January 12, 2020

"Here’s an ad targeted at voters who were deemed 'neurotic' by Cambridge Analytica’s methods."



From "These are the political ads Cambridge Analytica designed for you" (Quartz).
According to the OCEAN personality model, on which the company based its personality traits, “neuroticism” is a measurement of how much you tend to worry. Cambridge Analytica played to the anxious temperament of neurotic types in this ad by emphasizing the growing international risks and need for strong, stable leaders in the United States. The ad juxtaposed pictures of violent chaos, presumably overseas, with a picture of a young boy waving an American flag.
ADDED: How long before we targeted people see they think we're neurotic (or whatever) and hate them for it? (I'm neurotically afraid the answer is never.)

55 comments:

Howard said...

Well I guess that's settled science you people are indeed crazy. Neurotic like an over anxious 1950s housewife

Vet66 said...

Bad enough being labeled 'neurotic' but being labeled too dumb to realize a person is too dumb to figure out they are being played by the media is troubling.

Temujin said...

If you're targeting ads toward the neurotic and you miss the nice people in Manhattan, you need to go out of business.

tim maguire said...

The folks talking about how this group is more worried than that group tends to assume the fears are groundless.

Not being from SC, it’s hard to gauge how effective this ad is since I have no idea who the candidates are. I spent most of it wondering if Bolton was the candidate.

narciso said...


But skydragons


https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2020/01/trump_is_toto.html

Otto said...

Ann you do the same thing that you accuse Cambridge Analytica of doing. Never about issues.

Birkel said...

Where is rhhardin to explain it?

Birkel said...

North Carolina also needs a better senator that Richard Burr.

Chick said...

I am paranoid. I hope they are not working on an ad for me.

Fernandinande said...

So they show you this ad if you say you're worried about this ad?

Robert Cook said...

"If you're targeting ads toward the neurotic and you miss the nice people in Manhattan, you need to go out of business."

What makes you think Manhattanites are neurotic, or moreso than people anywhere else?

gilbar said...

tim said Not being from SC, it’s hard to gauge how effective this ad

i'd wager; not VERY effective, if you didn't notice that it had NOTHING to DO with SC

Temujin said...

Mr. Cook- I go by the evidence of my senses.

Quaestor said...

How long before we targeted people see they think we're neurotic (or whatever) and hate them for it? (I'm neurotically afraid the answer is never.)

Now there's a sentence that would keep me up at night.

How's that for neurotic?

Michael K said...

Not being from SC, it’s hard to gauge how effective this ad is since I have no idea who the candidates are. I spent most of it wondering if Bolton was the candidate.

I had the same impression but I did notice it was North Carolina.

Robert Cook said...

"Mr. Cook- I go by the evidence of my senses."

I don't see it.

chuck said...

Nyah, nyah, Hillary lost. Suck it up, Quartz.

Fernandinande said...

As a scholar, model, philosopher, educator and influencer, my special snowflakiness is far too unique for the ilks of Cambridge Analytica to target the correct pigeon into whose hole I should be inserted.

rhhardin said...

I can't figure out what it's an ad for or why. The mustache is ridiculous though.

Mark said...

The Dems have been playing at emotional politics for many decades now. Number one in their playbook, regardless of Republican opponent, is that we are (each year for the past 40) just a hair away from "choice" being trampled on and women dying in alleyways or going to prison unless we elect the Dems.

mtrobertslaw said...

Using John Bolton for a political endorsement is not a good idea. It is likely to have the exact opposite effect. His physical appearance that of a nut case who has spent his entire life collecting magazine articles on how to train insects to perform tricks.

Mark said...

Now they are playing on the fears of the likes of Greta Thunberg, terrifying people into thinking that the Earth is going to burst into flames in the next year or two.

stevew said...

I'm so neurotic that I mute political ads whenever they come on the tv or radio, especially Tom Steyer's and Bernie Sanders'.

Howard said...

Have you noticed that we never see Harry Reems and John Bolton in the same room

Seeing Red said...

Mr. Cook- I go by the evidence of my senses."

I don't see it.


Thanks to the internet and this blog, some of us read it.

Howard said...

Mark you know it's neurotic to be threatened by a retarded teenager

Howard said...

Seeing red. That's the whole point you collect these discrete data points and project them onto entire populations. That's actually quite neurotic.

Howard said...

Neurotic: Q reposting five paragraphs because of a simple spelling error that no one noticed. FYI I actually like the post I was just offended by the fact that you wanted us to read it twice

Paco Wové said...

As T. Maguire said, I come away from this ad having no idea who the candidate actually is. All I can think about is Bolton's enormous moustache.

Paco Wové said...

"I'm John Bolton's moustache, and I will protect your children from foreign terror"

Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...

will an 'Alfred E. Newman' strategy work for Buttiguig?

Francisco D said...

What makes you think Manhattanites are neurotic, or moreso than people anywhere else?

Woody Allen movies

madAsHell said...

TV advertising targets women, not the neurotic........oh, wait.

NorthOfTheOneOhOne said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
NorthOfTheOneOhOne said...

Well, it must've worked. Tillis was elected Senator in 2015.

Being originally from NC (though born in Charlotte, which is close to SC) I can't help but see this as being anything but fallout from the Obama era when the urban areas of the state tried to run roughshod over the rural areas. But I also tend to think Cambridge Analytica tends to exhibit a great deal of hubris, much like Nate Silver.

Bill Peschel said...

I just signed up for a buck a week subscription to the failing New York Times. Since I'm in the middle of an Agatha Christie mega project, I scanned the files for reviews of her books.

On the opposite page of one in 1923, a publisher ran a full-page ad titled "Who are the cultured? Check the class that fits you."

