Good day to you, dear readers of the Beautiful World! Today’s article is not an easy one - about the dependence of public opinion, and by the way, I noticed that absolutely all my friends, like me, have this problem. Let's figure out what kind of misfortune this is.

Every person is part of an entire society. And without his influence it is impossible for a person to develop. It is through interaction with society that a person acquires a set of social skills necessary for life. But if society or its opinion influences an individual excessively, this can lead to adverse consequences.

Public opinion is the opinion of those who are not asked.

There are a considerable number of people for whom public opinion is too important. And if they have to choose between their own desires and aspirations and public opinion, they will most likely focus on the latter.

Public opinion and family

For example, a particular married couple has lived in a legal marriage for decades. But over time, people realized that not everything was going well in their relationship and they would like to get a divorce. However, such an impulse will be constrained by dependence on public opinion. It is very important for people what others or just acquaintances may think or say about them. What might people think?

This is exactly the question asked by almost everyone who is strongly dependent on the opinion of society. However, psychologists tend to believe that such dependence does not bring absolutely an ounce of benefit to the person himself. There is no practical help from her. On the contrary, such dependence often places people within strictly limited limits in their behavior.

As a result, you can live your whole life completely guided only by the opinion of someone else, and push your true aspirations into the background. But let's think together who is more capable of influencing the thoughts and even actions of people who are so dependent on the opinions of society? After all, society as a whole cannot influence a person, since it is only an abstract category. Therefore, specific individuals will also be influenced by specific individuals. And among them, parents need to be singled out separately.

Children at a certain age tend to emotionally distance themselves to a certain distance from the people around whom they spent their entire childhood. Moreover, if the parents raised the child correctly, then it is completely normal if in the future he goes on an independent “voyage” through life.

However, there are a considerable number of already matured children who not only continue to live in their parents’ house, but are also guided in their actions by their attitudes. In this regard, perhaps the key determining factor is simple laziness. But the numerous complexes present in a person also play an equally important role.

A person can be influenced by public opinion, the tone of which is set by so-called authoritative individuals. Their role can be successfully played by friends or some unfamiliar but respected people. Often such an authoritative person for a person becomes his immediate superior, one of his employees, or people leading the country. The latter can influence specific people using the media.

Estimated dependence

Dependence on public opinion can be of a different nature. Some people simply panic if someone comments on their clothing. Others rely on public opinion even when making vital decisions. Excessive dependence can eventually transform into different forms and types. Thus, some people literally worship their authorities and completely trust them to determine the course of their lives.

Special cases of such blind dependence are, for example, unconditional adherence to fashion trends, the desire to always avoid possible conflicts in public places, the desire to be good for everyone. Often, a person who is dependent on the opinions of others trusts his parents or someone close to him to decide for himself which educational institution is best for him to enter and which profession to choose for subsequent work.

Where does dependence on public opinion come from?

It is not by chance that a person becomes dependent on public opinion. There are quite understandable and analyzable reasons for this. However, most often these reasons determine dependence in their entirety. Their source is various childhood fears, teenage complexes, and the habit of choosing someone else’s plan for oneself as the basis for life.

As a result, a person becomes unable to make a conscious, reasonable, and most importantly, independent choice. So gradually an anxious state becomes habitual for him. A person does not have the opportunity to live his own life. He takes only a passive part in it. A constant discomfort and pessimistic mood settles in the soul.

The pressure of public opinion on a person can be so strong that some are afraid to even make an extra movement or step. They are driven only by the fear of running into condemnation from other people and their sidelong glances. It is not uncommon for children whose parents have taught them that, for example, it is indecent to do certain things in the presence of others or that they cannot behave in public in a particular way.

Of course, it is important to teach a child the basic rules of politeness, tact and other useful things. However, for everything else he must form his own opinion. Otherwise, the child will live in a state of constraint by numerous fears, complexes and other prejudices.

How to get rid of public influence?

A person can get rid of the influence of public opinion. To do this, first of all, you need to understand that other strangers are essentially indifferent to your own life and the actions that you perform. Therefore, there is absolutely no point in being afraid of condemnation from them.

Moreover, many people are also extremely restrained in their behavior in the same way as you. And they are also very afraid of encountering condemnation or rejection of their actions by society. And even if someone starts to judge the way you look, behave, or say something, then after a few minutes others will simply forget about this expression of opinion.

