Psychological Operations (A broad explanation)
n. Refers to any
act or "
product" within the
military arena used to influence the behavior of a
foreign Target Audience.
What is a PSYACT/PSYOP Product?A
PSYACT, or
Psychological Action, can be anything from passing out handbills to strategic positioning of
forces(ie placing marines/naval assets off the coast of
Iraq during the
Gulf War). Although it can be noted that
any perticular action could be,(and usually is), construed as a
PSYACT, those with maximum effect are carefully planned and require serious
resources. Please note that the
act of passing out handbills is the
PSYACT, not the
handbills themselves.
A "
product" in this case refers to items produced for the purpose of conveying a
PSYOP message in order to influence a
Target Audience. Products can consist of anything from
newspapers to
posters,
magazines,
radio/
television programs, face-to-face interaction(this falls into a
gray space between a product and a
PSYACT, any novelty items (say no to
drugs!) and most often,
handbills or
leaflets(the only difference between a
handbill and a
leaflet is that one is distributed by
hand, and one
falls from the
sky, respectively). The importance of loudspeakers should also be noted as a viable and time-honored
means of conveying(
disseminating) messages/products.
PSYOP products generally fall into three catagories: Audio, Visual & Audio/Visual
Audio: Basically encompasses all
radio products and
loudspeaker messages, such as advertisements, programs, radio documentaries, etc etc. Loudspeaker messages are typically carried to the desired location of dissemination and
broadcast from there. They include themes such as: "This way to the
refugee camp"(informational), "Surrender or die"(Surrender Appeals), "Please leave the battlefield unless you want to
die"(Reduction of civilian interference). The possibilities are endless. While these methods of dissemination are effective for communicating
short,
frank messages, it is difficult to convey
long,
complex instructions or
ideas through audio-only products.
Visual: Describes any of number of "
eye only" products such as:
posters,
handbills,
leaflets,
grafitti,
books,
brochures, so
on and so
forth. While these products can be used to communicate complex messages,
literacy is often a major
barrier that prevents maximum effectiveness.
Audio/Visual: This rather
wide catagory applies both to
television products and any face-to-face communications. Television has proved to be an extremely effective media for conveying a message, as it is easy to add in lots of "eye candy"(to keep the
Target Audience interested) while allowing an effective message to be conveyed. The hard part is balancing it so as to allow the
Target Audience to actually retain the
content of the message. While it is an effective means of communication, it is very
time and
resource intensive. Face-to-face communications covers any number of messages which are conveyed
in persona to a
Target Audience. This is the most
desirable method of dissemination, as it allows instant feedback from the
Target Audience (the first time someone
spits in your face, you know you done
bad).
Is PSYOP a new thing?(aka, the History of PSYOP)Short answer: Yes. Long Answer: No. Yes in the sense that military PSYOP is considered still somewhat experimental, as it is always changing with the
Target Audience's ongoing change in tastes/
evolution. No in the sense that PSYOP, most notably
PSYACTS, have been going on since the
dawn of mankind.
Alexander the Great, once, when retreating in the face of superior numbers, left huge suits of
armor on the battlefield in an attempt to convince his
foes that he employed the service of
giants.
Genghis Khan often times employed rumors and simultaneous
attacks on remote villages to convince the
world that his rag-tag band of
raiders were in fact a massive
horde. The examples are
endless.
The first major step
forward in the history of PSYOP was the invention of the
printing press by
Johann Gutenberg. This not only facilitated a sharp increase in
literacy(although mainly amongst
royalty), it also introduced the ability to distribute printed
propaganda(please note that the term
propaganda is a
dirty word in PSYOP, as it's intonations are infamous, mostly from the
Nazis and their exquisite
use of it).
Onward to the
Industrial Revolution, which saw the rise of the democracy and the idea of leadership figures(ie presidents, governors, etc) as actual
figureheads instead of
intangible and possibly
fictional characters(ie royalty). Note the
impact of President
Abraham Lincoln's
The Emmancipation Proclamation statement on the
USA at the time and you'll understand the impact of figureheads(also referred to as "
centers of gravity"). Also, the industrial revolution greatly increased the widespread
education and more importantly, the
literacy, of most of the
civilized world. This development was
integral to the future effectiveness of propaganda and PSYOP as a whole.
Fast forward to
World War I, and one will see printed propaganda as key to the
allied victory over the
Germans.
Ottoman, after his surrender in
1918, remarked that he was fascinated by the effectiveness of
allied propaganda in demoralizing his
army, and his
people. This was a lesson that
Hitler later recognized and siezed to his
benefit. When
World War II hit, the Nazi's already had an
awesome(as in it inspired
awe) propaganda machine in place, both
foreign and
domestically. It should be
noted though, that it's most effective propaganda was that which the Nazi's employed against the German populace, in order to encourage them to work hard, produce, turn in
jews, etc etc. They also had a few good ones against the allies, although not many; The key in this situation was the the idiom "Know your audience". While the allies had done careful analysis of the Germans during World War I, the Nazis did not know much about the allies, most notably the
Americans, who proved pivotal in turning the tide of the
war. As earlier mentioned though, they did have a few effective products, such as the infamous "Gentleman Prefer Blondes" handbill, which depicted a busty blonde
frauline on one side, while the other depicted the same female scorning an old, crippled man with the inscription, "But no woman loves a cripple!". This exploited the classical
fear of mutilation amongst troops, but it's effects weren't long-lasting. At this point the Nazis made a major mistake in the unspoken rules of PSYOP:
Never insult the
Target Audience. This was exemplified by many pieces of Nazi propaganda which depicted GI Joe's wife at home in the
States, being seduced by those evil, lecharous, wealthy
jews. Once again, poor
Target Audience analysis. At the same time, over in the pacific, the Americans were fighting the
Japanese, and for the first time, audio products became viable, as shown with the "
Tokyo Rose". While spending many months out to sea, american GI's passed the time listening to the
radio, the most popular of which was a radio program called "Tokyo Rose". The voice of Tokyo Rose was a sensuous
Japanese female with very crisp English. It would mix in things like the latest, most popular music, along with
baseball scores and the occasional PSYOP message("Your wives are at home, sleeping around" although not with jews this
time, perhaps the
Japanese knew better?). But as history reflects, both instances of effective PSYOP were not enough to stop the American war machine. Some postulate that this is the result of an American "tolerance" to PSYOP, credited to the massive bombardment of domestic advertising in America. The "Tokyo Rose" theme was later repeated in Vietnam, under the name of "Hanoi Hannah", and once again the same factors came into play, unfaithful wives and all.
Also, prior to
Vietnam, during
World War Two, in fact, the loudspeaker became a
viable means of communication, although a portable apparatus did not arise until the
Korean War. Most infamous amongst messages during the Korean War was that of the "Wandering Soul", a haunting and eery sound which not only greatly demoralized and
spooked out North Korean troops, but also really
freaked out the South Koreans too. The "Wandering Soul" was an excellent example of exploiting indiginous
taboos and superstitions in order to create an
effective product.
Many
generations, and many
conflicts later, we have PSYOP distilled into a science of
sorts, with several "formulas" for pumping out effective products, although the process relies heavily on individual
ingenuity and products by
GFI (good fuckin' idea!).
ConclusionAll in all, PSYOP is not a means of fighting wars
in itself, but serves as a "combat multiplier", in that it can greatly increase the effectiveness of
conventional military operations if utilized properly, and early on in a
conflict. PSYOP is typically considered part of "Special Operations", and in the
United States, they are the second most frequently deployed group of soldiers, second only to
Special Forces.