Now that we are in the heart of the political season, I have been thinking about impression management and campaign advertising.  To be honest, I am struggling with most of what I have seen so far.  Why does this stuff work?  Forget issues and data, take a look at what these magicians are really doing. 

Last week, PsyBlog had a lovely piece on the psychology of magic and the psychological dimensions of three traditional physical techniques: misdirection, illusion, and mental forcing. 

The magician's words are as important as his or her physical dexterity.

• Mental misdirection relies on our inclination that once we have one solution in mind, it is very difficult to consider alternatives;
• Mental illusions are possible because with the least amount of information--less than one-tenth of a second impression--our brains are trying to work out what's next, predicting what it will see next; and,
  
• Mental forcing, exposing the subject to the preferred option longer all the while emphasizing free choice.
  

"(T)he trick works not because our eyes don't happen to be looking in the right direction, but because our attention is directed elsewhere."

Originally posted @ Ann Oliveri