation in close relationship, Internet). Now if we take a closer look at media we can make several connections between these twelve tactics and the tactics the media uses to attract its clientele. Such tactics can be viewed in tabloids, how the initially charm you into buying them with a mix of reasoning and hardball tactics, by creating stories that seem...