Viral Ideas, Viral Emotions - Psychological & Social Contagion

Focus questions -

1. PSYCHOLOGICAL CONTAGION - WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE AND WHAT CAN YOU DO ABOUT IT (to save yourself or someone else)?

2. HOW FRAGILE ARE THE MENTAL BARRIERS WE SET BETWEEN "REALITY" AND SO-CALLED PARANORMAL PHENOMENA? e.g. see Brent Swancer (November 8, 2017) "Bizarre Paranormal Mysteries of World War I" Mysterious Universe website @ https://mysteriousuniverse.org/2017/11/bizarre-paranormal-mysteries-of-world-war-i/ [Thor, comment: As a child in the 1950s I heard occasional stories of mass delusions of angelic saviour ghosts, or vengeful Riders of the Apocalypse, among soldiers in battle in World War 1. At the time the stories seemed to come from an impossible ancient era, yet it was only 40 years before, a mere flicker of time as it now seems at 73 (hey, and I'm not old ..)

3. YOU CAN CATCH A COLD. CAN YOU CATCH A MENTAL IMBALANCE, EVEN MADNESS? The evidence seems to be yes (think of examples) so the real questions might be Why? and What can be done about it? Here is an extreme, but not unusual example: Jack Hitt (January 2019) "The Real Story Behind The Havana Embassy Mystery" - U.S. officials say dozens of diplomats in Cuba were felled by a sonic “attack.” But the likeliest culprit is far less futuristic—and much more terrifying". The Hive, Vanity Fair website @ https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2019/01/the-real-story-behind-the-havana-embassy-mystery [ Thor, comment: Psychologists report that this sort of infectious mass psychosis happens in dozens of schools around the world every year]

4. WHY DO PEOPLE, DOCTORS INCLUDED, RESIST THE IDEA OF ANTI-PLACEBOS? Placebos really work (for many, not all). Illnesses and their symptoms can be improved by fake pills. The reason? Healing is done by the body itself : the immune system has massive resources to help with self-repair. The immune system just needs 'credible' instructions to get working. Yet we know that immune systems can turn feral, and that at least sometimes this is governed by a mental condition.

5. "IS MENTAL ILLNESS" ABOUT DISORDERED THINKING, OR DISORDERED BEHAVIOUR, OR CHEMICAL IMBALANCES, OR SOCIETAL IMBALANCES? We usually interpret mental illness from erratic behaviour. However, mental illness is often 'certified' and controlled by measuring or correcting chemical imbalances. To what extent are chemical imbalances symptoms rather than causes of mental illness? Does it make sense to put mental illnesses on a continuum of disordered thinking patterns, some of them extending beyond the individual? Can disordered thinking patterns lead to chemical imbalances and erratic behaviour. What is a 'disordered thinking pattern' exactly?

6. HOW LEGITIMATE IS MARKETING AS A TOOL FOR PSYCHOLOGICAL CONTAGION? Marketing, including political marketing, is the profession of penetrating the rational and emotional barriers we erect against intrusion, and compelling us to act in a manner to benefit the person or organization marketing.

[FOCUS QUESTIONS CONTINUED IN THE COMMENTS SECTION BELOW]

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