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Age of Propaganda summary

Name: Age of Propaganda
Rating: 3.9 (93 reviews)
Author: Anthony Pratkanis and Elliot Aronson

Anthony Pratkanis Elliot Aronson

The Everyday Use and Abuse of Persuasion

3.9 (93 ratings)

22 mins

Brief summary

'Age of Propaganda' by Anthony Pratkanis and Elliot Aronson explores how propaganda and persuasion is used to manipulate public opinion and behavior. It provides insights into the techniques used and how to defend against them.

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Age of Propaganda
Summary of 9 key ideas

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Key idea 1 of 9

What’s in it for me? Learn to spot and fight propaganda.

With the exception of dictators and authoritarian leaders whose every whim becomes law, those in power usually have to use alternative methods – namely persuasion and propaganda – to achieve their aims and bring the general public on board. By carefully manipulating our view of the world, people in positions of power strive to make us act the way they want us to, often without us being aware of it at all.

But persuasion and propaganda are not limited to the realm of politics; in fact, we’re subject to propaganda from companies and other organizations every day, most of which is designed to, say, make us buy things against our better judgment or lure us into shady cults.

The good news is we can learn to see this propaganda for what it is: hot air. By exposing the techniques and strategies of the propagandists, we can create a better society and make better choices.

In these blinks, you’ll learn

the difference between persuasion and propaganda;
why Rush Limbaugh calls his supporters “dittoheads;” and
how to protect your kids from propaganda.

Persuasion is built on rational thought and the weighing of different perspectives.

People are constantly trying to sway others’ decisions in one direction or another. But this isn’t always as nefarious as it sounds; by using persuasive techniques to influence decision making, these people are offering us the opportunity to make informed choices grounded in facts.

Such persuaders intend to offer people enough information on the issue at hand to allow them to make a rational choice. A typical persuasion technique is to state both an argument and a counterargument, only to immediately disprove the counterargument based on facts to support one’s case.

In this way, persuasion is often a result of long discussions in which one person’s opinion actively transforms as a result of another person making a stronger case for his perspective. It’s clear to the persuaded person that his opinion has been changed and he’s comfortable with that.

This manner of argumentation is based on the central route of information processing, which transfers information through detailed argumentation and is crucial to successful persuasion.

People who are persuaded centrally are ready to receive information-dense messages. They’re not interested in any old information, but would rather take their time weighing the strengths and weaknesses of different positions.

Because of this focus, such people are fully concentrated on the message they’re discussing, and they thus devote all their mental faculties to understanding the message, as well as their own opinions on the issue. When arguments are made in this way, people are capable of making educated decisions by assessing information from different sources.

However, not all arguments are made in such a straightforward way. In the following blinks, you’ll learn about another widely used technique of persuasion that’s not nearly as fair; it’s called propaganda and you can find it just about everywhere you look.

Propaganda confuses its message in order to disseminate information without people realizing it.

Unlike persuasion, propaganda doesn’t intend for its targets to have a fair chance of holding onto their own opinions. Instead, it works to catch them off guard, influencing them without them even realizing it.

To do so, propagandists deliver their messages in attractive packages, preventing consumers from focusing on what’s actually being said. This practice is accomplished through positive language and the framing of information in an appealing way in order to distract consumers from contemplating the factuality of the statements.

The credibility of a source and the message it conveys are both crucial to successful propaganda.

So, propaganda is all about misleading people, and while it comes in many forms, it’s always based on the four stratagems of influence. Let’s take a look at the first two: source credibility and message.

Source credibility means that the person receiving the message will be inclined to trust the person delivering it. Propagandists carefully select people to deliver their messages as a way of dazzling their audiences and forcing them to focus on the physical appearance of the source, rather than the words being delivered. A classic trick is to use a much-adored, respected or trusted public figure who appeals to the audience.

Propagandists set us up to side with them and use our emotions to guide our decisions.

You just learned how propagandists use source credibility and misleading messages – now it’s time to take a look at the other two stratagems of influence: prepersuasion and emotions.

