INFORMATIONAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL IMPACT ON THE BEHAVIOR OF SOCIAL GROUPS Albakov Akhmet Magametbashirovich

student

Russia, Moscow

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annotation: The article discusses the algorithm and methods of countering the information-psychological influence on the behavior of social groups, provides their classification, and also defines the general rules and principles for implementing the technology of influence in the social environment, based on the processes implemented by the subject being influenced.

Keywords: information war, information impact, information security, behavior manipulation, information

The technique of purposefully conducting mass propaganda events and methods of information and psychological influence on social groups has developed throughout the history of mankind.

Information and psychological influence, in its most general form, can be considered as a complex coordinated set of measures of a political, economic, organizational, technical and military nature, as well as reconnaissance, subversive and information and propaganda actions carried out to influence individuals and various categories of the population , personnel of the armed forces, employees of government structures and government of the country or individual regions, members of political parties, public organizations and movements in order to change their feelings, mental states, opinions, attitudes and behavior in such a way that this contributes to the achievement of goals beneficial to individuals, groups, social organizations, certain government or other structures of the country that is the subject of these operations.

The objects of information and psychological influence can be: individuals, the population, governments and armies of hostile, friendly and neutral countries, and in some situations the population and army of their own country. Information and psychological influence is carried out in peacetime and war, as well as in crisis situations.

Depending on the information technology used, several means of information and psychological influence:

Oral exposure, including the use of acoustic means of voice amplification and noise effects;

Exposure associated with the use of printed products;

Exposure using television and radio communications. Television has practically unlimited possibilities for shaping the consciousness of the masses. It’s better to see once than to hear a hundred times, says a Russian proverb. While watching television programs, a kind of mental infection occurs with certain states, a response to unconscious influences (subcortical stimuli);

Impact based on the use of computer technology and the Internet. At this point, it is no longer in doubt that the impact that the Internet can have on a user's identity is more profound and systemic than the impact of any other technological system. This also includes the impact of computer games on the human psyche and consciousness.

Distinguish several types of information and psychological influence:

Spontaneous impacts caused by technological operating modes of certain information systems (for example, electromagnetic radiation from communication, computer or television equipment);

Deliberate manipulative influences on a person with the purpose of explicit or hidden inducement to certain actions (information and propaganda, etc.).

Information and propaganda impact – this is a massive active influence with words and information with the aim of forming certain views and beliefs.

Information and psychological influence can be carried out at two levels: theoretical-ideological and everyday psychological. The theoretical-ideological level involves a struggle between worldviews, scientific concepts, cultural values, and here there is mainly an impact on the intellectual sphere of the individual through propaganda, disinformation, and the use of logical argumentation, i.e. using persuasion methods.

At the everyday psychological level, the struggle is for mass sentiments and preferences, and here they use the method of suggestion and means of suppression. If persuasion is the active comprehension and acceptance of information depending on the arguments given, then suggestion, unlike beliefs, penetrates the human psyche without active attention, without processing, and is strengthened as an object of passive perception.

One of the highest methods of information and psychological influence per person, the method of manipulation is information war-- coordinated activities to use information as a weapon for destructive influence on the enemy in various spheres: economic, political, social and on the battlefield. Information warfare is a war of a new type, its main object is not only information systems, but, above all, the consciousness of people, their behavior and health. That is, information warfare involves both an impact on the enemy’s information systems and infrastructure, and on the psychological structure of the state, society and individual.

Conducting information wars presupposes the presence and use of certain means of struggle, that is, weapons.

Experts divide information weapons that directly affect a person into two types:

1) Information-psychological weapon directed primarily at a person’s consciousness and through it influencing behavior, beliefs, motives and needs, moral attitudes, attitude towards what is happening in society. All media, the Internet, public speaking, conversations, suggestion, hypnosis, etc. can be used as such weapons.

2) Energy-information weapons affecting the physiology and psychophysiology of a person, bypassing his consciousness. A person is not aware of the fact of the impact, but depending on its type, he begins to feel either cheerfulness, self-confidence, or depression, anxiety, fear, aggressiveness against the backdrop of a loss of the ability to control his actions. In nature, such a psychophysical effect can be exerted, for example, by solar flares, affecting the bioelectrical activity of the brain and the general condition of a person.

Radar systems, spacecraft, low-frequency and high-frequency generators, dowsing installations, chemical and biological agents and other devices can be used as sources of energy-information influence.

With the help of energy information weapons, you can change people’s behavior, for example, reduce or “inflame” the intensity of demonstrations, riots and thereby influence current social processes.

The goals of information wars and the use of information weapons are: gaining superiority over the enemy and inflicting defeat on him both in a specific act of confrontation or a separate military operation, and in foreign and domestic policy, economics, and the defense capability of the country as a whole.

Objectives of using information weapons:

undermining the international authority of the state and its cooperation with other countries; manipulating public consciousness within the country, creating an atmosphere of lack of spirituality and immorality, a negative attitude towards the national heritage; provoking political tension and chaos within the country, initiating ethnic and religious clashes, strikes, riots and other protests; misinformation of the population about the history of the country, about the work of government bodies, undermining their authority, discrediting the entire management system; violation of the control system for troops, weapons and military equipment, high-risk objects; causing serious damage to the vital interests of the state in political, economic, social and other spheres of activity.

All of the listed changes occurring in the sphere of human relationships with natural, but even more so with artificial information environments, come down mainly to the need to comprehend and solve two problems:

1. Create a system of environmental control of a person’s global information environment, since genetically determined mechanisms of suggestibility cannot provide him with the opportunity to survive in the conditions that are formed by modern means of information influence.

2. The task arises of protecting the human psyche by developing an information culture. Obviously, a person should not perceive the information received as the ultimate truth, but should not fence himself off from it. It is important to learn to interpret information, understand its essence, take a personal position in relation to the hidden meaning, find the required information in various sources, systematize it, find errors in the information received, perceive alternative points of view and express reasonable arguments, establish connections, isolate the main thing in the information message.

