The Hierarchy of Thought and Its Use for Marketing

 The mind is an amazing entity and researchers don't have all the answers when it comes to understanding the complexity of our internal environment. In the world of marketing, having a basic sense of cognitive science helps us to understand how such things like thought categorization can lead to real dollars in corporate pockets. Science isn't passive, its more active and can be used to solve all types of problems of which some we can see and some we are not even aware (I have a DBA so I'm applied in science and like to see how things function in their natural environments. This is why I advocate for greater university-industry-government coordination on key areas of development. Studies like this may not seem important but can be useful in innovative thought, attracting innovative thinkers, designing websites that lead to tangible results, attracting investors, etc. We exist and function more in digital world and online thought processes count.)

Thought categorization allows us to ponder the way in which people process information and recall that information for use and utility. When advertising to potential customers you will want to know how they interpret information on your website and in turn the reasoning/networks used to motivate a purchase (i.e. a purchase prediction). With a proper site you can not only attract the right kind of people with pre-existing interest but also move them down a line of thinking that leads to an eventual purchase.

Our neocortex is a computational structured prediction machine that uses conceptual thought and common sense reasoning to make decisions (Williams, 2019). We constantly take in information from our surroundings and then move toward greater awareness of life, ourselves and the world around us. This is why humans adapt to master new challenges and incorporate new knowledge into their mental banks.

There is going to be variability in terms of awareness between different peoples. This is why we have different kinds of advertisements focused on attracting certain people from various backgrounds. Different people will see different things in their environment based on their personal make up and level of development. For example, there could also be issues as they relate to intelligence and perception. If one is not exposed, doesn't have the intelligence to understand, the biological sensory equipment to pick recognize details in their environment, or is so rooted in false assumptions they may not see their environment accurately. 

As of yet we are not stagnant creatures. One can improve their ability to understand their environment, increase the ways in which they categories information, and improve the pathways for information recall. The brain is like a muscle and the more we use it, the stronger it becomes. Perception is also a learned and the more we reflect on our environment, the wider and deeper our perception becomes. We can be active or passive about our environmental mastery. You can tell the difference between goal directed behaviors (i.e. in need a new pair of socks) and non specific goal directed (i.e. I feel like I want to buy something today.)

What does all that have to do with marketing?

Our world is full of different marketing and information pieces that compete for our cognitive attention. That attention allows the ideas to penetrate a hierarchy of thought and activate associated networks. For example, you might think of red, then an apple, then your aunt's apple cider because the apple construct was associated with your aunt. Perhaps something as small as a single word or image (an associated image can be placed) pushed the association down one path such as aunt's apple cider versus the apple pie you had at a friends house last Thanksgiving. 

We create advertisements to tap into some of our inner experiences, emotions, symbolisms and feelings to produce a psychological and physical response. This is one reasons why some advertisements appeal to different ages and demographics. Thinking of how different advertisements appeal to teenagers and some appeal to more seasoned adults based on messages, imagery, symbolism and meaning. When we add further information that attracts cognitive style and personality we have deeper Neuromarketing through psychographics (The tools are different then the process). 

How do categories help marketing?

When one becomes familiar with the hierarchy of different symbols, values, and perceptions of groups and customers they can improve ROI on marketing activities through focused campaigns. This is one reason why marketers slice and carve the market. It is also why marketing has fundamentally changed in the online world. There will be the possibility of create ever so slight differences in marketing to activate specific neural networks (i.e. As a side point, this is why we want to protect data, break it into smaller storage databases, not collect some types of data and encrypt the information we already have. The era of Wild West on data is coming to a close because its powerful. There is too much important stuff out there.)

Bloom, B.S. (1956). Taxonomy of educational objectives. Vol. 1: Cognitive domain. New York: David Mckay Company, Inc.

Daniel Williams (2019) Hierarchical minds and the perception/cognition distinction, Inquiry, DOI: 10.1080/0020174X.2019.1610045

July's jobs report was a 'jaw-dropping' number, says economist Austan Goolsbee

 August 5th, 2022 Jobs Report. There was a discussion in the video on jobs being added at an amazing rate but GDP is declining then we have productivity go down. To me, wearable technology mixed with more creativity can increase overall human capital if we find ourselves in the center of the global supply chain. That would require us to embrace the Digital Economy (i.e. look at what the Internet has done to productivity since its inception) and advanced manufacturing (The physical aspects of wealth generation) to boost productivity across different societal sectors. 

