The concept of psychological warfare emerged in Nazi Germany and was later adopted by the USA.
The word is a translation of the German “Weltanschauungskrieg” (war of worldviews). Wall Street Lawyer William Donovan “Wild Bill” was one of the first to use it in the context of public relations in the USA. President Franklin Roosevelt appointed him as Director of the new U.S. intelligence agency, the Office of Strategic Services (OSS, predecessor of the CIA) who saw “psychological warfare” as an important stratagem for “engineering of consent” in the public mind (see Chomskys & Hermans “propaganda model”).
William Joseph Donovan (January 1, 1883 – February 8, 1959)
Donovan viewed an understanding of Nazi psychological tactics as a vital source of ideas for “Americanized’’ versions of many of the same stratagems. Use of the new term quickly became widespread throughout the U.S. intelligence community. . . Donovan was among the first in the US to articulate a more or less unified theory of psychological warfare. . . As he saw it, the “engineering of consent” techniques used in peacetime propaganda campaigns could be quite effectively adapted to open warfare. Pro-Allied propaganda was essential to reorganizing the U.S. economy for war and for creating public support at home for intervention in Europe, Donovan believed. Fifth-column movements could be employed abroad as sources of intelligence and as morale-builders for populations under Axis control. He saw “special operations” — meaning sabotage, subversion, commando raids, and guerrilla movements — as useful for softening up targets prior to conventional military assaults. (Simpson. Science of Coercion, 1994, p. 24)
Oxford University Press; January 1996
ISBN: 9780198023623
Title: Science of Coercion
Author: Christopher Simpson
Imprint: Oxford University Press (US)
“Science of Coercion provides the first thorough examination of the role of the CIA, the Pentagon, and other U.S. security agencies in the evolution of modern communication research, a field in the social sciences which crystallized into a distinct discipline in the early 1950s. Government-funded psychological warfare programs underwrote the academic triumph of preconceptions about communication that persist today in communication studies, advertising research, and in counterinsurgency operations. Christopher Simpson contends that it is unlikely that communication research could have emerged into its present form without regular transfusions of money from U.S military, intelligence, and propaganda agencies during the Cold War. These agencies saw mass communication as an instrument for persuading or dominating targeted groups in the United States and abroad; as a tool for improving military operations; and perhaps most fundamentally, as a mfeans to extend the U.S. influence more widely than ever before at a relatively modest cost. Communication research, in turn, became for a time the preferred method for testing and developing such techniques. Science of Coercion uses long-classified documents to probe the contributions made by prominent mass communication researchers such as Wilbur Schramm, Ithiel de Sola Pool, and others, then details the impact of psychological warfare projects on widely held preconceptions about social science and the nature of communication itself. A fascinating case study in the history of science and the sociology of knowledge, Science of Coercion offers valuable insights into the dynamics of ideology and the social psychology of communication.”
“Details how the u.s. government embarked on a covertnoperation to recruit and employ nazi scientists in thenyears following world war ii in an effort to preventntheir knowledge and expertise from falling into thenhands of the soviet union.”
Pellis, N. R.. (2014). Ethics in space medicine: Holocaust beginnings, the present, and the future. In Human Subjects Research After the Holocaust
“Space medicine began as an extension of aeronautical medicine. as airplanes developed the power and speed to achieve higher altitude, it became apparent that there were substantial challenges to human physiology that became obstacles to safe operation and pilot survival. research to understand these challenges was conducted in the early 1930s in the united states and europe. as europe progressed toward major conflict, germany’s third reich instituted a formal research program in aeronautical medicine. to lead this effort they chose a renowned physician and scientist, dr. hubertus strughold. dr. strughold was implicated in experiments during wwii on humans who were detainees of the third reich but never convicted of any crimes. at the end of the war, he came to america under operation paperclip to work for the us air force, where he extended his research from aircraft to spacecraft and coined the term ‘aerospace medicine.’ later he was detailed from the air force to the national aeronautical and space agency (nasa). although strughold’s role in nazi human subjects research has raised ethical questions about the origins of nasa’s space medicine program, the us space program has developed into a model civilian agency operating with the highest of ethical standards in science and exploration. as the agency pursues exploration and colonization of the solar system and deep space, new ethical issues will arise, challenging the agency to maintain these high standards.”
