Posted on 05/23/2015 6:17:50 AM PDT by PeterPrinciple
It may seem strange to suggest that the study of propaganda has relevance to contemporary politics. After all, when most people think about propaganda, they think of the enormous campaigns that were waged by Hitler and Stalin in the 1930s. Since nothing comparable is being disseminated in our society today, many believe that propaganda is no longer an issue.
But propaganda can be as blatant as a swastika or as subtle as a joke. Its persuasive techniques are regularly applied by politicians, advertisers, journalists, radio personalities, and others who are interested in influencing human behavior. Propagandistic messages can be used to accomplish positive social ends, as in campaigns to reduce drunk driving, but they are also used to win elections and to sell malt liquor.
As Anthony Pratkanis and Elliot Aronson point out, "every day we are bombarded with one persuasive communication after another. These appeals persuade not through the give-and-take of argument and debate, but through the manipulation of symbols and of our most basic human emotions. For better or worse, ours is an age of propaganda." (Pratkanis and Aronson, 1991)
With the growth of communication tools like the Internet, the flow of persuasive messages has been dramatically accelerated. For the first time ever, citizens around the world are participating in uncensored conversations about their collective future. This is a wonderful development, but there is a cost.
The information revolution has led to information overload, and people are confronted with hundreds of messages each day. Although few studies have looked at this topic, it seems fair to suggest that many people respond to this pressure by processing messages more quickly and, when possible, by taking mental short-cuts.
Propagandists love short-cuts -- particularly those which short-circuit rational thought. They encourage this by agitating emotions, by exploiting insecurities, by capitalizing on the ambiguity of language, and by bending the rules of logic. As history shows, they can be quite successful.
Propaganda analysis exposes the tricks that propagandists use and suggests ways of resisting the short-cuts that they promote. This web-site discusses various propaganda techniques, provides contemporary examples of their use, and proposes strategies of mental self-defense.
Propaganda analysis is an antidote to the excesses of the Information Age.
This site is inspired by the pioneering work of the Institute for Propaganda Analysis (IPA). In 1937, the IPA was created to educate the American public about the widespread nature of political propaganda. Composed of social scientists and journalists, the IPA published a series of books, including: •The Fine Art of Propaganda •Propaganda Analysis •Group Leader's Guide to Propaganda Analysis •Propaganda: How To Recognize and Deal With It The IPA is best-known for identifying the seven basic propaganda devices: Name-Calling, Glittering Generality, Transfer, Testimonial, Plain Folks, Card Stacking, and Band Wagon. According to the authors of a recent book on propaganda, "these seven devices have been repeated so frequently in lectures, articles, and textbooks ever since that they have become virtually synonymous with the practice and analysis of propaganda in all of its aspects." (Combs and Nimmo, 1993)
Some argue that the IPA's approach is too simplistic because many messages fall into more than one category. The IPA techniques have also been criticized because they do not account for differences between members of the audience, and they do not discuss the credibility of the propagandist.
There is some validity to these criticisms, but few could quibble with the IPA's basic goal of promoting critical thought among citizens. In The Fine Art of Propaganda, the IPA stated that "It is essential in a democratic society that young people and adults learn how to think, learn how to make up their minds. They must learn how to think independently, and they must learn how to think together. They must come to conclusions, but at the same time they must recognize the right of other men to come to opposite conclusions. So far as individuals are concerned, the art of democracy is the art of thinking and discussing independently together."
PROPOGANDA
Old age and bifocals if monitors would please correct.
Your overlords are well versed in propaganda analysis and have a worksheet:
http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/worksheets/poster_analysis_worksheet.pdf
Looks interesting, thanks.
most definitely bkmk.
Hope and Change. We are the ones we've been waiting for.
Was there anything more inane and vapid in a presidential campaign? Obama scraped the bottom of the barrel to win the LIV vote. Unfortunately, it worked.
bmp
CBS NBC DISNEY and msm affiliates ARE pravda
it is a constant nonstop barrage of commie propaganda
in the media and in the classroom
young people tend to be liberal to start....maturity brings conservatism to the fore
however by funding libtard programs repubs will push us over the cliff.....
WHEN YOU HAVE THE HAMMER ..... USE IT
i learned this in the streets of the bronx growing up
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