The formation of an information culture is the primary task of university libraries, since they have a huge combined information and scientific potential, which already allows us to formulate the theory and practice of information and psychological protection within the framework of noospheric thinking.

conducting interviews with officers and warrant officers

Subject: « AND INFORMATION SECURITY AND PROTECTION OF PERSONNEL FROM NEGATIVE INFORMATION AND PSYCHOLOGICAL IMPACT"

STUDY QUESTIONS

1) Information security: essence and content.

2) The role and place of psychological operations in information warfare.

Time - 2 hours

Method - story, conversation.

Location - class

Lesson objectives :

1. Explain the essence and features of the psychological impact on troops.
2. To develop border guards’ skills in working with various types of social information.
3. To cultivate in border guards the qualities necessary to counteract negative information and psychological influence from the enemy.
4. To form psychological readiness to endure difficulties in the conditions of educational and work activities.

3). Protection of personnel from negative information and psychological influences.

INTRODUCTION

Structural changes in the world order over the past few years have led to a fundamental change in the geopolitical situation and balance of power in the world. Today, the world community is at the stage of transition from the confrontation of the bipolar East-West structure to new international relations, which open up great opportunities for constructive cooperation, settlement of controversial issues and conflicts through political means, through dialogue, and mutually acceptable compromises.

For Russia, the changes that have occurred, to a much greater extent than for other states, have had the most direct and dramatic impact on almost all aspects of its international and domestic situation, including its approach to national security problems.

Security is a very complex socio-political phenomenon, the meaning of which seems completely clear to anyone. This is, first of all, the absence of danger to vital interests, which are a set of needs, the satisfaction of which reliably ensures the existence and possibilities for the progressive development of the individual, society and state.

Until recently, both in theory and in practice, the main attention was paid to ensuring the military security of the state. Today, the limitations of this approach have already become obvious, since the scientific and technological revolution has led to the creation of an information community, where information is considered one of the main factors in the control of the modern world, the main instrument of power. Information becomes a strategic national resource, one of the main wealth of the state. However, the rapid improvement of information technologies and their penetration into literally all spheres of people’s lives have led, in addition to undoubted advantages, to the emergence of a number of strategic problems.

The most important among them was the need to ensure information security of the individual, society, state and its institutions. An analysis of the processes in this area indicates the emergence of new types of wars - information wars, defeat in which is incommensurate in its consequences with defeat in a conventional war. Failure to ensure reliable protection of information and one's national spiritual values ​​can lead to the disintegration of the state's social institutions, including law enforcement agencies, and casts doubt on the historical prospects for the development of any society.

The overall system for ensuring information security of the state must also address the problems of information security of troops. along with other main directions of this activity in the bodies and troops of the Federal Border Guard Service of Russia, is the protection of personnel from negative information and psychological influences and counteraction to psychological operations aimed at reducing the morale of personnel.

QUESTION 1. Information security: essence and content

Even in the ancient world, they came to the conclusion that exposure to information is a powerful weapon. In China, for example, back in the fourth century BC, the implementation of information influence on the enemy was considered part of the art of war.

To achieve victory, the warring parties spread rumors about the predominant number of their troops, about the supposedly planned maneuver of forces and means, about the loyal treatment of prisoners, about the presence of new weapons, demonstrated military power, created and spread the opinion of invincibility, etc. By doing this, they sought to exert information pressure on the consciousness, feelings, and will of the civilian population and enemy soldiers in order to change their views, attitudes, behavior and thereby mobilize their potential and demoralize the enemy.

Today's reality urgently requires a new approach to national security problems. It is becoming more and more obvious that in the confrontation between individual states and their entire coalitions, a new phenomenon is emerging.

The so-called “non-lethal” weapons, which include information and psychological weapons, are becoming increasingly important. The widespread informatization of the armed forces has created a qualitatively new situation in the development of military affairs. A clear illustration of this is the armed conflicts and wars of the last decades of the 20th century, especially the events in the Persian Gulf area. Their analysis clearly demonstrates that the course and outcome of military operations of any scale in the modern world are determined by the art of information warfare.

The modern scientific and technological revolution has made a genuine revolution in the information war: psychological operations have begun to be carried out more actively and globally, electronic warfare is developing, new information technologies are being intensively introduced, and its consequences are becoming more and more widespread.

So, information war- represents actions taken to achieve information superiority by influencing information, information-based processes, information systems and computer networks of the enemy, while simultaneously protecting one's own information-based processes, information systems and computer networks.

It is necessary to distinguish between two directions of information warfare: information-technical and information-psychological.

IN information technology war The main objects of influence and protection are information technology systems: communications, telecommunications, radio-electronic, computer and others.

IN information-psychological warfare the main objects of influence and protection are the psyche of the personnel and population of the opposing sides; systems for forming public opinion and making decisions.

The study of armed conflicts of the second half of the 20th century shows that there was a shift in efforts towards the use of forces and means of information and psychological influence, and new methods of their use appeared at an earlier period, that is, before the outbreak of hostilities.

It seems to a person that he thinks about what he wants, but acts as he thinks. In fact, his life is constantly dependent on incoming internal and external information. It is in this sense that we can talk about a new, most modern, non-lethal type of weapon, namely an information weapon. This is, first of all, specially selected information, under the influence of which a person performs actions previously planned by other (influencing) social actors. As a rule, a person’s behavior does not depend directly on a given situation, but on how it is perceived by his consciousness and is determined by a system of standards, psychological attitudes that are accepted under the influence of the social environment and personal experience, and psychological factors. Knowing this “system”, you can predict people’s behavior, and by creating it, you can cause the desired behavior. The compiled program of human behavior requires not direct, not explicit, but hidden, gradual and systematic influence of information on the psyche, primarily on the emotional and unconscious spheres, at a certain time and in a certain place.

It should be noted that until recently the problem of ensuring information security in our country was not only not raised, but was actually ignored. In recent years, Russia has realized the need to ensure information security. An Interdepartmental Commission on Information Security has been created within the Security Council, which carries out the functions of coordinating work in this area. A draft Concept (Doctrine) of information security of the Russian Federation has been developed.