Beach, G. J.. (2013). 1945: Operation Paperclip: America’s First War for Tech Talent. In The U.S. Technology Skills Gap
“DISCUSSES the basic premises and techniques of psychological warfare and how it is used in peacetime as well as during war. a (psycinfo database record (c) 2018 apa, all rights reserved)”
Whittaker, J. O.. (1997). Psychological warfare in Vietnam. Political Psychology
“Although psychological warfare was practiced to a greater degree in the vietnam conflict than in any other war in history, virtually nothing has been published about it. perhaps few wished to be identified with such activity, or it may be that security considerations prevented discussion of the operations. at any rate, the end of the cold war has made it possible to take a brief look at a hitherto unknown (or undiscussed) subject. this article, however, does not make a pretense of being comprehensive for the whole war, but rather reflects personal observations during one brief period of intense fighting-the summer of 1966.”
Doob, L. W.. (1950). Goebbels’ Principles of Propaganda. Public Opinion Quarterly
“For almost a dozen years german propaganda minister goebbels was recognized as a master of his trade by those who fought and by those who acclaimed the nazi state. this article, based on both the published and unpublished portions of goebbels’ diary, summarizes the major propaganda principles which he followed.”
Welch, D.. (2004). Nazi Propaganda and the Volksgemeinschaft: Constructing a People’s Community. Journal of Contemporary History
“This article argues that the concept of a national or peoples community (volksgemeinschaft) was a key element in the revolutionary aims of the nazi regime, and illustrates the remarkably ambitious nature of its propaganda. propaganda presented an image of society that had successfully manufactured a national community by transcending social and class divisiveness through a new ethnic unity based on true german values. but was there a gap between the claims trumpeted in nazi propaganda and social reality? the intention of this article is to reappraise the effectiveness (or otherwise) of volksgemeinschaft by analysing the response from two sections of the community; the industrial working class and german youth.”
Adena, M., Enikolopov, R., Petrova, M., Santarosa, V., & Zhuravskaya, E.. (2015). Radio and the rise of the Nazis in prewar Germany. Quarterly Journal of Economics
“How do the media affect public support for democratic institutions in a fragile democracy? what role do they play in a dictatorial regime? we study these questions in the context of germany of the 1920s and 1930s. during the democratic period, when the weimar government introduced pro-government political news, the growth of nazi popularity slowed down in areas with access to radio. this effect was reversed during the campaign for the last competitive election as a result of the pro-nazi radio broadcast following hitler’s appointment as german chancellor. during the consolidation of dictatorship, radio propaganda helped the nazis to enroll new party members. after the nazis established their rule, radio propaganda incited anti-semitic acts and denunciations of jews to authorities by ordinary germans. the effect of anti-semitic propaganda varied depending on the listeners’ predispositions toward the message. nazi radio was most effective in places where anti-semitism was historically high and had a negative effect in places with historically low anti-semitism. ”
Meyer, M., & Welch, D.. (2006). Propaganda and the German Cinema, 1933-1945. The History Teacher
“This is the most comprehensive analysis to date of nazi film propaganda in its political, social, and economic contexts, from the pre-war cinema as it fell under the control of the propaganda minister, joseph goebbels, through to the end of the second world war. david welch studies more than one hundred films of all types, identifying those aspects of nazi ideology that were concealed in the framework of popular entertainment.”
