Blog #18
Its been postulated that 90% of information is visual and according to the Social Science Research Network, 65% of us are visual learners — processing information based on what we see.
Humans are visual creatures — a fact that cannot be denied — and although we keep telling ourselves things like “don’t to judge a book by its cover” or “not all that glitters is gold” to remind us of deceptive information interpreted by sight can be, we sometimes can’t help but fall prey to it’s deceit.
Over the course of lives, whether consciously or unconsciously, we come to associate certain images/cues to particular meanings after witnessing their correlation a few times. With so many decisions to make in a day, employing these generalisations or assumptions from our observations helps us make quick and effective decisions especially in the face of pressure.
Imagine going to a hospital and demanding to see the medical qualifications and school records of the doctors before you speak to any of them. The effort of going through that before making the decision to speak with a doctor will certainly tire out many. Rather, we look at the white overall of the doctor is wearing and ‘trust’ that he’s in it because he’s qualified to wear it — which is true in most instances
…but not always
The blind reliance on these cues for making decisions is the reason many continue to fall victim to fraudulent activities. In his book ‘Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion’, Robert Cialdini Ph.D points out how frauds use commonly accepted symbols of authority or success to assume personalities and gain the trust of their victims.
History, and various religions, are filled with instances and stories that point to the fatal effect of some actions that were taken mainly due to sight. Even Christians believe that this is the way through which death and pain came into the world when God forbade its first inhabitants from partaking of a certain fruit.
“And when the woman SAW that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasing to the EYES… she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her… and the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked…”
— Book of Genesis
Nowadays online fraud is taking a different shape than many are used to. We now have many people — a number who actually believe they are running legitimate businesses— putting a front of success by leasing vehicles, houses and other symbols of success, claiming that they own it and selling “courses” on how to replicate their “meteoric” success.
With the rise of social media has come the bombardment of false images and opportunities for easy money-making — everyone is now faking it to make it. In the end, it’s funny how the way to avoid becoming a victim to fraud or buying its lie is by appealing to the sense that is most vulnerable.
Look before you leap!