Just came across this article about the use of behavioral psychology in politics. I was immediately reminded of the Hidden Persuaders, a 1950s book by Vance Packard on the earliest days of psychological advertising. Looking back, Packard comes off a little paranoid (in fact, that was his specialty) especially when he swallows ideas like women’s menstrual states affecting their likelihood to buy a product and the belief that housewives fall into a catatonic state in supermarkets. Despite that, it’s still interesting and shows how scary the world of the 1950s could seem.

Just came across this article about the use of behavioral psychology in politics. I was immediately reminded of the Hidden Persuaders, a 1950s book by Vance Packard on the earliest days of psychological advertising. Looking back, Packard comes off a little paranoid (in fact, that was his specialty) especially when he swallows ideas like women’s menstrual states affecting their likelihood to buy a product and the belief that housewives fall into a catatonic state in supermarkets. Despite that, it’s still interesting and shows how scary the world of the 1950s could seem.