Kohl, D.. (2011). The Presentation of ” Self ” and ” Other ” in Nazi Propaganda. Psychology & Society
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“Nazi propaganda was based on traditional german values and incorporated then contemporary psychological and biological theories . a first attempt to explain the role of the german population in the holocaust was made by describing an authoritarian personality . another theory , the psychology of the masses , explains group behaviour in terms of ingroup cohesion , feelings of superiority and a decreasedsenseofindividuality.thispaperanalysesspeechesbyadolfhitlerandjosephgoebbelsusingcriticaldiscourseanalysis.inconcurrencewiththepsychologyofthemasses,nazipropagandauseddifferentstrategiesinitspresentationofselfandother,whichaimedtoincreaseingroupcohesionandalsocreatefeartowardsother.furthermore,thesestrategiesencouragedanon-‐humanviewofotherand,fromtheperspectiveofthenazi´s,legitimizedthetreatmentwhichthejewishpeopleendured.alternativeinterpretationsarealsoconsidered.nazipropagandawasbasedontraditionalgermanvaluesandprovidedacompleteexplanationofthepastandpresenteventshappeningintheworld(bytwerk,2008;herf,2006).nazipropagandathereforehadacloserelationshipwitheconomicdisturbancesandalsoincorporatedprominenttheoriesandproblemsofthetime(billig,1978;welch,2004).forexample,thepropagandarelatedtothejewishpeoplewasbasedonthealreadyexistentanti-‐semitismingermany.thiswascoupledwiththefactthatthejewishpeoplewerecenteredinthelargercitiesandincertainfieldsofemployment,leadingtohighsaliencyandanoverestimationoftheiractualnumbersthoughtheyhadactuallyalwaysbeenaminority(herf,2006;kershaw,1980).hence,propagandaisbestunderstoodifplacedinitshistoricalcontextandinconsiderationofitspsychologicalbackground(billig,1978).nazipropagandareliedheavilyonrhetoric,keepingthemainpointssimple,emotionalandinsistent(bytwerk,2008).thegeneraltoneofnazipropagandawasthatofadiscourseoflogicalandrationalcauseandeffect(herf,2006).adolfhitlerassumeddistinctivepositionsinrelationtoboththeingroupandtheoutgroup(potterandlloyed,2005).researchonpersuasionhasshowntheimportanceofcredibility,appealstoemotionsandtheexpectationsoftheaudience,allofwhichwillbeconsideredintheanalysisofthispaper(gilesandrobinson,1990;o’keefe,2002).theself/otherdistinctionisofparticularimportanceinpropaganda,sinceitisameansofjustificationofactionandidentificationoffriendorfoe.furtherinfluentialtheoriesinclude:theauthoritarianpersonality,thepsychologyofthemassesandtherealisticconflicttheory(rct),allofwhichwillbeoutlinedhere.afirstattemptatlookingattheholocaust,intermsofpsychologicalcharacteristicsofthepeopleinvolved,explainedi…”
The Oxford handbook of propaganda studies. (2014). Choice Reviews Online
“This handbook includes 23 essays by leading scholars from a variety of disciplines, divided into three sections: (1) histories and nationalities, (2) institutions and practices, and (3) theories and methodologies. in addition to dealing with the thorny question of definition, the handbook takes up an expansive set of assumptions and a full range of approaches that move propaganda beyond political campaigns and warfare to examine a wide array of cultural contexts and practices. pt. i histories and nationalities — 1. the invention of propaganda : a critical commentary on and translation of inscrutabili divinae providentiae arcano / maria teresa prendergast and thomas a. prendergast — 2. brazilian and north american slavery propagandas : some thoughts on difference / marcus wood — 3. a world to win : propaganda and african american expressive culture / bill v. mullen — 4. literacy or legibility : the trace of subjectivity in soviet socialist, realism / elizabeth a. papazian — 5. narrative and mendacity : anti-semitic propaganda in nazi germany / jeffrey herf — 6. the ‘hidden tyrant’ : propaganda, brainwashing, and psycho-politics in the cold war period / priscilla wald — 7. roof for a house divided : how u.s. propaganda evolved into public diplomacy / nicholas j. cull — 8. ‘thought-work’ and propaganda : chinese public diplomacy and public relations after tiananmen square / gary d. rawnsley — pt. ii institutions and practices — 9. instruction, indoctrination, imposition : conceptions of propaganda in the field of education / craig kridel — 10. books in the cold war : beyond ‘culture’ and ‘information’ / trysh travis — 11. ‘the new vehicle of nationalism’ : radio goes to war / michele hilmes — 12. built on a lie : propaganda, pedagogy, and the origins of the kuleshov effect / john mackay — 13. propagating modernity : german documentaries from the 1930s : information, instruction and indoctrination / thomas elsaesser — 14. ‘order out of chaos’ : freud, fascism, and the golden age of american advertising / lawrence r. samuel — 15. propaganda and pleasure : from kracauer to joyce / mark wollaeger — pt. iii theories and methodologies — 16. ‘the world’s greatest adventure in advertising’ : walter lippmann’s critique of censorship and propaganda / sue curry jansen — 17. propaganda among the ruins / debra hawhee — 18. jacques ellul’s contribution to propaganda studies / randal marlin — 19. the ends of misreading : propaganda, democracy, litera…”
