Social Conditioning (Brainwashing)?

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Here is one of the definitions on this, “Social conditioning is the sociological process of training individuals in a society to respond in a manner generally approved by the society in general and peer groups within society. The concept is stronger than that of socialization, which is the process of inheriting norms, customs and ideologies.”

For the sake of this article lets assume this is correct, fact. Humans need to socialize, it seems to be intricate to the survival instinct. It is about accepting a group and being accepted by the group then assimilating that groups norms, customs and ideologies. It is not about conditioning since both parties desire to create a connection for what ever reasons, reasons of the individual and reasons of the group.

In socialization, to my mind, one has already been conditioned socially often by the family and its immediate connections to other family and friends whether a part of the group entering or not. Yes, in this instance there is a process of training but it comes from an inheritance of an accepted social cultural belief of a particular social construct. It is not about training and teaching one how to respond in any type of manner but simply presenting what norms, customs, ideologies, rules and requirements a person needs to accept and live by to be a part of the group - there is free will involved to an extent.

Social conditioning is one that does not necessarily allow for free will but more about presenting and requiring an agenda oriented mandate that often when conditioning indiscriminately results in a “Brain Washing” model through verbal influences along with other more violent methods without resorting to actual physical violence yet in some instances that physical violence is and can be very much on the table toward such social conditioning. 

One significant difference between conditioning and socialization is one programs and one teaches. One removes free-will and one allows it. Then there is provision and allowance of information and knowledge that encompasses choices with the socialization part being a segment, i.e., in other words providing all pro’s and con’s and viable choices so that the individual can choose while social conditioning, like brain washing, tends to force feed a social agenda on the individual. 

It is providing a full, complete and comprehensive definition, meaning and intent toward a way of living over a pre-programmed dogmatic and unchangeable doctrine to control behavior rather than simply to inspire and persuade change from within the individual toward a common good.

Socialization recognized the human as a person while Social Conditioning only recognizes the process in achieving a specified goal often common to the good of a few rather than that of the whole. One leaves no room for discussion, argument or change while the other promotes and supports discussion, communications, argument and change when needed or necessary for the common good of the tribe. 

In a best case living society there are always balances and toward socialization vs. social conditioning both can be of benefit to the social group, a balance that is hard to achieve and hold yet bests suits and serves the social construct, the group and the tribe. 

Know what you need to know; learn what you don’t know; seek to learn that what you don’t know you don’t know; become open to possibilities to what you know, what you don’t know and what you don’t know you don’t know - Actively Listen and assume what is said is true and find what it is true of. 

In the martial art self-defense world, its communities, it is a critical distinction for those learning, those teaching and most important to those who apply it in self-defense. It becomes a means to handle all types of conflict and violence in and out of the dojo. It brings us the understanding necessary to balance it out in a modern socially conditioned society that has almost lost its true socialization. 

The social conditioning of the atomistic that includes the laws, rules and requirements of a society ends up creating the type of social conditions that hide reality of socialization making for a controlled and unfree culture and society based on fears without understanding and reason. 

Even the micro-cosmic world in the dojo uses social conditioning to teach self-defense, i.e., use this technique to do this in self-defense without regard to all the other factors of conflict and violence because it will make you feel safe and secure in the knowledge presented. Use these principles in self-defense with regard to conflict, violence and the social laws, rules and conditions because it WILL provide you the safety, security and ability to properly learn, understand, train, practice and apply them with regard to conflict, violence, and the social laws, rules and conditions that govern self-defense. 

Brainwashing (a forcible indoctrination to induce someone to give up basic political, social, or religious beliefs and attitudes and to accept contrasting regimented ideas; persuasion by propaganda or salesmanship; a forcible indoctrination to induce someone to give up basic political, social, or religious beliefs and attitudes and to accept contrasting regimented ideas.): A process of indoctrination, conditioning, persuasion, propagandizing and forceful adoption of radically different beliefs through the process of a systematic and often forcible pressure. 

Focus on forcible pressure similar to the violent actions of those who want us to believe that all police are bad and all police actions are unjust and that police are there to apply violence to the masses, etc. There are many socially driven actions meant to condition folks toward a specific agenda that is about self-soothing a small group so they can feed the need of their egoistic emotionally driven monkey brains toward that agenda over the needs of society for a common good of all. The FEW are brainwashing the MANY for the benefit of the FEW!

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