The Specifics of Manipulating Public Consciousness
The phenomenon of manipulation is studied in disciplines that focus on the problems of human relationships within society: philosophy, sociology, communication studies, political science, and psychology. All research conducted within these fields can be divided into two groups, depending on the manipulation situation.
- Situations where an individual is the target of collective entities (such as public, political, religious organizations, financial, economic, and commercial structures, or government bodies) that use complex technologies of covert psychological coercion, mainly through the use of mass media. In this case, we are talking about the manipulation of public opinion (consciousness). This type of manipulation is primarily studied by philosophers, sociologists, and political scientists.
- Situations where an individual is the target of covert psychological coercion at the interpersonal level in everyday life, i.e., interpersonal manipulation of individual consciousness. This approach is typical for the study of manipulation from a psychological perspective.
It is hard not to notice that most works on this topic by political scientists and sociologists are distinctly ideological. Moreover, “…the study of manipulation processes in the former Soviet Union, as well as in other socialist countries, was generally subject to an ideological ban.” Therefore, the problem of manipulation was studied using examples from foreign countries. For a long time, everything was evaluated from an ideological standpoint, so manipulation was seen as a negative phenomenon characteristic only of capitalist countries. Manipulation was defined as the secret, subtle control of workers’ behavior and the spiritual processing of the masses by the exploitative ruling class pursuing its own selfish goals.
As we can see, the very approach to analyzing manipulative influence was ideologically biased, influenced by official Soviet ideology, which permeated all spheres of life. In a totalitarian society, even language is subject to ideologization. However, even in modern works, ideology is still present, as its purpose is to symbolically arrange reality, to give it a specific interpretation.
It is difficult to disagree that “…the system of manipulative techniques, elevated to the level of ideology and interpersonal interaction technology, makes manipulation today one of the most widespread communication techniques in the media. Essentially, it is a form of influence for the benefit of the manipulator, which ‘…continues to actively penetrate the system of information and communication processes, having a destructive effect on people’s psyche.’” This is why manipulations of various types are being studied more actively today.
Manipulation in History and Society
History is especially rich in various manipulations of public consciousness, which have often influenced specific political events and military conflicts, and have led to changes in the socio-economic development of individual countries. Even analysts do not always notice the manipulative techniques being used. For sustainable development, the state must be able to fulfill its tasks of maintaining stability. This can be achieved either with the consent of the people, through legitimate authority oriented at least toward those population groups that political power relies on, or through force.
The state and society have a significant impact on each other, especially in the information sphere. The choice of one path or another is determined by many factors, both external and internal. The conflict that arises in the spiritual and informational spheres takes the form of informational and psychological confrontation. To ensure stability and resolve conflict, the state exerts a comprehensive influence on individual and public consciousness to change their values, goals, and motives, or to protect national interests. Previously, this was referred to as informational-propaganda or ideological influence. The result was the formation of desired ideas, views, and beliefs, which evoked positive or negative emotions, feelings, and even mass reactions. In this sense, the content of informational influence is little different from political struggle.
Modern mass media completely control the dissemination of information, which shapes our perceptions, attitudes, and ultimately, our behavior. By deliberately creating messages that distort reality, they successfully manipulate mass consciousness. According to Paulo Freire, manipulation of the human mind “is a means of enslavement.” It is one of the ways to try to subjugate the masses. There are many methods of manipulation, but it is clear that the main one is control at all levels over the information apparatus and the apparatus of idea formation. This is ensured by the simple rules of the market economy. That is why there is a “war of kompromat” (compromising material) in our media. Only naive people believe this is a side effect of “press freedom.” If you carefully analyze media ownership, it becomes clear why information leaks from law enforcement and intelligence agencies occur. The multi-channel flow of information makes people believe in the illusory concept of free information choice. Myths are created to keep people obedient. When they are subtly implanted into the mass consciousness, as is done through the cultural and informational apparatus, myths gain enormous power because most people are unaware of the manipulation taking place.