Under information security It is customary for the Russian Federation to understand the state of protection of the vital interests of citizens, society and the state in the information environment. In turn, the information environment of society is a set of information resources, a system for the formation, distribution and use of information, information infrastructure.

It should be borne in mind the presence of both external and internal threats to information security, as a combination of factors that create a danger to the functioning and development of the information environment of society. In particular, external threats include the following: the desire of some countries to dominate the global information sphere; the development by a number of states of the concepts of “information wars”, which provide for the creation of means of dangerous influence on the information spheres of other countries of the world, the desire of some states to reduce the use of the Russian language as a means of communication.

Internal threats to information security should include: the lack of historical, political and social experience of life in a civil society and a rule of law state, which significantly complicates the process of practical implementation of the constitutional rights and freedoms of citizens, including in the information sphere; lack of noticeable success in implementing economic transformations of society; destruction of the moral values ​​of Russian society.

It is advisable to include the following main tasks of ensuring information security:

• determining the vital interests of society and the state in the information sphere, identifying, assessing and forecasting threats to information security;
• development of the main directions of state policy for ensuring information security, a set of measures and mechanisms for implementing this policy;
• improving the regulatory framework; coordination of the activities of government bodies, enterprises, institutions and organizations, regardless of their form of ownership, in the field of ensuring information security;
• improving the organization, forms, methods and means of preventing and neutralizing threats to information security and eliminating the consequences of manifestations of these threats;
• providing conditions for active participation in the processes of creating and using global information networks and systems.

In recent years, the Russian Federation has begun to develop a framework for legal support for information security at various levels, and work has begun to create mechanisms for its implementation in government bodies and organizations.

At the same time, an analysis of the current state of information security in various spheres and areas of an individual’s life shows that its level does not fully meet the needs of society and the state. Modern conditions of the country's political and socio-economic development cause an aggravation of contradictions between the needs of society to expand the free exchange of information and the need to maintain certain restrictions on its dissemination.

Insufficient security of information resources leads to the loss of important political, economic, scientific, technical and military information.

The insecurity of citizens' rights to access information and the manipulation of information sometimes cause a negative reaction from the population, which in some cases leads to destabilization of the socio-political situation in society.

In this regard, it should be especially emphasized that the implementation of various types of information security threats can create obstacles to equal cooperation between Russia and foreign countries, complicate the adoption of the most important political, economic and other decisions, undermine the authority of the Russian Federation in the international arena, and upset the balance of interests of the individual and society and the state, discredit public authorities, provoke social, national and religious conflicts, initiate strikes and riots.

For the progressive social development of the country, its defense capability and border security, the greatest danger is posed by violations of the constitutional rights of citizens to operate in the information sphere; all types of intelligence activities of foreign states; psychological operations of potential opponents; activities of foreign political, economic and military structures directed against the interests of the Russian Federation. These threats will pose a particular danger in the context of an aggravated military-political situation.

The most sensitive to negative information and psychological influences is the sphere of spiritual life. The public consciousness and political orientation of various groups of the population of the country (regions) are in serious danger; a system for forming public opinion and informing the population about events in the socio-political and economic life of the country. Therefore, preventing and neutralizing threats in this area requires solutions taking into account the cultural and historical traditions of our multinational country. And only on this basis is it possible to identify the most real threats for a particular region, assess the degree of their danger, determine the main directions of activity of the command, headquarters, structures for educational work to protect personnel, and create the most favorable conditions for solving service and combat tasks.

QUESTION 2. The role and place of psychological operations in information warfare

Information influence was used in the wars of slave states. However, only with the beginning of the 20th century did it acquire the clearest scientific outlines.

Today, the methods of influencing the way people think and behave have become more advanced, and therefore more effective. But their goal has remained - to help achieve their goals, solve specific problems through a variety of ways and techniques of changing opinions, feelings and attitudes, and ultimately the behavior of groups of people who are the object of an information war.

Currently, in Western countries, the entire range of measures of information and psychological influence on troops and the enemy population is designated by the term “psychological operations.”

Term "psychological operations"(instead of the term “psychological warfare” it is an independent type of influence, an effective weapon, the use of which can make it possible to abandon military force altogether.

In NATO armies The organization of psychological operations is regulated by directives, charters and instructions. According to NATO guidance documents, psychological operations are planned psychological activities in peacetime and wartime, aimed at enemy, friendly and neutral audiences in order to influence their behavior and attitudes (views) related to the achievement of certain political and military goals.

. In the US Army The activities of commanders in determining the general orientations, scale, intensity, forms and methods of implementation, information and psychological actions within the framework of psychological operations are regulated by the field charter “Psychological Operations” (1993). It defines psychological operations as planned operations to convey selective information and attitudes to foreign audiences with the goal of influencing their emotions, motives, objective judgments, and ultimately the behavior of foreign governments, organizations, groups, and individuals.

Psychological operations are divided into strategic, operational and tactical. Strategic - are carried out on a global scale to achieve long-term goals, in the interests of creating a favorable environment for conducting military operations. Operational- are carried out in certain regions and pursue medium-term goals to support military campaigns or major military operations. Tactical - are implemented for short-term purposes and are directed to support combat operations of troops at the tactical level. This entire complex of operations is planned and carried out on the basis of decisions of commanders-in-chief, commanders and commanders of various ranks in peace and war.

The tasks of psychological operations carried out within the framework of information warfare include:

— bringing discrete messages to enemy control, reconnaissance and communications systems;

- creating ideas and opinions among the enemy that can be used in the interests of operational camouflage and disinformation of the enemy command and intelligence and information systems;

— informing the foreign population about the goals, intentions and combat power of American troops (forces); reducing casualties among civilians and minimizing damage to civilian objects during hostilities;

— increasing the effectiveness of demonstrating to the enemy the combat power of one’s troops by calling for surrender and strengthening the image of US technological superiority.

