4.3.1.3   Appealing to People’s Instincts and Emotions

(This is an archived page, from the Patterns of Power Edition 3 book.  Current versions are at book contents).

As noted in the previous sub-section (4.3.1.2), by no means everyone is susceptible to reasoned arguments.  Many people, though, can be persuaded by appealing to their instincts, emotions and moral values:

·     People can be enticed by a vision of an attractive future – as in, for example, a description of Heaven.

·     They can also be made fearful by a vision of future pain and insecurity.  Descriptions of Hell fall into this category.

·     People's empathy can be used to attract support to a cause.  Images or stories of suffering children, for example, can be used to attract charitable donations or to garner support for State provision of welfare benefits.

·     Believable narratives can elicit an empathetic response.  Parables help people to imagine how they might feel in the situation being described, so they understand – without having to follow a reasoned argument.  This is why Jesus often spoke in parables.

·     People can be attracted to the personality and perceived power of someone who is a potential leader.  It is natural to support someone who appears to know what they are doing and to be capable of making it happen.

·     As described earlier, people feel an affinity for their own cultural group.  They are likely to support someone who argues that the group is threatened in some way and who offers to defend it.

These appeals don’t require reasoned argument.  They can arouse passion – to the extent of overcoming people’s reason in some cases.