Technology for the Manipulation of Behavior

This article shows how humans modify their environment in virtue of being, as a result of evolution, extremely social and playful. They imitate other humans and thereby easily embrace new techniques and technologies. They apply the new techniques to old customs and practices such that the resulting changes sometimes seem strange and must be viewed as the evolution of nature. Here, psychodynamics with its focus on emotions and influencing emotions serves as an interface to the human mind. Psychodynamics has been employed throughout history by shamans, religious leaders, or the theatre for the manipulation of the behavior of consciousness. Theatre researcher Konstantin Stanislavsky, neurophysiologists Ivan Pavlov and P. V. Simonov did a tremendous amount of scientific work to build the foundation for the psychodynamics of the theatre. This proved useful in many contexts. The producers of digital games around the world work with a good understanding of psychological theories. They use psychodynamic means in order to hooking play into the enchantments of the game. The game affects the psyche of players, whether they feel it or not. Playing is a psychological experience. Across the world, the idea arose among enthusiasts that it would be educational to move from the mental to a physiological image of role figures for acting out a character. Here Stanislavsky's system is juxtaposed to a live role-playing game called “LARP.” Stanislavsky’s method is universal and works just as well in theater as it does in live role-playing.