Of course, we are not talking about such actions or even crimes that, according to general rules, are beyond the bounds of reason. However, you have the right to carry out the entirety of your other actions, aspirations and words, boldly and without fear, based on your personal desires. Social pressure is often just something you make up.

However, you must work with personal fears, as well as with complexes, on your own. After all, no one knows them better than you yourself. If you cannot cope with them yourself, then it is permissible and even advisable to turn to a psychologist for help. It is he who is the easiest and easiest to help you in your difficulties. It is extremely important for you to just admit to yourself that you still have some problems.

Set yourself up to fight such a negative addiction. Those people who depend on the opinion of someone else are actually most afraid of the disapproval of others. It is this factor that scares a person the most. As a result, a person is subjected to constant moralizing. But that’s not even scary. The scary thing is that a person thinks that these moral teachings are fair and completely justified in relation to him.

Psychologists recommend saying the essence of your fears out loud. This will make dealing with them much easier. Getting rid of any addiction should be gradual. It is important for you to set yourself up for such deliverance, then public opinion will no longer dictate its will to you, and you will find freedom and harmony of soul.

There is an opinion that it is much easier to study public opinion than to influence it. However, wisely designed and skillfully implemented PR programs can change public opinion in a certain way. In this case, the following rules must be observed:

1) before trying to change public opinion, it must be identified and understood;

2) it is necessary to clearly define target groups of the public;

3) specialists in the field of public relations should pay special attention to the laws of public opinion formation.

The famous American specialist in the field of PR, social psychologist Hadley Cantril, in his work “Public Opinion Research”, formulated 15 laws of public opinion.

1. Public opinion is extremely sensitive to significant events.

2. Unusually attractive events are capable of pushing public opinion from one extreme to another for some time. Public opinion will not stabilize until the implications of events become clear.

3. Public opinion, as a rule, is formed more quickly under the influence of events than words, at least until oral statements as such acquire the meaning of an event.

4. Oral statements and verbal statements about a policy acquire maximum weight when opinions have not yet been formed and people expect a certain interpretation from a credible source.

5. Public opinion in most cases does not “anticipate” critical situations - it only reacts to them.

6. From a psychological point of view, public opinion is determined mainly by the selfish interests of people. Events, words and any other stimuli influence opinion to the extent that their connection with personal interest is obvious.

7. Public opinion will not remain “in an excited state” for long unless people feel that their own interests are affected, or the opinion formed by words is not confirmed by the development of events.

8. Public opinion is not easy to change because people's selfish interests are affected.

9. When vested interests are involved, in a democratic society public opinion can precede the actions of official bodies.

10. If an opinion is shared by a small majority of people or it is not yet significantly structured, then a fait accompli may incline public opinion towards its approval.

11. In critical situations, people become picky when assessing the competence of their management: if they trust him, then they are ready to grant management powers that exceed ordinary ones; if they refuse to trust him, they become less tolerant.

12. Resistance to decisive action taken by management is much weaker when people feel that they, to some extent, participate in decision making.

13. People have more thoughts and are more willing to express them about the goals put forward, rather than the methods necessary to achieve those goals.

14. Public opinion, like personal opinion, is always emotionally charged. If public opinion is based mainly on emotions, then it is ready for particularly dramatic changes under the influence of events.

15. If citizens of a democratic society have the opportunity to receive an education and enjoy wide access to information, then sobriety and common sense are inherent in public opinion. The more people understand the benefits created by current events and projects offered to them, the more likely they will agree with the more objective considerations of specialists.

Having familiarized yourself with these laws, you can draw several conclusions:

a) a typical reaction to public opinion is a demand to act;

b) influencing people will be much more effective if their interests are taken into account;

c) the requirements for management are not always objective;

d) it is difficult to determine the reliability of public opinion assessments.

One must beware of dangerous situations created by public opinion as it is constantly changing. In assessing public opinion, let's consider several such situations.

"Carved in Stone". Many people believe that if there is a strong public opinion on an issue, it will not change soon. It is in vain to judge so unequivocally, since when assessing public opinion, it is not always possible to come to the right result. Moreover, public opinion at a certain moment is a very shaky thing.

