Free Your Mind – How to Stop Governments from Controlling Your Mind with Patrick Fagan

Ethical Economics

In this conversation, we speak with Patrick Fagan, co-author with Laura Dodsworth of Free Your Mind - The New World of Manipulation and How to Resist it. He is also the author of Hooked - Why cute sells and other marketing magic we just can’t resist. He was the lead psychologist for the commercial arm of Cambridge Analytica. Today he combines an academic career with his role as Chief Scientific Officer at behavioural science consultancy Capuchin.

In this talk, we explore the effects of media consumption on attention and manipulation, how governments are increasingly using nudging techniques to influence and manipulate their citizens in the same way companies seek to influence and manipulate consumers. We discuss the need for intellectual humility in public discourse and the psychological influences on individuals. Finally, we look at ways we can all protect ourselves to maintain our freedom of thought and choice.