- reducing the effectiveness of enemy propaganda and disinformation campaigns against American troops, discrediting the sources of media attacks on the operations of the US Armed Forces and/or multinational forces.

The main objectives of psychological operations carried out in preparation for an armed invasion are considered to be: convincing public opinion of the correctness of military intervention; influencing the military-political leadership of the enemy and his allies in order to force them to refuse or refrain from entering the war; undermining trust in the country's leadership; interaction with the forces fighting underground; impact on the population of friendly countries; promoting the development of goodwill among the population of neutral countries; undermining morale, creating a climate of uncertainty and anxiety among the personnel of the enemy army, reducing its combat effectiveness; carrying out analytical work to reveal the enemy’s vulnerabilities.

The very term “psychological operations” indicates that in order to achieve the goals of subversive activities, the findings of psychological science are widely used and that they are aimed, first of all, at changing the psychological (mental) states of the enemy.

An illustrative example of the effectiveness of information and psychological influence is the military conflict in the Persian Gulf in 1990-1991. Noteworthy is the high information and technical equipment of the psychological operations units of the multinational forces. They were armed with mobile and stationary technical equipment. Information disseminated through television and radio was the main means of information and psychological influence. In this case, priority was given to the American media. For example, CNN news broadcasts were broadcast in more than 90 countries. For stable reception of programs from Western radio stations, high-power repeaters were installed in the territories of Iran, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Through them, broadcasts from the Voice of America radio station were broadcast around the clock in Arabic, the broadcasts of which were prepared by specialists from the 4th US Psychological Operations Group.

In Iraq, about 50 thousand transistor radios with fixed frequencies were distributed, on which the radio stations of the psychological operations units of the multinational forces operated. Printed materials, especially leaflets, were also widely used. All means of information influence instilled the idea of ​​the invincibility of multinational forces and the absurdity of resisting them. At the same time, measures were taken to misinform the enemy regarding the timing of the start of the offensive of the multinational forces. The result of this information and psychological campaign was that by the start of hostilities, up to 40-60 percent of the Iraqi army personnel were demoralized or mentally depressed.

After the end of the Gulf War, psychological operations of various sizes were carried out to support the actions of the United States and its armed forces in Iraqi Kurdistan (1991), in Somalia (1993), in Bosnia and Herzegovina (1993), in Haiti (1994). .).

Currently, the following are considered information-psychological influences in the PsO system:

• printed media: - leaflets, posters, newspapers.
• - radio and television.
• - movie -, videos, audio materials and other media of video and audio information.
• - sound broadcasting, which is considered one of the most effective means of information and psychological influence.

The current level of development of audio technology makes it possible to use synthesizers for voices, sounds, and noises, which are of great significance to people. For example, military personnel may suddenly hear the voice of a prominent political figure in their country urging them to leave the battlefield or even turn their weapons against their fellow soldiers.

Thus, commanders and heads of all levels of management, officers of educational structures should constantly keep in mind that a new form of struggle between states and their coalitions has appeared in the world, namely, information-psychological confrontation. This weapon does not kill people physically, does not destroy cities and other objects, but allows you to achieve victory with minimal losses. It represents an independent, effective and relatively cheap type of weapon for future wars.

QUESTION 3. Protection of personnel from negative

informational and psychological impact

Knowledge of the goals, objectives, methods and means of carrying out psychological operations allows us to determine the necessary and effective measures to counter the enemy’s psychological measures aimed at undermining the moral and psychological state, disorganizing the service and combat activities of the bodies and troops of the Federal Border Service of the Russian Federation.

The effectiveness of work to protect personnel from negative information and psychological influences and to counter the enemy’s psychological sabotage will depend to a decisive extent on how well commanders (chiefs) and educational officers succeed in putting into practice the principles of proactiveness, clarity and emotional richness of the activities being carried out.

When organizing this work, it should be borne in mind that the moral and psychological state of the personnel represents the degree of mobilization of individual soldiers and the mood of the entire military team to solve assigned service and combat tasks.

The moral and psychological state of organs and troops is determined by: the military personnel’s deep awareness of their goals and the importance of activities to protect the state border; moral readiness to perform service and combat missions; high professionalism; psychological stability; the effectiveness of the system of command and control of organs and troops, faith in their commanders (superiors); timely and comprehensive provision of organs and troops.

Countering information-psychological influence is a system of information-psychological and operational-preventive actions and measures that are coordinated and interconnected in terms of goals, objectives, objects and time.

The main areas of information and psychological countermeasures should be considered:

— study and analysis of the military-political, ideological and moral-psychological situation in the country, region, places of deployment of bodies and troops of the Federal Border Guard Service of Russia;

- collection, synthesis and analysis of data on the capabilities of the enemy and other sources to carry out information and psychological influence.

— forecasting the likely nature and possible consequences of ongoing psychological operations and measures of information and psychological influence on troops;

• explaining to personnel the enemy's methods and techniques for conducting subversive propaganda.

— proactive informing of personnel about the current situation

• participation in the organization and conduct of propaganda events
• — formation and maintenance of psychological stability and readiness of personnel to perform tasks to protect the state border in any situation;

— individual work with individuals most susceptible to the perception of negative influence from the enemy;

Forms, methods and means of countering information and psychological influence depend on the level of management and organization, the availability of time, effort and resources, the specific situation and other circumstances. The main ones are:

Informing military personnel on current issues in the life and activities of Russian society, bodies and troops of the Federal Border Guard Service of Russia;

— control over the publication of materials in the media;

- collection and destruction of special radios, audio and video tapes distributed by the enemy;

— identifying and limiting channels of negative information;

• improving the quality and effectiveness of moral and psychological support for the formation of a scientific worldview among personnel.

— reconnaissance and destruction of enemy psychological operations units, as well as technical means for carrying them out;

Protection of personnel from enemy psychological operations can be presented as a system of measures for forecasting, prevention, assessment, disruption of the enemy’s information and psychological impact on our troops and population and eliminating its negative consequences.