"Intuition tells me". If, say, the management of a company intuitively guesses that its employees are inclined to support a certain direction of policy, then it decides to follow this direction. However, it should be noted that caution is necessary here, since many managers are so out of touch with reality that their knee-jerk reaction to a problem most often leads to imprudent actions.

"Unified public opinion". There is public opinion, but there is no unified public opinion. Different social groups form public opinion, but it cannot be uniform for them. Therefore, when influencing public opinion, messages must be targeted.

“With words you can move mountains”. Here it is necessary to pay attention to the fact that “empty” words and statements will not help influence public opinion. Supporters of the "green" organization ( Greenpeace) will advocate for animals for a very long time and try in vain to protect nature until some event occurs that will change the consciousness and ideas of people. It is not words that influence public opinion, but events. Proof of this is the emerging negative attitude towards the United States from the public. At first, the actions of this state were paid attention to (and, accordingly, they were condemned) by those countries that were affected by armed invasions under the motto of “fighting injustice.” Now, any armed US intervention in the affairs of another state is accompanied by rallies and marches around the world.

"Brotherly support". Sympathy for one’s neighbor, a “brother in misfortune,” contributes to the formation of public opinion. Most people protest strongly when others like them are treated unfairly. But they will be even more decisive if they themselves have been treated unfairly. For example, recent events with the caricature of the Prophet Muhammad, the saint of all Muslims, are proof of this. The offended believers rallied so much that a trial broke out in France. Although the process ended in favor of those who published the cartoons, this event united Muslim believers and inspired various actions (including illegal ones), thereby forming a certain public opinion. In other words, public opinion is often shaped by selfish interests.

Unfortunately, methods of influencing public opinion are not always honest. There are many propaganda techniques that are usually used to form one or another public opinion. Let's look at some of these techniques.

Assigning ready-made stamps. A person can be given a positive or negative characteristic. Someone can be called smart and honest or a liar and a cheater. Such a “ready-made” characteristic can influence public opinion, since a person takes the person’s characteristic on faith. However, it also happens that the characteristic is left open, giving people the opportunity to draw their own conclusion about someone.

Vivid generalizations. Some events are very often characterized using vague emotional concepts, such as “an excited crowd” or “a meeting of greeters.”

Shift in emphasis. This happens when, say, a famous athlete or pop star takes part in a campaign in support of a product or politician, and the aura of the famous person extends to a lesser-known person or product.

Evidence. Unlike the technique of shifting the emphasis, this technique is aimed at a certain emphasis, for example, to stimulate sales to customers; it is reported that famous athletes, singers, actors and other celebrities use this.

Ordinary people. A favorite technique of politicians who, with the help of sentimental speeches and populist appeals, try to instill in the people the idea that, despite their high positions, they, as before, remain “simple, from the people.”

In the same boat. This technique is used to push people who have not yet decided to follow the majority at all costs. Although some researchers do not support this opinion, many television companies do not report preliminary results of voting in different parts of the state on Election Day until polling stations throughout the country close, so as not to influence voters who have not yet voted.

Fraud. This technique is associated with discussing only one side of an event, highlighting facts that reflect only one point of view, and hushing up other facts or opinions. As a result, the essence of what is happening is distorted and incorrectly illuminated.

Emotional stereotypes. An image is used that is designed to have an emotional impact: “good owner”, “homemaker”, “foreigner”, etc.

Prohibited suppression. This is a subtle hint, assumption, insinuation and other forms associated with concealing information that can correct a wrong impression.

Subversive rhetoric. This technique is used to discredit the motives of actions in order to discredit an idea that, in fact, may turn out to be good and useful. For example, in this way it is possible to discredit the desire of a deputy to increase the salaries of judges on the grounds that after the expiration of his deputy mandate he will work as a judge, although such a measure is aimed at increasing the independence of judges and reducing corruption in the judiciary.

Such techniques are obvious, but their skillful use is invisible to others. Anyone who deals with communication can use oral, written and other propaganda techniques. Collectively, they can take the form of synthetic events.

The work of PR specialists (especially when it comes to attracting the media to implement programs to influence public opinion) uses methods through which people are misled. Such events do not always have a negative impact on public opinion. In skillful and, most importantly, the right hands, these tools of influence can be used to positively change people’s attitudes and behavior in a constructive direction. The only question is whether moral norms and civil rights of a person are violated.