Let us see what the interesting odd numbers/bump in the job numbers actually mean a few months down the road (Maybe just a little beep or maybe something more?). Could some of the numbers not make sense if we are basing them up to this point on Industrial Era paradigms (built off other eras of economic theory)? Because the economy may be shifting, the numbers might not mean 1 to 1 as they did in the past. There will be difficult to calculate in real time things during an economic platform shift because we don't understand them until after review. While shifting to the Digital Economy/Era might follow some similar patterns as historical shifts, it will likely have a few things that relate specifically to that kind of shift (In history we sort of know this when we look back in hindsight on what causes economies to change. To see change coming one must look into the past and apply it to the possibilities of the present and future. Its basic model creation and projection.)  

In other words, when you change the root nature of economic transaction (i.e. digital currency, creative, capital, intellectual assets, 5 G etc...) you will also change how the numbers are calculating (Based on sheer availability of metrics we will likely see more calibrated economic policy that adjusts quickly.). Our core needs as a people don't necessarily change but how we fulfill those needs change (Remember that economics is about human behaviors/transactions. If you change technology and in turn how people interaction that will have an impact on economic activity. blah blah blah geek babble. )

In a nutshell, we might see more odd anomalies in the data and researchers will create theories (or adjust old theories) to better explain and predict certain economic behaviors. Its basic science, not a crystal ball projection. 

FBI Director Wray testifies before Senate Judiciary Committee

 I'm not going into debate on all of these issues as some issues are contentious and sort of focused on specific answers and outcomes. Just watch and understand how our environment is changing. Polices are an important part of our society and we want to help enforcement members thwart extremism, violence, crime and hate. At the same time, we want to improve on the ability to review and remove officers that harm the functioning of the police departments and those who damage the noble profession of policing (That which is in line with our Constitution and values). 

Domestic extremism is growing (Left and Right and other.) where it should be tackled on the local level there isn't the mechanism in place to detect, deter, help and effectively thwart the social nature of extremism (i.e. not recognizing it based on preexisting bias or having the ability/laws/systems to deal with it effectively.). 

Violence seems to be growing. We haven't yet calibrated our Justice System to ensure that violent criminals don't get to repeat behaviors while at the same time allowing people who make mistakes find new ways of navigating the world (The learning components). Some people are more willing to use violence to solve their problems and don't use logic and truth to figure out solutions.  

We are changing as we are learning and understanding. From Digital Era battles (cyberwarfare) to local domestic hate, they have a lot to deal with. Sucks! It is what it is!

'It's Crazy': FBI Director Christopher Wray expresses deep concern for rising violence in US

The Need to Universalize Our Institutions: A Case of Hate In Higher Ed. and Law Enforcement

If you have been reading my blog for a while you will becoming keenly aware that my family and I have been targeted by a local group of sports bullies (with hate based seasoning). While they don't see themselves that way they exist within the border between highly "in/out group" aggressiveness and racial/religious bigotry infused into a distorted sports culture. This is something we see at various places within our society from different types of groups (Pick an ideology and pick a group.). We will need to tackle these hometown hate issues in order to develop our national human capital and in turn our future prospects (Much of human capital development is based in the environments in which we live and the signals we receive from society.). 

Let me say that not everyone in the "super cool" group are bad people. They are mostly good people. However, from a social dynamic standpoint there are lower levels of healthy boundaries within that group and in turn there is rigid social adherence based upon false (i.e. childhood) misperceptions of life/self that should have been discarded long time ago. In other words, because they are highly homogeneous and relatively unexposed to other types of people their thought processes haven't changed much since highschool (on a social level)

The group likes to spread rumors against people they don't like, are different, and or their "leadership" tells them they must hate (Lack of critical thinking and healthy boundaries/objectivity). They may not have any real problem with the target(s), or bad experiences, or can claim that the targets harmed them in any way. Yet, they persist because they were expected to persist and racial/religious differences were high on their interest list (Remember I was told why they were targeting us and it was obvious laws were being broken. There have been other incidents of people concerned about where my kids came from, skin color, culture, religion, and other issues related to their backgrounds. Not to mention the "nigga baby" jokes and other aggressive behaviors in front of kids. i.e. yelling out that someone's dad is a "bitch" or group coordinated attempts to pick fights. Its not a single incident but a series of incidents that show intentionality, coordination, association.)

