Constructivist Mind: False Memory, Freedom, and Democracy

The dynamic development of the media and the possibility of reaching every person with information create the temptation to construct a particular outlook in his or her mind. Political marketing consultants have recently taken interest in such outlook constructing, using the achievements of modern cognitive psychology to create methods of influencing voters' behavior. A number of studies on distorting a politician's image in advertising and on presenting the issue in the media according to the theory of media priming demonstrate that a citizen's freedom is in fact limited. Characteristically, in democratic countries such limitation comes from inside, by creating in a voter's mind a certain picture of some part of reality stimulating her or him toward expected behaviors. Market mechanisms, which allow for the control of information reaching different segments of voters, lead to a situation in which absolute freedom in creating and broadcasting political advertisements does not contribute to the freedom of expressing political ideas but limits this freedom. Modern studies on the perception and remembering of political advertisements show that the goal of such advertisements is inconsistent with the classical notion of freedom and democracy according to which they should facilitate conscious discussion and voters' critical reflection.