It uses a bunch of self-tests to manipulate you into fearing social ostracism so you'll spend three bucks on "The Book of Good Manners."

This is how granular it goes. This is from one section near the top of the page:

Which form of introduction is correct?

No. 1 -- "Mrs. A., allow me to present Mr. B."
No. 2 -- "Mrs. A., meet Mrs. B."
No. 3 -- "Mr. A., I have the honor of introducing Miss B."
No. 4 -- "I want you to meet Mr. A., Mrs. B."

Can you blame your friends for being ashamed of you when you are introduced to their friends, or when you introduce them to your friends, and you hesitate, look embarrassed, then mumble some inappropriate, meaningless words?

What I'm trying to say is, advertising's been trying to create neurotic consumers for over a century. What CA is doing is not news.

Isn't that what the Democrat's dog-whistles of "racism" (which appeared the day after Trump won) simply another form of create neurotic voters?

rcocean said...

"Scaring Voters" = attacking D's for being weak on foreign Policy
"Not Scaring Voters" = Attacking R's for not stopping climate change
or "escalating" tensions with Iran

rcocean said...

R's voting for Trump's legislation = Mind numbed robots - marching in lockstep
D's voting for Pelosi's legislation = Congressmen bravely standing up to Trump.

Drago said...

Birkel: "North Carolina also needs a better senator that Richard Burr."

That would be Richard Burr (R(?)-Mark Warner)

rcocean said...

R who voted for Impeachment = Brave maverick, who put country above party
D who voted against Impeachment = Weirdo Turncoat who dishonestly pretended to be a D.

rcocean said...

Both the R Senators from NC should be primaried - they're embarrassing.

Known Unknown said...

"What makes you think Manhattanites are neurotic, or moreso than people anywhere else?"

Seinfeld?

tim maguire said...

Robert Cook said...What makes you think Manhattanites are neurotic, or moreso than people anywhere else?

If by "anywhere else," you mean Brooklyn, then you might be right. If you mean the rest of America, well, Manhattanites make me think that. And what's more, most Manhattanites would agree.

tim in vermont said...

What would be the point in doing political ads in Manhattan? That would be like doing them among the Amish. It’s a cult that enforces its own discipline in dissenters.

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...

“Mark you know it's neurotic to be threatened by a retarded teenager”

True. Now analyze the people using her for a prop.

narciso said...

and this was why Cambridge analytica had to destroyed,

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...


“What would be the point in doing political ads in Manhattan? That would be like doing them among the Amish. It’s a cult that enforces its own discipline in dissenters”

Ads also function as comfort food, marching orders, and begging letters. The “Republicans want to occupy your uterus” ads referenced above aren’t changing minds or swinging undecideds. They’re enforcing discipline.

narciso said...


Oops,

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/youve-scripted-my-childhood-facebook-glitch-reveals-greta-thunburgs-father-posting

0_0 said...

Is this trying to associate John Bolton the possible witness with dishonesty?

Martin said...

Trait neuroticism is NOT the same as a clinical diagnosis of "neurotic." It is one of several dimensions that are defined statistically as being key to people's personalities.

Women tend to be higher than men on trait neuroticism (as men tend to be higher than women on trait aggression), that does not mean most women are neurotic or most men are always picking fights..

Char Char Binks, Esq. said...

"How long before we targeted people see they think we're neurotic (or whatever) and hate them for it? (I'm neurotically afraid the answer is never.)"

Why would you hate them? Because "neurotic" sounds like an insult? It's a personality trait, not a disorder. Don't take it personally.

Rabel said...

"According to the OCEAN personality model, on which the company based its personality traits, “neuroticism” is a measurement of how much you tend to worry."

No, it's not. The personality trait "neuroticism," per the OCEAN model, is not the same as "neurotic" as commonly used and now subsumed into the catch-all "anxiety disorder."

The article went downhill from there.

Rabel said...

I see Martin was there before me. You have to not only read, but also, refresh the page before reading the comments to avoid looking like a know-it-all who doesn't pay attention to what others have to say.

A worrisome failure on my part.

Howard said...

Cracker: Machavellian

Nichevo said...

Howard said...
Well I guess that's settled science you people are indeed crazy. Neurotic like an over anxious 1950s housewife

Not like YOU though. You know who you remind me of? This guy.

https://youtu.be/FJb_dxtMeEA

MC 900 Ft. Jesus – Tiptoe Through The Inferno

Do not make the mistake of believe i am the person who is speaking to you now
I am not
That is to say N-O-T
This is an indisputable fact that has been scientifically proven
It is useless to belabor facts that have already been proven
Just as it is useless to wander off on a tangent with a bullwhip in search of a dead horse
If you do not accept this to be true
Then you are insane and will be locked up

I personally have never been locked up
But that is because i personally have never been insane
Nor have have i ever personally, that is to say, as a person, been a criminal
You, on the other hand, are obviously crazy
This is a scientific fact that is instinctively and intuitively obvious
To all peoples of all races, creeds, and colors
And in all walks of life

But do not obfuscate matters with science or other baloney sandwiches
Your opinions are not relevant to the issue of your mental capacity
But rather are dead horses which are not N-O-T to be flogged
My purpose here is to clearly
Demonstrate to all concerned that you are indeed insane
So that all doctors, policemen, and other persons of authority
Will be shown to their professional satisfaction the truth of my statements
Please do not change color while i am talking to you

Of course everyone knows that my statements are always truthful
But unfortunately i must demonstrate to you the fact that you are not in touch with reality
Because i have only have your best interests at heart
And you must learn to function in the modern world of today
May i please have fifty cents?

Functioning is the process whereby decent people of society inter-relate with one another
For the sole purpose of keeping the modern world a safe place for all in which to live
If you get my drift