Techniques and Effects of Manipulation
Special methods of information transmission make the management process even more effective. The method of transmission itself adds another dimension to the manipulative process. In essence, we are now facing a situation where the form of communication embodies the management of consciousness. For any type of manipulation, an important task is to suppress a person’s psychological resistance to suggestion. Therefore, any manipulation should be a combination of entertainment, information, and persuasion. This makes it harder for the recipient to process the information and develop counterarguments—the basis of resistance to suggestion.
Research in the 1960s increased the effectiveness of manipulation in the press and on television. Newspapers began to use a “kaleidoscopic” arrangement of material, diluting important messages with gossip, contradictory rumors, sensational stories, colorful photos, and advertisements. Television began to compose video sequences in new ways, carefully selecting distracting images. Today, almost all news broadcasts are a kaleidoscopic set of attractive visual images and informational messages about unrelated events. There is a logic to this. Psychologists believe that when there is too much diverse information, a person is unable to process it meaningfully. Therefore, they have to fit it into their consciousness as a whole, i.e., perceive it uncritically. Unprecedented and unusual events (murders, disasters, terrorist acts, major scandals) have an especially strong distracting effect. Under their cover, propagandists instill whatever they need into people.
Interestingly, effective informational influence on a person is not exerted directly by mass media, but through significant, familiar, authoritative people—opinion leaders and rumor transmitters. Unofficial personal communications are more important to people than “official” media messages. In most cases, people’s opinions are formed in the process of communication within the family, at work, etc. In conversations with relatives, friends, and colleagues, people interpret events and facts, developing a common approach in line with their usual values and norms. Thus, to shape the opinion of a wide audience on any issue, it is enough to influence just 10% of its members—the opinion leaders (mediators). These mediators can be informal leaders, politicians, religious figures, cultural, scientific, and artistic figures, athletes, military personnel, and so on. In the psychology of influence, this is called “fixation on authorities.” The main goal of all advertising and PR campaigns is to use “fixation on authorities” to make the target audience buy the desired product or service. For example, you can find an authoritative group leader and give them the product, making it fashionable and prestigious.
One of the most effective propaganda methods is the constant repetition of the same statements so that people get used to them and accept them on faith rather than reason. People always find convincing what they remember, even if the memory comes from the mechanical repetition of a commercial or a catchy jingle. The goal is to influence not the opponent’s ideas and theories, but the everyday consciousness, the “small” thoughts, desires, and actions of the average person. Repetition is the main tool of dishonest propaganda, and it serves as a good indicator of its presence. If the same topic and phrases are repeated daily, something is amiss.
It often happens that the manipulator, to implant their manipulative message in the recipient’s mind, chooses or even performs an action that can be used as an example to justify their position. The action they refer to is selected to best prove its truth. In consciousness manipulation, this mechanism is the same as in advertising, only used more subtly and skillfully.
In times of crisis, when society transitions from one state to another abruptly and under the impression of an impending catastrophe, the process of forming necessary stereotypes cannot keep up with changing reality. The role of informational-political and informational-psychological influence in this context is hard to overestimate.
Language Manipulation and Its Challenges
In conclusion, it should be noted that the problem of language manipulation remains understudied for several reasons: the complexity of describing linguistic manipulation (the fact that almost any manipulation is carried out through language is taken as a given), and the difficulty in uncovering the true goals and motives of the manipulator. Only someone well-versed in the psychology of the manipulated and the situation in which the influence occurs can track the manipulator’s speech behavior and assess the effectiveness of their moves.
References
- Amirov V.M. Agitation Pre-Election Supertext: Content Organization and Implementation Strategies. PhD thesis abstract. Yekaterinburg, 2002.
- Amirov V.M. Macrostrategies of Three Election Campaigns // Cultural and Speech Situation in Modern Russia: Issues of Educational Technologies: Abstracts of the All-Russian Scientific and Methodological Conference (Yekaterinburg, March 19–21, 2000) / Ed. I.T. Vepreva. Yekaterinburg: UrGU, 2000. pp. 4–6.
- Ermakov Yu.A. Manipulation of Personality: Meaning, Techniques, Consequences. Yekaterinburg: Ural University Press, 1995.
- Grachev G.V. Personality and Society: Information-Psychological Security and Psychological Protection. 2nd ed., revised and expanded. Volgograd: Publisher, 2004.