Primed for Action

Many of us have read Malcolm Gladwell's 'Blink' and may remember the concept of 'priming' where the subtle words and messages we are exposed to can affect our behavior in profound ways. For example if we read a text sprinkled with words such as 'polite', 'considerate', 'respect' etc then our adaptive unconscious would think about these states and we would respond to our environment with these attributes (even in a demanding or difficult situation).

This thought came back to me very strongly a few days ago when I traced my suddenly feeling 'blue' to the fact that I had just finished reading the morning paper- a leading Delhi daily. On the spur of the moment I picked it up again and re-read the main news items on the front page. I was shocked to discover that a overwhelming number of news items were depressing and led me to feel hopeless or helpless or just plain angry. I also found myself wondering, later in the day, how much of the aggressive and uncouth driving behavior I see on the road may be influenced by our daily dose of morning news.

I analyzed the contents of todays paper to demonstrate my point. This is what I discovered.....

Power shortage this year again- get ready for summer pain.
A reference to hanging
A girl raped and confined by rogues
NREGA funds being siphoned off
India's future is going up in smoke
Trucks are Delhi's biggest killers claiming 305 lives as opposed to Blueline buses which killed 163
Aircraft hits wall in Udaipur
Arthur C Clarke is dead
Life and death war in Tibet

The only reporting that generated any cheerful feelings was about March 21st being Holi, Eid-e-Milad, Navroz and Good Friday.

How then are we being primed by todays words- 'pain', 'rape', 'killing', 'hit' , 'death', 'rogues', 'war'.....
What is the impact of the news we wake up to everyday on our behavior?
Are Indians being 'primed' for depression or aggression?

What does the newspaper in your city say?