how to construct an enemy: threat, demonization, and ......social cognition and the foundations of...
TRANSCRIPT
How to Construct an Enemy: Threat, Demonization, and Propaganda
Presentation prepared for the February 2017 Kentucky State University Bluegrass Intelligence Consortium/Center for Academic Excellence Workshop on Radicalization and Threat, Frankfort, KY.
MARA L. MERLINO, PH.D.
A S S O C I AT E P R O F E S S O R O F P S YC H O LO G Y A N D S O C I O LO G Y A N D C O O R D I N ATO R , M A P R O G R A M I N I N T E R D I S C I P L I N A RY B E H AV I O R A L S C I E N C E
K E N T U C K Y S TAT E U N I V E R S I T Y
Social Cognition and the Foundations of Propaganda
Social cognition is a subfield of social psychology that focuses on how people process, store, and apply information about other people and social situations, including:• Person Perception—Different mental processes used to form impressions and
conclusions about others.
• Attribution—How we explain causes of behavior and events.
• Attitudes—Hypothetical constructs that represent one’s degree of like or dislike for something.
• Discursive Psychology—A form of discourse analysis which focuses on psychological motives, attitudes, and morals that underpin conversations and interactions.
Discourse is a functional social practice that accomplishes social actions.
People are situated by discourse and can mobilize identities by selecting discourse in specific situations.
What is PROPAGANDA?
Propaganda is defined as…
“…the spreading of ideas, information, or rumor for the purpose of helping or injuring an institution, a cause, or a person…”
“…ideas, facts, or allegations spread deliberately to further one's cause or to damage an opposing cause; also : a public action having such an effect.”
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/propaganda
But How and Why Does Propaganda Work?
Propaganda and Persuasion
THE MODEL OF ATTITUDES proposes that attitudes have three components: AFFECT (emotion or feeling)
BEHAVIOR (action)
COGNITION (thought)
The purpose of propaganda is to persuade the receiver of the message to take actions that are favorable to the message sender.
This is accomplished by using powerful, and often offensive, imagery and verbiage to activate cognitions (C) that elicit strong affective responses (A), upon which the targeted audience will act (B).
Social Identity, “-isms”, and Social Distance
Prejudice is an attitude“Old-fashioned” racism—rejection of, and hostility toward, a minority group
“Symbolic” racism—rejects minorities based on values and ideology
Two principle features
◦ Rejection of the principles of old-fashioned racism such as segregationism and supremacy, endorses egalitarianism
◦ Rejects minorities and other outgroups, based on anti-minority affect and strong adherence to traditional values
“Modern” racism—denial that racism is still a problem
Belief that minorities can compete in the marketplace and are receiving an unfair amount of resources
Expression of “-isms”
“Subtle” -isms—cool, distant, indirect
Three components:
(1) defense of traditional values;
(2) exaggeration of cultural differences;
(3) denial of positive emotions
“Blatant” -isms—hot, close, directTwo components:
(1) threat and rejection;(2) opposition to intimate contact with
the outgroup
Propaganda Targeted at Social Identities Distances People From Each Other
“When we perceive through the medium of social categories we do not see what is really there” (Oakes & Haslam, 2001).
Stereotyping is the product of the social and psychological relationship between groups in a particular context
Social identities are inherently political in nature
Focusing on differences between groups makes it easier to demonize them because “they” are so obviously different from “us.”
Propaganda Often Targets Fears and Inflates Stereotypes
Stereotype-Based Propaganda is Used to Effect Social Control…
How Feminist Propaganda is Destroying Men’s Lives
“…Desperate at this point to have been born a woman or a gay man so he didn’t have to bear the burden of being a heterosexual white male, seeping malevolent privilege and doomed to stalk the planet oppressing all those to cross his path, Aaronson “scoured the feminist literature for any statement to the effect that [his] fears were as silly as [he] hoped they were,” only to find the opposite.”
http://www.breitbart.com/london/2015/01/02/how-feminist-propaganda-is-destroying-mens-lives/
…and to Justify Aggression Against Members of the Outgroup
We have problems! Who’s to blame?
People Must Be Dehumanized and Demonized to Justify Aggression
Propaganda Elicits Fear and Distrust
German leaflet campaign designed to create dissent among allied soldiers from the U.S. and Britain.
A Tale of Two Discourses: The Players
Energy Transfer
“…a Texas-based company that began in 1995 as a small intrastate natural gas pipeline operator and is now one of the largest and most diversified investment grade master limited partnerships in the United States. Growing from roughly 200 miles of natural gas pipelines in 2002 to approximately 71,000 miles of natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs), refined products, and crude oil pipelines today, the Energy Transfer Family of Partnerships remains dedicated to providing exceptional service to its customers and attractive returns to its investors.”
The Standing Rock Sioux and Thousands of Native Americans, Environmental Activists, Military Veterans, and Other Interested Parties
Just the Facts
Energy Transfer is constructing a 1,172 mile long sweet crude oil transfer pipeline across four states (North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, and Illinois) to link the Bakken/Three Forks ND oil fields to a terminus near Patoka, IL.
The completed pipeline will transport an estimated 470,000-570,000 barrels of crude per day.
Constructing the pipeline involves obtaining easements and access to privately owned land and lands that impact the welfare of sovereign Native American nations and others.