Forecasting the enemy's PsyOps involves a preventive assessment by commanders, headquarters, and educational authorities of the forces and means of subversive actions. Places of their deployment, routes of advancement. In addition, as the experience of combat operations in Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan, and the Persian Gulf shows, mini-radio receivers tuned to the frequency of PsyOp stations can be scattered in populated areas along troop movement routes.

An important point in forecasting is the identification of channels of information and psychological influence on the personnel of our units and subunits.

It is advisable for the command, governing bodies, including structures for educational work, to identify potential objects of the most intense psychological influence of the enemy. Experience shows that these, as a rule, are: soldiers and sergeants; contract military personnel; female military personnel.

An important point in forecasting is determining the possible content and theme of the enemy’s information and psychological actions in order to reduce their effectiveness or neutralize them. For example, according to US military psychologists, the greatest damage to the morale of troops is caused by such factors as: unfavorable socio-political situation in the country, dangers on the battlefield, discomfort, lack of food, lack of combat experience, negative attitude towards the goals and actions of leaders, dissatisfaction command, supply interruptions, etc. Consequently, it is these phenomena that will be exploited in the process of informational and psychological influence on our military personnel. In the interests of neutralizing or reducing the effectiveness of the enemy’s psychological influence, special attention should be paid to explaining to military personnel the true goals, objectives, topics, forms, methods, and technical means of implementing PsyOp. Practice shows that if in an extreme situation an event suddenly occurs, in relation to which a person has no experience of responding, his behavior becomes unpredictable. A leaflet, the psychological impact of which was studied during one of the US Army exercises, shows what kind of tricks our military personnel can encounter. Here is its text: “This is not a leaflet calling on you to surrender. You are not asked to surrender - you yourself will be forced to come to the Americans for help within an hour. This simple piece of paper is radioactive. As you read this, enough X-rays will pass through your fingers to create a lethal dose of radiation in your body. The leaflet is specially processed in order to kill you within a few hours if you do not go to us and ask for help. We guarantee your salvation." It is clear that the impact of such information on a psychologically unprepared military personnel can be shocking. Knowledge of the very possibility of such a provocation will significantly reduce the psychological effect of its impact.

Particular attention of commanders and military psychologists should be paid to military personnel who are potentially most susceptible to psychological impact. These include people with noticeable neuropsychic instability, with high “suspiciousness” and anxiety, which in difficult situations often become panic inducers.

The reduction in the effectiveness of the enemy’s psychological actions is facilitated by continuous, objective, psychologically expediently structured combat and political informing of military personnel. It is necessary to promptly explain the reasons for failures and miscalculations.

Disruption The enemy’s psychological impact on the personnel of our units and subunits is achieved in various ways. This task is radically solved by reconnaissance, suppression and physical destruction of the enemy’s means of psychological operations. However, this is not always possible. Therefore, it is necessary to actively involve military personnel in activities to solve the tasks at hand, and not allow a loss of vigilance. All enemy propaganda materials must be immediately collected, confiscated from personnel and, after studying, destroyed. All this should be accompanied by individual and group explanatory work with military personnel.

Eliminating the consequences of enemy psychological operations involves analyzing and assessing their results, the reasons for their effectiveness, and the weakest points in the system of information and psychological defense of troops; carrying out psycho-rehabilitation activities with injured soldiers; restoration of organization and combat effectiveness of disorganized military units; application of appropriate sanctions to the perpetrators, alarmists, traitors; determination of measures to optimize the entire system of countering enemy PsyOps, etc.

Thus, ensuring the information security of the bodies and troops of the Federal Border Service of the Russian Federation and protecting personnel from the enemy’s psychological operations are an important component of the moral and psychological support of service and combat activities to protect and protect the State Border, the exclusive economic zone and the continental shelf. It is carried out by commanders, chiefs, staffs, educational bodies at all stages of preparation and solution of service and combat tasks and requires daily and painstaking work, especially in the face of a threat of armed invasion of the territory of the Russian Federation, complications of the situation on the border, violation of the rules of the State Border regime, as well as when participating in the resolution of border disputes and conflicts.

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The main way of conducting information-psychological warfare is the use of information-psychological influences.

Information and psychological impact - informational, psychotronic or psychophysical impact on the human psyche, influencing his perception of reality, including his behavioral functions, as well as in some cases the functioning of organs and systems of the human body.

Any person as an individual, an active social subject, a bearer of a certain worldview, possessing a certain sense of justice and mentality, spiritual ideals and value systems, can be subjected to direct information and psychological influence, which, transforming through his behavior, actions (or inaction), influences social objects of different levels of community, different systemic, structural and functional organizations. Thus, with the help of information and psychological influence it is possible to influence not only individual consciousness, but also group, mass and public consciousness. Moreover, this influence can be both positive and negative.

Depending on the goals pursued, informational and psychological influence, as a rule, is carried out on specific areas of individual, group, mass and public consciousness:

• motivational (beliefs, value orientations, drives, desires), when it is necessary to influence people to encourage them to take certain actions;
• cognitive (sensations, perceptions, ideas, imagination, memory and thinking), when it is necessary to change in the right direction ideas, the nature of perception of newly received information and, ultimately, a person’s “picture of the world”;
• emotional (emotions, feelings, moods, volitional processes), when the internal experiences and volitional activity of people are at gunpoint;
• communicative (communication and relationships, interaction, interpersonal perception) with the aim of creating socio-psychological comfort or discomfort, encouraging people to cooperate or conflict with others.

Information-psychological influence can be carried out using various methods (techniques, forms, techniques) and means, most of which, continuously developing and improving, have today turned into complex technologies for influencing the psyche of people, collectively called psychotechnologies in the literature. For example, psychotechnologies include modern information technologies influencing individual, group, mass and public consciousness using television and radio broadcasting equipment, video and audio products, as well as high-level computer technologies that allow diagnosing and correcting a person’s mental and physical state through direct access to the subconscious.

Areas of organization of information and psychological influence on the human psyche, group, mass and public consciousness include:

• objects of information and psychological influence;
• subjects influencing these objects;
• communication between subjects and objects of information and psychological influence;
• means and methods of information and psychological influence.