The first, prepersuasion, is a way of creating a vulnerable mindset in the target. For instance, the incredible levels of violence depicted on TV don’t reflect the world at large; crimes are ten times less likely to happen in real life than they are on TV.

The entertainment value of the mass media increases our vulnerability to propaganda.

It’s no secret that the modern world is a message-rich environment. Every day we’re told all kinds of different things, but few of these messages come with many details or explanations.

Such an overload of generalized information only further increases our predisposition toward laziness and exacerbates our failure to properly consider what we’re seeing and hearing. In this climate, many people become addicted to entertainment, an addiction that the mass media is perfectly positioned to cater to.

Our need to rationalize our behavior and be socially accepted are turned against us by propagandists.

Humans are naturally social and rational creatures, and propagandists know just how to take full advantage of this. The reality of human tendencies can often trap people in a vicious cycle, as we’re likely to prolong bad decisions as a means of rationalizing our behavior and saving face.

Take smokers, who are huge rationalizers. Lots of people who attempt to give up smoking end up failing because they come up with infinite reasons why they should continue their unhealthy habit. These people tell themselves they have to smoke because all their friends do, or that they’d rather live a short and happy life than a long, miserable one.

War makes great use of propaganda.

One specific use for the tools of propaganda is war. In fact, some of the biggest beneficiaries of propaganda are politicians who use misleading information to build public support for brutal military campaigns. They rely on public backing to maintain societal stability and convince soldiers to go into battle.

War is thus a great example of how propaganda, rationalization and fear work in tandem to influence the public. For instance, the US invasion of Iraq was sold to the American people as a necessary, rational action to depose Saddam Hussein, a Hitler-like dictator.

Cults use propagandistic techniques to gain members.

People tend to think that cults brainwash people through some sort of witchcraft, but the fact of the matter is that cults use exactly the same techniques as any other propagandistic group – just with different names.

For cults, the name of the game is reciprocity, distraction and self-sell. The first of these, reciprocity, is a powerful tool since humans are inclined to reciprocate acts of kindness they’re shown, even something as small as the gift of a flower, which Hare Krishnas hand out to entice new devotees. Such gifts increase your likelihood of engaging with such people, as you feel like you owe them something.

By understanding propaganda, you can fight it.

It’s easy to get frustrated when you consider the sheer volume of propaganda people are exposed to on a daily basis from politicians, advertisers and the mass media. The disillusionment that this climate fosters also breeds complacency, as people tend to think that propaganda won’t affect them. But there are concrete ways that you can make positive changes to this situation.

For one, you can educate yourself and your children about how propaganda functions. This is a vital step, as children are commonly targeted by propaganda in the form of commercials for toys and fast food. These ads play on repeat during Saturday morning cartoons and during the commercial breaks for educational programming in schools.

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What is Age of Propaganda about?

Age of Propaganda (2001) is an in-depth look into the world of deception that is propaganda. These blinks will walk you through the different techniques propagandists rely on to successfully change people’s opinions and show how these tactics have become part of your everyday life.

Age of Propaganda Review

Age of Propaganda (1992) examines the pervasive nature of propaganda and its influence on our thoughts, beliefs, and actions. Here's why this book is a worthwhile read:

Explores the psychological tactics used in propaganda, empowering readers to recognize and resist manipulation in their daily lives.
Offers insightful analysis of historical and contemporary examples of propaganda, providing a comprehensive understanding of this powerful phenomenon.
Provocative and thought-provoking, the book challenges readers to question their own beliefs and behaviors, sparking a deeper awareness of the world around them.

Who should read Age of Propaganda?

Students of psychology and marketing
Consumers of all walks of life
Advertising professionals

About the Author

Anthony Pratkanis is a professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz as well as an advertising and political consultant. He is a coauthor of Weapons of Fraud: A Source Book for Fraud Fighters, among other titles.

Elliot Aronson is one of the 100 preeminent psychologists of the twentieth century and the recipient of many awards, including the William James Award for Lifetime Achievement, awarded by the Association for Psychological Science.

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