How Psychology can be Used as "Mind Control"

As we all have started realizing, knowing Psychology is so useful. We begin to see it in our everyday lives, and use it to evaluate our world more and more. However, what can happen when other powerful, influential people take this knowledge and use it against us? Consider this one example of how human nature can be used to make some people rich at the expense of others:

There is a theory of motivation similar to the Arousal theory, called the opponent-process theory of motivation. In sum, this theory is an explanation for addictive behaviors. It states that people tend to comfortably sit at a normal, baseline level. However, occasionally we do things that move us from this "happy medium" state. In this case, take for example the act of smoking a cigarette. A person might do this because they wish to feel a short-lived sense of pleasure. However, because of the opponent-process theory, the person would feel a need to return back to that baseline state. One example of this might be a heavy smoker realizing they need to curb their smoking habit because they feel too jittery. However, with addictive substances also comes withdrawal, which is an even more powerful urge that also moves us away from baseline. Because long-time smokers have become accustomed to the amount of nicotine in their system, their body adjusts and their baseline changes.  So, a smoker may then feel off-baseline without a certain amount of nicotine in their system, they must continue to smoke to return to their "normal" levels. This is what leads addiction, and is why it makes quitting a hard habit so, well, hard. Not only are cigarettes and other harmful, yet addicting substances likeable, fun, and pleasing to a person, but they also become "necessary" over a high amount of exposure. This is where people with bad intentions and a desire for lots of money come in the picture. People who know that human bodies react like this use this knowledge to make substances addicting, which guarantees them more profit. Yet another catch to this already dismal issue is that, if left unchecked, a person's amount of addiction will continue to rise. A person that smokes one pack a day may eventually rise to two packs a day, and so forth. This type of "scientific research" is unfortunate, and yet widespread in this day in age. This highlights why knowledge of Psychology is so important- it can help you evaluate the issues that are out there in the world today, and avoid such risks.