Name: Maha Gulfam

Student ID: 20221-32457

Course : History of Ideas

Assignment no:3
1. Discuss how Edward Bernays, Freud's nephew, applied psychoanalytic ideas to the field of
public relations. Provide examples of his strategies in influencing public opinion.
ans. AEdward Bernays, also known as the "father of public relations," used psychoanalytic
concepts in a variety of ways to change public perception and behavior. A few striking elements
of his strategies are as per the following:

Utilizing Freudian Hypothesis:

Putting Freudian Ideas to Use:
As indicated by Bernays, nonsensical inspirations and oblivious needs overwhelm human way of
behaving. He endeavored to control popular assessment by engaging these secret drives,
drawing on Freud's psychoanalytic hypotheses.

Designing Assent:
The expression "designing of assent," which was first utilized by Bernays, catches affecting
general assessment and conduct without the main interest group fundamentally acknowledging
it. He believed that by knowing and interesting to the oblivious yearnings of the majority, a
limited handful individuals could lead and impact the majority.
Strategic Symbolism Use:
Bernays knew about the meaning of images and involved them to extraordinary impact in his
missions. For example, he dealt with a mission to standardize smoking among ladies during the
1920s. By referring to cigarettes as "torches of freedom" and equating smoking with feminine
empowerment, he accomplished this. Ladies' desires for uniformity and freedom were
effectively taken advantage of by this mission.
Item Relationship with Oblivious Longings:

Item Relationship with Subliminal Needs: Bernays realized that a product could be linked to
more fundamental, unconscious desires. In one more notable example, he associated the
American breakfast custom of eating bacon and eggs with the idea of a filling, empowering start
to the day. For one of his clients who is a bacon creator, the objective of this mission was to
support deals of bacon.

Making Public Occasions:

Bernays regularly arranged scenes and public occasions to draw in media consideration and
influence popular assessment. One occurrence of this was the "Light's Brilliant Celebration" that
he coordinated in 1928 to stamp the 50 years since Thomas Edison concocted the light. As well
as advancing the brand, the Overall Electric (GE)- supported occasion reaffirmed the thought of
progression and innovativeness associated with electric lighting.
Utilizing Big name Supports:
Bernays routinely requested the help of notable people to advance thoughts or items since she
comprehended the effect that superstars had on general assessment. His objective was to
pervade the items with great feelings and insights by connecting them to popular people.

2. ⁠Analyze the role of psychoanalysis in advertising, as depicted in the documentary. How has
the transition from needs to desires changed consumer behavior?
Ans: Psychoanalysis's influence on advertising is highlighted in the documentary "The Century of
the Self" as a shift from meeting needs to creating and controlling desires. To fathom and
influence purchaser conduct, Sigmund Freud's hypotheses on the oblivious psyche and needs
are utilized.
Previously, publicizing has principally tended to the necessities of buyers, including food,
asylum, and security. Be that as it may, as therapy got forward movement, advertisers began to
speak to additional base sentiments and needs. Customer conduct was changed by the shift
from requirements to wants, which empowered the quest for products for their representative
and profound worth notwithstanding their pragmatic capability.
Clients were progressively making buys in view of the mental and profound associations they
had with the items as opposed to only buying them to meet their fundamental requirements. To
engage customers' requests for renown, having a place, and self-articulation, sponsors began
making brand personalities. This change meaningfully affects how shoppers view and
collaborate with things, as well as how they are promoted. Using psychoanalytic concepts to
engage viewers on a deeper, more visceral level, modern advertising frequently focuses on
creating and marketing an idealized identity or way of life.

3. ⁠. Evaluate the impact of Freud's theories on political propaganda, as explored in the

documentary. What techniques have governments used to manipulate mass psychology?

Ans: The documentary "The Century of the Self" examines how Freud's theories affected
political propaganda. Legislatures have utilized various systems in view of Freudian therapy to
control well known brain science. Utilizing stories that are genuinely charged to impact general
assessment is one such strategy. By appealing to unconscious desires and anxieties, political
propaganda aims to establish emotional connections that influence people's attitudes and
behaviors. Besides, as images and symbolism have the ability to excite overwhelming
inclinations and affiliations, their control is fundamental. Governments frequently employ these
tactics to control narratives, influence public opinion, and garner support for their political
goals.

4. ⁠Discuss the influence of Freud's daughter, Anna Freud, and her role in shaping American
approaches to conformity and social control as suggested by the documentary.

Ans: In the narrative "The Hundred years of Oneself," Anna Freud — Sigmund Freud's girl — is
underlined for her effect on American perspectives on friendly control and consistence.
Psychoanalytic procedures for overseeing and coordinating social way of behaving have been
affected by crafted by Anna Freud, particularly her attention on protection instruments and
inner self brain research. Her speculations progressed information on how individuals act inside
the system of normal practices. Her effect is clear in American endeavors to control overall
vibes, influence general assessment, and empower social congruity utilizing mental strategies.

5. ⁠Examine the criticisms of Freudian theory as they are presented in the documentary. What
are the limitations of applying psychoanalysis to mass persuasion?
Ans:The documentary "The Century of the Self" criticizes Freudian theory within the context of
using psychoanalysis to persuade a large audience. Among the prominent limitations are a
couple of them:
Oversimplified view on Human Inspiration: As indicated by pundits, Freud's hypotheses present
a very essential and reductionist viewpoint on human inspiration. Ignoring the intricacy of
cultural and individual components that impact conduct by zeroing in on oblivious longings and
the id is conceivable.
Manipulative Nature of Analysis: Utilizing analysis to convince huge quantities of individuals
brings up moral issues in regards to the double-dealing of individuals' oblivious desires for
political or monetary benefit. Adversaries fight that affecting somebody mentally without their
insight undermines their independence and the receptiveness of independent direction.
Conflicting Prescient Power: The shortfall of experimental help and the hypothesis' poor
prescient capacity have been called attention to as shortcomings of Freudian hypothesis. Some
battle that analysis comes up short on logical thoroughness expected to precisely expect and
make sense of human way of behaving and on second thought generally depends on emotional
understanding.
Orientation Inclination: Freudian theory has been criticized for its gender bias, particularly in its
early versions. It has been said that thoughts like penis envy and the Oedipus complex overlook
the range of human encounters and build up conventional orientation generalizations.

Specificity to the culture: Adversaries bring up that Freudian hypothesis couldn't be important
wherever because of social contrasts. The intricacy of human conduct in numerous social
circumstances may not be satisfactorily caught by the accentuation on independence and
Western social standards.
Over the top Weight on the oblivious: From certain perspectives, Freudian hypothesis
overemphasizes the oblivious psyche while disregarding cognizant mental cycles and the part
that reason plays in conduct.

Limited Materialness in Mass Influence: When it comes to mass persuasion, the range of
responses from large populations may not be fully explicable by Freudian theory. Since
individuals' mental organizations vary, executing a mass correspondence and impact technique
that works for everyone is troublesome.
In rundown, the reactions introduced in the narrative feature worries about the moral
ramifications, logical legitimacy, and social explicitness of applying Freudian hypothesis to mass
influence. A comprehensive and ethical strategy for influencing public opinion necessitates a
more nuanced and multifaceted comprehension of human behavior, according to critics.