Ernest Dichter

The Strategy of Desire Ernest Dichter

2012 Reprint of 1960 Edition. Exact facsimile of the original edition, not reproduced with Optical Recognition Software. Ernest Dichter was an Austrian-American psychologist and marketing expert known as the "father of motivational research." Dichter pioneered the application of Freudian psychoanalytic concepts and techniques to business - in particular to the study of consumer behavior in the marketplace. Ideas he established were a significant influence on the practices of the advertising industry in the twentieth century. According to a New York Times article in 1998, he "was the first to coin the term focus group and to stress the importance of image and persuasion in advertising". Pt. 1. Persuasion started with Eve. The mask of behavior -- The discovery of motivations -- Command or persuasion -- Measuring human emotions -- The soul of things -- We think as we please -- The wholistic approach -- Pt. 2. Strategy in a conflict era. The psycho-economic age -- The visions before us -- The fear of change -- The search for identity -- Misery of choice -- The "burden" of the good life -- Search for a goal.