Neudert, L.-M.. (2017). Computational Propaganda in Germany: A Cautionary Tale. Working Paper 2017.7. Oxford, UK: Project on Computational Propaganda.
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“Political actors are using algorithms in efforts to sway public opinion. in some circumstances, the ways coded automation interacts with or affects human users are unforeseeable. in others, individuals and organizations build software that purposefully targets voters, activists, the media and political opponents. computational propaganda is the assemblage of social media, autonomous agents and algorithms tasked with the manipulation of opinion. automated scripts equipped with big data work over social media to advance ideological viewpoints. politicized social bots are one version of potentially malicious programs. state and non-state political actors have used computational propaganda to manipulate conversations, demobilize opposition and generate false support on twitter, facebook and instagram. understanding how technologies like these are used to spread propaganda and misinformation, engage with citizens and influence political outcomes is a pressing problem. we have worked with computer scientists to detect bots and misinformation in ‘real time’ during political events in germany. furthermore, we have interviewed german bot developers, journalists, data scientists, policy makers, academics, cyberwarfare specialists and victims of automated political attacks in order to investigate potential impacts of computational propaganda, especially in relation to the bundestagswahlen 2017 and ongoing right-wing currents in the public discourse. part 1 discusses social bot activity in germany and empirically analyses their employment during elections. part 2 evaluates misinformation and junk news. part 3 examines the political, commercial and social responses to computational propaganda. the findings presented structure the dispersed public debate on online propaganda, relate proposed countermeasures to empirical evidence and serve as a benchmark for evaluating computational propaganda activity in germany.”
Berelson, B., & De Grazia, S.. (1947). Detecting collaboration in propaganda. Public Opinion Quarterly
“The study of mass communications can be divided into three parts: intent analysis, content analysis and effect analysis. this order not only reflects chronology. by placing content analysis in the middle position, it also highlights the contribution of that procedure to the other two, namely, to support inferences about intent on the one hand and effect or response on the other. this paper reports a number of special attempts to discern the intentions of enemy propaganda during world war ii by means of rigorous analysis of the manifest content of the communications under control. among the many other problems in the area of intent analysis is the problem of discovering whether two communications-controlling groups, formally related or not, actually collaborate in their propaganda output; and if so, under what conditions, in what ways, and to what extent. this is the general context of this study. specifically, the subject of investigation was the nature of collaboration between the german and italian propaganda ministries in their short-wave radio output beamed to north america just before and after the entry of the united states into the war.”
Koppang, H.. (2009). Social Influence by Manipulation: A Definition and Case of Propaganda. Middle East Critique
“The article focuses on the understanding of the definition and theory of propaganda. it notes the immediate link of propaganda with political extremism and german war personalities like adolph hitler and josef goebbels. it examines the etymological origin of the word propaganda. it mentions that during the world war i, social commentary became propaganda in the u.s. and at the beginning of the world war ii, propaganda analysis propagated but was later substituted with a new form of communication research. furthermore, it states that the term propaganda was replaced with several words including persuasion, communication, and information in 1940.”