Objects of information and psychological influence:

• a person as a citizen, an active social subject, including specific representatives of government and administrative bodies, armed forces, law enforcement and security agencies, employees of state and non-state organizations, institutions and enterprises, whose activities have or may have important social consequences;
• the system of formation and functioning of the spiritual sphere, public consciousness and public opinion, including: systems of education and training; systems for disseminating socially significant information; systems for disseminating sociocultural values, etc.;
• social groups and associations of people as components of the social structure of society with group consciousness, including political, professional, national-ethnic, demographic, religious, specific regions and others;
• authorities, state and military administration;
• bodies of representative and executive power of the constituent entities of the Federation and local self-government;
• public and political organizations, socio-political movements, associations of citizens on various bases, etc.;
• power ministries and departments;
• the population of the country as a whole as a socio-historical community of people with its own social consciousness;
• state and society acting as objects of information and psychological operations of other states, especially during periods of international conflicts, crises and armed clashes.

Subjects of information and psychological influence on an individual (his psyche, consciousness, body), a group of people, the population of regions and the country as a whole:

• state and government institutions (including foreign), legal and security (military) organizations;
• public organizations - political, religious, cultural, national-ethnic, etc. (including foreign);
• healthcare institutions;
• financial, economic, commercial and trade organizations (including foreign ones);
• criminal structures (including international);
• microgroups (at the place of work, study, service, residence, friends, family, casual acquaintances, crowd, etc.);
• individual subjects (citizens).

The subject of information-psychological influence according to its location can be:

• internal, i.e. belong to the country whose objects are affected;
• external (foreign).

External subjects of information and psychological influence can be individual states, their political, economic, military, intelligence and information structures.

The most important means for states to achieve political goals in the near future may be to influence the enemy’s psychology - individual, mass, group and public consciousness with the aim of destroying state and public institutions, provoking mass unrest, degradation of society, and the collapse of the state.

Rice. 5.2. Classification of means and methods of information and psychological influence

Means and methods of information and psychological influence can be classified in terms of physical essence, principles and mechanisms of influence (Fig. 5.2).

Persuasion and suggestive methods

Belief- a method of open verbal (verbal) information and psychological influence on the consciousness of an individual or group of people, the basis of which is a system of clear, clearly formulated arguments (arguments), built according to the laws of formal logic and justifying the thesis (point of view) put forward by the subject of influence.

Suggestion or suggestion is a process of unreasoned informational and psychological influence on a person’s consciousness, associated with a decrease in criticality in the perception and implementation of the content of the communicated information, with a lack of active understanding, comprehension, detailed logical analysis and evaluation in relation to past experience. Unlike persuasion, suggestion is not based on a person’s logic and reason, but on his ability to take the words of another person for granted, as instructions for action. With suggestion, information is first perceived containing ready-made conclusions, and then, on its basis, motives and life attitudes for certain behavior are formed.

Information and technogenic methods

Propaganda- dissemination of political, philosophical, scientific, artistic knowledge (ideas) and other information in society with the aim of forming in people a certain worldview - a generalized system of views on the world around us, the place and role of man in it, on people’s attitude to objective reality and to each other , as well as corresponding ideals and beliefs, principles of cognition and activity, and value orientations.

Means and methods of presenting unconscious acoustic information.

Means and methods of presenting unconscious visual information. It is assumed that visual means, unlike verbal ones, allow a person to almost instantly perceive a programmed information-psychological influence (although it can work much later), and this influence is deeper and more durable, since visual systems influence not only the intellect, but also on the emotional-sensual basis of a person.

Hypnotic methods of information and psychological influence, based on the revealed fact that with appropriate suggestions in a hypnotic state it is possible to program a person to perform certain actions.

Neurolinguistic programming method- a special psychotherapeutic technique, the essence of which was the coding (programming) of a person using both verbal “formulas of behavior” and non-verbal (facial expressions, pantomimes, etc.) means of influence.

Training methods of information and psychological influence- methods of regulating a person’s mental state, such as: managing attention, operating with sensory images, verbal suggestions, regulating muscle tone, controlling the rhythm of breathing.

Mystic-esoteric suggestion.

Information and technological means and methods of information and psychological influence, which include:

• information and technical psychotechnologies using television, computing, broadcasting equipment, audio, video, printed and film products;
• exposure through computer video games and the Internet;
• generators of special radiation;
• acoustic systems with an “intelligent” signal (including infrasound and ultrasound);
• optical means in the visible, infrared and ultraviolet ranges;
• bioresonance stimulation of the brain.

Information and psychological influence with the help of these means and methods is achieved in the direction “from technology to man” and is most widely carried out through the media.

Psychotropic means of information and psychological influence:

• psychotropic drugs;
• other biologically active substances that primarily affect a person’s mental functions (including emotions and behavior), and are also capable of transferring him to an altered state of consciousness.

“Phenomenological” methods of information and psychological influence

Unconscious information interaction through the senses through the use of methods of psychophysiology and human sensory physiology.

Means and methods of manipulating consciousness

A specific type of hidden information and psychological influence, aimed at programming ideas, opinions, motives, life attitudes, stereotypes, aspirations, moods and even the mental state of people in order to ensure the kind of behavior that is needed by those who own the means of manipulation.

Combining means and methods of information and psychological influence

Simultaneous use of two or more means (methods) of such influence.

The use of all the above-mentioned means and methods of information and psychological influence in the classification is discussed in sufficient detail in the work.

There are three stages in information and psychological influence:

• operational when the subject carries out an information-psychological influence on the object;
• procedural when there is acceptance (approval) or rejection (disapproval) of a given impact by the object;
• final, when responses appear as a consequence of a restructuring of the psyche of the object of influence.

The restructuring of the psyche under the influence of informational and psychological influence can be different both in breadth and in temporal stability. According to the first criterion, a distinction is made between partial changes, i.e. changes in any one psychological quality (for example, a person’s opinion about a specific phenomenon), and more general changes in the psyche, i.e. changes in a number of psychological qualities of an individual (or group). According to the second criterion, changes can be short-term or long-term.

