The Self lecture by Martin Hosken

Key Concepts Covered:

• The Self: A complex concept encompassing your identity, values, and behaviour, which is influenced by both nature and nurture.
• The Unconscious: The unconscious is a significant driver of human behaviour, explored through Freudian and Jungian psychology. Freud focused on the sexual drives of a person, while Jung emphasized a more holistic view, like the the shadow self.
• The Nudge Theory: Influencing someone's behaviour through subtle changes in their environment and choices, often targeting unconscious responses.
• Consumerism: How marketing and advertising manipulate desires and unconscious mechanisms to shape consumer behaviour.
• Technology's Impact: How technology, particularly social media, influences identity, self-perception, and behaviour.
• Self-Therapy: Developing a stronger sense of self through self-reflection, narrative, and a balance between risk and opportunity.

Important Examples or Case Studies:

• Amsterdam Airport Urinals: Placing a fly image in urinals to reduce spillage (example of nudge theory).
• The Century of the Self Documentary: Explores the construction of the self as a consumer.
• Edward Bernays' Propaganda: How manipulation of public opinion shapes consumer behaviour.
• The Hero's Journey: A common archetypal motif used in storytelling and branding.
• Rorschach Test: Reveals the nature of projection in individuals.

Methods that were discussed:

• System 1 and System 2 Thinking: Kahneman's model of fast, unconscious thinking versus slow, deliberate thinking.