The Discourse
Energy Transfer’s perspective of the Dakota Access Pipeline route. What do you see?
Source: http://www.daplpipelinefacts.com/
Energy Transfer: “An offer you can’t refuse.”
The pipeline will translate into millions in state and local revenues during the construction phase and an estimated $156 million in sales and income taxes.
The Dakota Access Pipeline Project is a $3.7 billion investment into the United States directly impacting the local and national labor force by creating 8,000–12,000 construction jobs and up to 40 permanent operating jobs.
The committed volume rates of the pipeline project have already created historically high shipment ratios, with the pipeline projected to carry half of the Bakken’s current daily crude oil production.
The pipeline will meet or exceed state and federal safety requirements and at a minimum will be designed in accordance with 49 Code of Federal Regulations Part 195.
Source: http://www.daplpipelinefacts.com/about/overview.html
But in the Fine Print…
Q: What if I do not agree to allow surveyors on my property?
A: DAPL's goal is to work with all landowners to obtain voluntary survey permission and to be good neighbors in the communities where we operate…In the event that survey permission is denied, laws in each state we propose to operate may require the project to obtain the court's permission to survey property. In those occurrences where a court order is required for survey, the landowner may be responsible for legal fees related to the proceeding, should the court mandate such payment.
Q: What happens if a landowner and DAPL Cannot agree on an easement?
A: At this point, various legal options are available both to property owners and Dakota Access Pipeline.
Source: http://www.daplpipelinefacts.com/landowner-facts/landowner-qa.html
The Discourse
The Standing Rock Sioux’s perspective of the Dakota Access Pipeline route. What do you see?
https://www.reddit.com/r/MapPorn/comments/5ann72/the_black_snake_in_sioux_country_1400_1176/
The Protesters: “Get off my lawn.”
This is the third time that the Sioux Nation’s lands and resources have been taken without regard for tribal interests. The Sioux peoples signed treaties in 1851 and 1868. The government broke them before the ink was dry.
When the Army Corps of Engineers dammed the Missouri River in 1958, it took our riverfront forests, fruit orchards and most fertile farmland to create Lake Oahe.
Now the Corps is taking our clean water and sacred places… Whether it’s gold from the Black Hills or hydropower from the Missouri or oil pipelines that threaten our ancestral inheritance, the tribes have always paid the price for America’s prosperity.
Protecting water and our sacred places has always been at the center of our cause...Many of us have been here before, facing the destruction of homelands and waters, as time and time again tribes were ignored when we opposed projects like the Dakota Access pipeline.
And furthermore…
Our…cause is just…not just for the interests of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, but also for those of our neighbors on the Missouri River: The ranchers and farmers and small towns who depend on the river have shown overwhelming support for our protest.
As American citizens, we all have a responsibility to speak for a vision of the future that is safe and productive for our grandchildren. We are a peaceful people…committed to nonviolence; it is our constitutional right to express our views and take this stand…Yet the lieutenant governor…has threatened to use his power to end this historic, peaceful gathering.
As our songs and prayers echo across the prairie, we need the public to see that in standing up for our rights, we do so on behalf of the millions of Americans who will be affected by this pipeline.
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/25/opinion/taking-a-stand-at-standing-rock.html
What are the Discursive Themes?
ENERGY TRANSFER
State and local revenues
Sales and income taxes
Investment in the US
Creation of jobs in the local and national labor force
High shipment ratios (less dependence on foreign oil)
Financial gain and minimal financial loss for landowners
BUT—Maybe a law suit if…?
STANDING ROCK SIOUX
Taking of tribal lands and resources
Tribal sovereignty and broken treaties
Destruction of tribal assets and sacred places
Possible destruction of natural resources
Persecution and voicelessness
Justice
Invocation of citizenship and rights
Peaceful protest
In Discursive Psychological Terms:
Discourse is constitutive, actively shapes perceptions and reality and builds versions of the world
◦ Culture, history, politics, and economics are all evident in the competing discourses
Discourse is a functional social practice that accomplishes social actions◦ Each party uses discourse to achieve desired ends
Discursive resources and practices include recurrent metaphors, arguments, and terms as strategies and devices
◦ Competing interests use imagery, color, and language to invoke support for their positions
People are situated by discourse and can mobilize identities by selecting discourse in specific situations
◦ Energy Transfer mobilizes a corporate identity that portrays them as caring, responsible, environmentally aware, and economically advantageous
◦ Standing Rock mobilizes an identity that portrays them as sacred, mystical, and noble protectors who uphold the rights of others although they have been historically persecuted
Using Discursive Analyses
Discourse is how we accomplish actions, so it is important to understand current and past conversations about your topic.
Engage stakeholders in a culturally competent manner by understanding their historical, cultural, and political positions.
Use the discourse you are able to access to anticipate possible objections to your proposals and be prepared to suggest realistic solutions in a palatable way.
LISTEN CAREFULLY—To feel that one is heard is to feel that one is understood.
LISTEN ACTIVELY—Reflect what you hear.
LISTEN MINDFULLY—With the intent to understand before you respond.
Questions?
Contact information: Mara L. Merlino
Hathaway Hall 229, Kentucky State University
400 E. Main Street
Frankfort, KY 40601
(502) 597-5053
Thank you!