Public opinion cruel and indiscriminate. It attacks everyone who gets out of line... In this article I want to discuss the influence of public opinion on our views, and also tell you how to get rid of imposed stereotypes and begin to see the world with your own eyes.

What is special about public opinion?

Society adores condemn. Condemn everything new, incomprehensible... Focusing on the opinion of the majority. Public opinion may be formed on the basis of some false rumors or outdated research... Therefore, you should not always trust it. But this does not mean that all generally accepted statements are false. For example, in your society someone is called a fraudster, a dishonest person... You should not take these rumors on faith without finding out what they are based on.

Public opinion adores generalize. This is how a stereotype is born... All politicians are thieves. Everything Chinese is of terrible quality. All judges take bribes. Of course, any generalizations are never justified.

How does public opinion influence our consciousness?

Above I gave very transparent examples of public opinion... There are many more imposed stereotypes, and they are much more diverse. Remember How do you encounter something new and unusual? Do you often say “what the hell?” when rejecting new information, even without trying to figure it out?

Perhaps you chuckled when you first heard about chakras? Were you unhappy when you learned about the development of vegetarianism? What emotions does a raw food diet evoke in you? If this doesn’t surprise you anymore, then let’s move on... How do you feel about prana nutrition, when a person feeds only on prana - pure energy?

No, I am not asking you to give up food completely. I want you to pay attention to your reaction... Usually people reject something incomprehensible without trying to understand deeper. Simply because they think it's nonsense. And this is a huge mistake. I also remember very well how I condemned vegetarianism several years ago. Simply because it is customary for us to eat meat. Simply because we believe that you cannot live without meat. And we are not interested in what unique elements are present in meat? Are they really nowhere else in nature? And why does a vegetarian I know believe the opposite, that meat is harmful, that it contributes to the development of digestive diseases?

In this article I do not want to discuss the benefits and harms of giving up meat, this is just an example. But I want to encourage you to be more mature. Don't judge without understanding. Do not join the general hum of voices without studying the situation.

How not to be influenced by public opinion?

Let's ask ourselves one simple question every time before expressing our opinion: what is it based on? Why do I think this? Did I really understand the situation? Or did you just hear such information from a neighbor (not an expert in this field)?

And further. Let's never say to yourself or anyone else “this is nonsense!” You can say, “I don’t agree with this for such and such reasons.” But by calling something nonsense, we demonstrate our incompetence. That's what they say when they don't know what to say. When they fall under the influence of social stereotypes.

I try to monitor such reactions in myself, but it doesn’t always work. Do you notice how public opinion influences you?

Many people have experienced at least once in their lives influence of public opinion, expressed in condemnation, disapproval, criticism, etc.

Society constantly discusses human behavior, social phenomena and much more.

But why is the influence of public opinion so important to some of us?

We often depend not only on circumstances, but also on our environment: team, family, friends, acquaintances, colleagues. And for us . We can't ignore it.

These small social cells are, and therefore their opinion also belongs to a type of public opinion.

This influence of public opinion can be either positive (positive) or negative (negative).

The human factor is very unpredictable. It is impossible to say with one hundred percent certainty that this or that phenomenon will cause approval or sharp criticism from people.

Today, thanks to general computerization and the universality of the global network, such reflectors of public opinion as all kinds of forums have appeared.

Based on the majority of similar statements received on forums, it is possible to determine what public opinion is on a particular issue. But influence of public opinion is not essential for every phenomenon or person.

So, for example, political processes for the most part are formed regardless of public opinion (at the will of people’s representatives - deputies, as well as members of the Government and other leading officials).

Although long-term popular discontent, expressed in various protests, marches, picketing, may ultimately have a certain impact on political processes.

People who lead an asocial existence (opposing themselves to society or ignoring it) also do not experience the influence of public opinion, because they absolutely do not care what others think about them.

The great influence of public opinion is experienced by insecure, complex people, as well as those who carry out public assignments, are engaged in public or leadership activities, because under such circumstances they come under close public attention.

Public opinion is influenced by the media, which can shape and fuel public interest, as well as the statements of various famous people: politicians, public figures, artists, athletes.

Entrepreneurs also experience influence of public opinion, because their activities are discussed both by consumers who are not indifferent to various (promotions, discounts, sales, bonuses) and other businessmen (partners, competitors).