The immaturity of this group has now impacted two different local institutions (Maybe 3 but at this point it looks like 2). We have the local community college who said I was more than qualified and then ghosted me once they found out I was the "crazy Muslim guy" with Black kids some of their friends/social network didn't like. As well as a few officers (Looks like 2 but with another up to 5 on a different undefined problem) that are associated/central to this group began to target and circumvent basic Constitutional protections. (At this point they didn't succeed but I believe they are still motivated to violate the law and are more than willing to do it once the coast is clear. Following home, false information, pulling over kids in unmarked car, parking outside house, etc... Other community complaints by other people of serious behaviors have gone uninvestigated. These aren't my complaints, they are others offered organically without solicitation. In one case I asked for a little more info because they mentioned someone/something specific. Yet the mentioning was organic and unsolicited. That indicates there may be a wider issue involved and a concerning pre-existing pattern that has impacted people enough to get them talking about different incidents at different times. Smoke vs. fire issues. Like I said prior, these were pre-existing problems but my "perceived" differences based on religion, kid's race, etc. helped highlight those issues. Putting in place boundaries for distorted behaviors didn't cause the problem, it was symptomatic to an existing problem.)

As of yet, it appears that they were told not to persist in such behaviors but for the most part I'm not sure if there was a level of accountability (Telling them to not persist for their own sake and telling them not to persist for society's sake are different but beneficial to both.). Stopping bad behaviors and being accountable are two different constructs. For example, should a local institution hire their friends (good old boy networks), reject qualified candidates because of racial/religious reasons, or be allowed to use tax payer dollars for personal, political, group hate, vendettas, clan support, etc.? (In first world nations the answers would be "no". In third world nations we find that all mixed up with different justifications that end up creating separate societies. We are debating if we are one or two societies now with different rules for each. I advocate universalizing and ensuring solidarity of American values and principles. Ensuring our institutions are protecting the needs of a collective "whole" of society. )

The same can be said for law enforcement. While I support law enforcement and civil rights (they are not mutual exclusive) 100%, I do not believe using official position for personal, social, racial, religious reasons/gain is justified (One cannot say I haven't throughout my life supported law enforcement as there are many other instances outside of this instance where I can show I have. However, bad behaviors is bad behavior and that doesn't get my support no matter which way the political winds blow or who we select as our leader {i.e. why selecting leadership based on best and brightest versus the "most connected" is important to national development}. I have my own value systems as an imperfect person and it seems some of that is beneficial for understanding this particular situation.). Unaccounted bad behaviors damage trust in our institutions and we can see the result of some of the inability to hold to account blatant bad behaviors working its way throughout our society (Each situation has its own merit but often follows similar strains.) 

Personally, I don't think we will succeed fully as a nation if we "normalize" certain bad behaviors as acceptable as long as they are against the "right" targets/people. Accountability doesn't always mean jail time. It does mean ensuring these behaviors don't happen again, learning from them (i.e. training and policy improvement) and ensuring such groups are not unduly manipulating local officials through clan like behaviors (i.e. lower versions of societal development). Without change, someday the acceptance of similar dark behaviors will lead to an unamendable break in society based on necessity and self preservation (This may not have anything to do with this situation but the 100's of 1000s of similar situations that people may have experienced across the country spanning many different years/generations. If there is a large percentage of society that feels a certain way, we might want to spend a few moments thinking about societal trust and strategic change. Be proactive and not reactive to large scale societal trends! These trends create pressure to make us better and more advanced as a democracy. Each situation is a step forward, stand still, or step back and adds up to macro results. So "no" its not truly just a local issue but an issue real Americans are facing everyday.)

I don't advocate for minorities, majorities, or anyone else but only for there to be fair treatment across all of society (Other stuff will be decided at a later date through a sequence of societal decision making.). My belief is that the thing we can do now is universalize our institutions to ensure that we maintain trust in a diverse society (The diversity we need to compete in the near future as a strategic advantage many countries that are not democratic lack). We hold to account with truth, moral conscious, and wisdom bad behaviors with the right kind of tools (Its not always about punishment). However, allowing such behaviors to continue and rewarding those behaviors would seem unjustified and perhaps reckless. We must find a solution to mend society's artificial differences/boundaries we have created for our own self interest. (What is my strategy with this group? Be kind, polite, engaging, visible, open to apologies/amends, unable to be intimidated, and willing to walk in the middle of a crowd of people who hate me and say "Hi. How are you? I hope your having an awesome day!". What I won't do is sugar coat bad behaviors simply because its convenient as that won't lead to improvement or change. It may lead to future targets and victims as bad behavior is empowered and emulated. Placating bad behaviors is not improvement...it just calms it down until the next time by letting distorted personalities feel falsely justified. Whether local or national, there are similarities. I know! I know! Don't listen to me....I have a Muslim sounding name. 🤷)

Tudor Dixon Accepts GOP Nomination for Governor

Tudor Dixon (R) has won the GOP nomination for Governor. She will now face Gretchen Whitmer (D) for governorship.  I'm curious about what the election will bring as we have two matched challengers and certain perceptual issues won't have as much influence (It will neutralize factors like female, age, facial structure, height, etc... demographics. Thus perceptions of skills, competence, experience, party affiliation will be a little more pronounced as some factors can be mitigated.) 