Holmes, A.. (2018). Worldview: The History of a Concept. Philosophia Christi
“Uncle andrew in c.s. lewis’s the magician’s nephew – the wonder of worldview i : protestant evangelicalism : original worldview thinkers in protestant evangelicalism. james orr – gordon h. clark and carl f.h. henry – abraham kuyper – herman dooyeweerd – francis a. schaeffer – the wonder of worldview ii : roman catholicism and eastern orthodoxy. catholicism as worldview – a ‘worldviewish’ pope – orthodoxy and worldview – a sacramental worldview – a philological history of ‘worldview.’ word studies on weltanschauung – the first use of weltanschauung in immanuel kant – the use of weltanschauung in german and other european languages – weltanschauung and ‘worldview’ in the english-speaking world – a philosophical history of ‘worldview’ : the nineteenth century. ‘worldview’ in g.w.f. hegel – ‘worldview’ and ‘lifeview’ in soren kierkegaard – ‘worldview’ in wilhelm dilthey – ‘worldview’ and perspectivism in friedrich nietzsche – a philosophical history of ‘worldview’ : the twentieth century i. ‘worldview’ in edmund husserl – ‘worldview’ in karl jaspers – ‘worldview’ in martin heidegger – a philosophical history of ‘worldview’ : the twentieth century ii. ‘worldview’ and ‘world picture’ in ludwig wittgenstein – donald davidson on ‘conceptual schemes’ – ‘worldview’ and postmodernity – a disciplinary history of ‘worldview’ i : the natural sciences. michael polanyi’s tacit dimension and personal knowledge in the natural sciences – thomas kuhn’s paradigm revolution in the philosophy of science – a disciplinary history of ‘worldview’ ii : the social sciences. ‘worldview’ in psychology. sigmund freud : ‘the question of a weltanschauung’ – c.g. jung : psychotherapy and a philosophy of life” – ‘worldview’ in sociology. karl mannheim : ‘on the interpretation of weltanschauung’ – peter berger and thomas luckmann : the sociology of knowledge and sacred canopy – karl marx and friedrich engels : worldview and ideology – ‘worldview’ in cultural anthropology. michael kearney : worldview – robert redfield : the primitive and modern worldviews – theological reflections on ‘worldview.’ worldviews and ‘worldview’ – christian worldview and ‘worldview.’ issues of objectivity – issues of subjectivity – issues of sin and spiritual warfare – issues of grace and redemption – philosophical reflections on ‘worldview.’ worldview and semiotics – worldview and narrative – worldview and reason – worldview and hermeneutics – worldview and epistemology – concluding reflections. dangers of world…”
Meja, V., Kettler, D., Meja, V., & Kettler, D.. (2018). On the Interpretation of Weltanschauung. In From Karl Mannheim
“In this article, simmel compares and contrasts the philosophical weltanschauungen of kant and goethe. simmel points out that whereas kant’s solution to the problem of knowledge and understanding involved the separation of subject from object, the mediation of senses through the concept and internalization of nature as representation, goethe sought to unify subject and object through the ideation of the senses and the immersion of the subject in nature. simmel points out that for goethe the philosophical first principle was life, leben, not reason. for goethe thought is an organic expression of leben, not the result of an imaginative synthesis of sensory intuitions. at the end of the article simmel seems to suggest that the modern philosophers must decide: kant or goethe! a choice between mechanism and vitalism; ontological separation and immersion.”
Altmann, G.. (2011). Science and Linguistics. In Contributions to Quantitative Linguistics
“Whorf’s hypothesis: language determines the weltanschauung (the community’sview of the world). community difference in thinking and perceiving result from language rather than experience. membership to a language community resticts to a specific weltanschauung and perception of the world.”