The use of information and psychological influence in a combat situation has its own characteristics:

• not only humane, but also inhumane methods and techniques of psychological influence are allowed;
• psychological influence is carried out in combination with the use of means of armed struggle;
• there is a desire to achieve maximum psychogenic impact.

Information-psychological influence only gives the greatest real effect when the peculiarities of the functioning of individual, group and social consciousness inherent in these specific areas are taken into account.

© Makarenko S.I. , 2017
© Published with the kind permission of the author

The last year has been marked by a whole series of major changes in the political life of Russia. All these changes, one way or another, were related to the theme of the elections: the entry into the political arena of three major political movements at once: “Unity”, “Fatherland”, “All Russia”; elections to the State Duma of the Russian Federation, unsuccessful performance in the elections of the united movement “Fatherland - All Russia”, resignation of B. Yeltsin and elections of the President of the Russian Federation. All this seriously influenced public opinion in Russia.

The active use of electoral technologies naturally accompanied all political events. Each of the movements that participated in the State Duma elections, and, to a lesser extent, in the Presidential elections, demonstrated a whole arsenal of a wide variety of methods of communicative management and information and psychological influence as its component. In this article we will look at just some of the basic techniques of influence using television videos as an example.

When considering these methods, we will use a number of the author’s definitions within the framework of the concept of communicative management, developed by the consulting group “PR Management”. By information-psychological influence we will understand a process based on the transfer of information, as a result of which changes in the behavior and psyche of people occur in the interests of the initiator of the influence, which might not have occurred in the absence of this influence.

Linking method group

In information and psychological influence, the group of linking methods is one of the basic ones. It is aimed at achieving the following goals (common to information and psychological influence):

1. Creating in the target audience the necessary attitude towards a particular object (positive, negative, specialized);
2. Creating an attitude among the target audience to carry out certain actions/refrain from carrying out certain actions/not impede the implementation of actions.

If the goal of the campaign is to create in the target audience the necessary (positive, negative, special) attitude towards a particular (new) object, then technologically your actions consist of two stages:

1. Search for an object (old object) with an already formed attitude towards it on the part of the target audience. The search criterion is the potential possibility of creating a link between a new object and an old one, as well as the presence of such a relationship to the old object that coincides with the required relationship to the new object.
2. Linking an old object to a new one based on one of the binding methods (see below).

As a result of linking two objects (old and new), some of the properties, characteristics, assessment, past and future actions or behavior, etc. are transferred from the old object to the new one (projected from the old object to the new one). The main factor influencing the effectiveness of this group of methods is the presence of a significant part of the target audience of a stable attitude towards the old object.

The objects can be persons, organizations, ideologies, moral values, basic human needs, society values, goods, programs, etc. For example, to create a positive image of a politician, videos with children, birch trees, Russian landscapes, large factories, etc. can be used in his videos. In some cases, the same object can act as both old and new, but at different times, in different places and under different circumstances.

At a deep level, archetypes, myths, stereotypes of mass consciousness, etc. can be used as objects. In this case, objects both belonging to the same category and to different ones can be linked. For example, a particular person may be associated with the concepts of “stability”, “family”, “security”, etc.

If there is a negative attitude towards the old object, then in the case of effective binding this attitude is projected to a certain extent onto the new object. For example, positive values ​​include: home, family, children, science, motherhood, health, love, happiness, freedom, peace, Christianity, democracy, national flag. Likewise, by linking past and future actions, the behavior of the old object is assumed in the new object.

The following linking methods can be distinguished:

• bonding through shared display;
• using emotional words;
• linking using connecting words;
• linking through similarity in parameter;
• linking through a special case;
• linking through generalization;
• linking through a means of implementation, a joint scope of application;
• bonding through relationship;
• bonding through support;
• causation;
• linking through 3 object;
• linking through the use of ambiguous words and concepts.

Linking can be carried out using several methods at once.

One of the simplest, but often quite effective methods of linking is linking through joint demonstration, which is carried out through the joint broadcast of information about both objects (old object and new) using various communication channels.

Broadcasting over a short period of time is possible, for example, using radio, television, a series of cartoons, etc. The proximity of objects in space can occur on one page of a newspaper, leaflet, poster, during an event, in a video, broadcast, etc.

The Russian National Union, for example, used the following symbols: army (Russian tank crews), Christian cross, map of the USSR. Against this background, the inscription appeared: “Russian People's Union” and Sergei Baburin, the leader of the union. The musical theme of the old program “Time” was used as an audio track.

The LDPR's videos are some of the most saturated with various stereotypical images. One of them used the following footage: Russian birches; Kremlin, Red Square; Zhirinovsky crosses himself and kisses the icon; Orthodox Church; grandmothers turning to Zhirinovsky; burning building of the Supreme Council (1993); Russian flag, demonstrations, applauding crowd of the 1930s on Red Square; Victory Day - defeated fascist flags, landscapes, fields, forests; Zhirinovsky with a child in his arms in Iraq; Zhirinovsky on the plane looks out the window at the country; coat of arms of the USSR, marching soldiers; ice drift, a rocket taking off, Zhirinovsky presenting certificates to soldiers. As we can see, all these images are selected in the style of the LDPR and are designed specifically for its electorate.

The Yabloko movement, building an impact on middle-aged voters, used the following video sequence in a series of commercials: a woman turning a shell during the war; village, geese crossing the road; steam locomotive on the railway; a field through which a tractor is driving. These frames were accompanied by an audio sequence with the words “... this is our life,... our memory” and music from the song “I love you life.” Each frame featured the Yabloko emblem.

In another video, Apple was associated with concepts such as “honesty” and “order” using the captions: “Honesty. Apple. Order" and "Honesty in power, order in the country."

During the election campaign for the post of mayor of Moscow in 1999, P. Borodin used footage from the popular film “White Sun of the Desert” in the video. For example, a well-known scene was used when Sukhov digs Said out of the ground and says: “Now I’ll dig you up and let’s go to Borodin Pal Palych, he will feed him...” In this way, a connection was made with a positive character - Sukhov.