What I am interested in are the way in which people will vote. How many Republicans and Democrats will vote their straight party (I'm talking percentages) and how many can be persuaded (Where the actual debate is happening after the primaries.)? I want to see if the middle of the road groups have grown (The percentage of people that can swing either right or left depending on the problem.)  

(We can talk about things like political parties, values, patriotism, duties, walking the talk, ethics, abortion, rights, guns or anything else and we can do it from a divergent perspective. While I may have my own preferences, I realize that much of that is subjective and in turn my opinions may or may not be better than anyone else. The only caveat is the logic, depth, and environmental awareness of contributing factors. That is how we should be engaging in politics. Looking at what is really being said and offered before making a decision. Where there are holes in the logic used by people/speakers/leaders/politicians, there should be lots of room for borrowing ideas from both sides.

 Democracy is about the art of influence and compromise. Stop compromising at some point and you have left  democratic values behind and turned toward unilateral outcomes that only reflects the reality of a fraction of society. Ideally politicians can stay faithful to their values and supporters while still building lots of room to make bi-partisan deals that reflect the best of what both sides have to offer. It isn't all bad or good just because its a party I like or don't like. Not specific to either Democrats or Republicans. 

Centralists don't have that tunnel vision problem on a high level. They can seem indecisive as they figure out what makes the most sense for everyone/themselves within their own ethical perspective. The environment is changing and our political pressures will change with it thereby creating new ways approaching old problems. 

For example, Michigan is a leading state strategically located, manufacturing infrastructure, shipping {need more ports and innovation clusters. i.e. DC Model), great universities, and ideally located for the next era of challenges from a climate and manufacturing perspective. That would require a ball park accurate market projection, a vision, political-business-scientific/academic stakeholder interest, and the alignment of resources to get there. Sometimes our "politics as usual" and ideological staunchness obscures our view to new paths and opportunities.

No matter who wins, both leaders should keep their eyes on the bigger competitive picture as it relates to people/human capital development and  future of our nation. {Am I qualified to give insight or advice. Not really...maybe a little more than average....but that depends who who is judging and who is being judged. I do have a Muslim sounding name. 🤷)

LIVE: Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear shares the latest eastern Kentucky flood conditions

We never know what situation we might find ourselves in. One minute people are sleeping and the next they are immersed in water. Natural disaster can quickly change our environment and often hard to predict. We adapt and we learn from each situation. As our environment changes we will need to change with it. Our world as we knew it would change and in many ways that is natural as a system.

It appears there has been some changes in our environment that has been supported by science. While one can't say 100% or not 100% something is actually occurring it would be reasonable to believe that Global Warming is an important and thus far a plausible risk to concern ourselves with. Risks are something you mitigate through adjusting your thought processes and strategies (Even if it isn't true it wouldn't hurt to make changes and improvements where we think they are reasonable and helpful to do so.). 

There are other changes we will likely have now when we build homes, better natural resource management, and of course more need for first responders and trained volunteers. 

Who Is Going to be the Republican Leading Candidate in Michigan?

Its going to be interesting to watch what happens in Michigan this election cycle. So far we have a strong Democrat leading governor and we have Republicans putting together a line up from the primaries. Likely what will happen, based on availability, is that Dixon will become the leading GOP candidate (Maybe...maybe not....Let us see how things unfold.)

A chaotic GOP primary could cost the party in battleground Michigan

While I lean light right I'm not opposed to our current governor. There are good things I agree with and there are things I might disagree with from a policy standpoint. There is plenty of room for discussion and debate on any of these issues (I'm not sure if that makes me a RINO or not. I'm just more middle of the road.). 

(Listening and then seeking to understand different perspectives can lead to greater insight into bipartisan cooperation and solutions.)

What I am concerned about is what is available from the R side of things. Old Guard Republicans bring a lot of wisdom and debate to our national policies and have done so for a long time. They have a history of working to help resolve important issues and different presidents.  Both parties have fulfilled needs on a national level at different times in our history and that pushes the system forward. (When we step back and take a divergent look.). 

However, politics has changed hasn't it? Its different now and we are at present in a slightly different world than 3 years ago. Things are changing, the ground is shifting, and I think we will likely have some confusion on where we should place our feet today, and where we might step tomorrow.

 It appears there is some scrambling so you never really know how things can unfold when there is lots of commotion and fuss.

 For now, I'm just going to get a bag of popcorn and sort of watch how things unfold.