The linking method was also used in the videos “Movements in Support of the Army, Military Industry and Navy” using images of a map of the Russian Empire and the USSR, on which the territory occupied by Russia in different years was painted over in the rhythm of a heartbeat. The audio series of videos began with the words: “By the end of the nineteenth century, the Russian Empire occupied a gigantic territory...”. The years appeared synchronously with the image: “1533”, “1611”, “1900”, “1918”, “1945”, “1991”, and the video ended with the slogan “Let’s revive Russia - DPA”.

In another video, in a frame with a border in the form of a banner and the inscriptions: “Afghanistan”, “Chechnya”,...” Russian soldiers appeared. The footage was accompanied by the following text: “They did their duty. Today they are back in action. These are our soldiers. They will always protect us. We will protect them today. Movement in support of the army, defense industry and navy." In this video, in addition to using the linking method, the problem-solution method was used, where voting for the DPA was proposed as a solution to the problem of protecting our soldiers. In the final frame of the video, the leader of the movement, Ilyukhin, appeared shaking the hand of a man in military uniform against the background of a tank.

The Spiritual Heritage movement also used a number of images, united in the emblem by the words: “science”, “culture”, “education”, “health” and “entrepreneurship”. In the TV spot, it used the bonding method with the following footage:

1. The inscription “Science” flashes in the “Spiritual Heritage” emblem.
2. In the frame are scientists working in a laboratory.
3. In the emblem of “Spiritual Heritage” the inscription flashes: “Culture”.
4. In the frame there is a monument to A. Pushkin, a museum, and an orchestra playing.
5. In the emblem of “Spiritual Heritage” the inscription flashes: “Education”.
6. In the frame are children going to first grade, lessons at school, lectures at the university.
7. The inscription “Healthcare” flashes in the “Spiritual Heritage” emblem.
8. The footage shows examinations at a medical center.
9. The inscription “Entrepreneurship” flashes in the “Spiritual Heritage” emblem.
10. In the frame there is a stock exchange and working computers.

At the end of the video, the camera zooms in on the emblem and opens up a world with churches and stops at the domes. The audio of the video uses church hymns.

The method of linking through support is implemented through an expression (ostensibly an expression) of support of one object to another. If used effectively, regardless of the direction of support, the audience has a feeling of connection between objects, which also leads to the transfer of properties and relationships from one object to another.

This method, for example, was used by the Union of Right Forces, for example, in the slogan: “Putin for President. Kiriyenko to the Duma” and campaigned under slogans of support for V. Putin.

Videos of the “Our Home is Russia” movement in the 1999 election campaign were also rich in various symbols that were used to bind through joint demonstration. Let's describe the video sequence of one of the videos:

1. Shot with V. Chernomyrdin (camera zoom).
2. Caption: "Strong Leader."
3. Shot with V. Ryzhkov (camera zoom).
4. Caption: “Strong Duma.”
5. Shot with D. Ayatskov (camera zoom).
6. Caption: “Strong regions.”
7. Emblem of the NDR.

The NDR used the image of a “new conservative party”, focused on traditional Russian values. To update this image, in particular, a video was used with the following images: a woman in traditional Russian clothing with a pitchfork in a field; joyful dancing children; Russian landscape - a road with a cart drawn by horses, a mare with a foal, a church in a village, a baby in a woman’s arms, flying geese, etc. These images were accompanied by the following text: “We got the largest country in the world just like that. By right of birth. Our great-grandfathers and grandfathers lived here and our grandchildren will live here. They say that every person in life must plant a tree, raise a son and build a house on earth. We built our house on our own land. And we don’t have and never will have another home. Our home is Russia." Here we are also faced with the method of using polysemantic concepts and images and reframing in the form of transferring conclusions and conclusions.

Method of polysemantic concepts and images

The basis of the method of polysemantic concepts and images is the use of concepts and images that can have different interpretations. Using this method the following goals can be achieved:

1. Receiving information with polysemantic concepts and images, different target audiences interpret and perceive this information differently. This allows you to create a positive (negative) attitude and support (rejection) of several audiences at once, despite the fact that each of them puts its own, often opposite, meaning into the information received.
2. By completing and developing the received multi-valued information, the audience independently formulates the topics proposed to it in the form that is closest to them, which allows them to significantly increase the effectiveness of the themes and images used. At the same time, she largely uses her own latent suspicions and stereotypes.
3. Using the method allows you to achieve the planned results without making certain accusations, assumptions, or specific assessments of objects. First, it leaves room for the information to be “reinterpreted” in the future based on the requirements of a new situation. Secondly, the use of the method largely removes the transmitted information from the scope of legal laws and does not allow the source of information to be charged with its unlawful use.
4. This method allows you to link (see linking method) objects using polysemantic words and concepts. In this case, as a rule, either words are used that have several meanings (homonyms), or words that acquire different meanings depending on the context. For linking, words or groups of words are selected that can be attributed to both objects being linked.

In neurolinguistic programming (NLP), this method is one of the basic ones. Information that does not have an unambiguous interpretation is called “low precision information” (LPI), and the process of its transmission is called “Milton modeling”.

In election campaigns, the use of a method at the macro level allows you to create an image of a candidate or party that satisfies the needs of several target audiences at once. During press conferences and meetings with voters, its use, for example, allows, without refusing the question asked, to give an answer that is positively perceived by people of opposing views.

Group of information reframing methods

These methods consist of changing the context, inference, idea, circumstances, etc. in such a way as to give the situation a different meaning and meaning that corresponds to the goals of the initiator of the influence.

The method of reframing information through the transfer of conclusions and conclusions consists of drawing certain legitimate and logical conclusions in a certain context, changing the context and transferring these conclusions without changes to a new context.

The method of reframing information through the transfer of a game situation to a real one consists of creating a particular situation (game situation) in a certain context and then transferring this situation to real conditions.

The method of reframing information through the formation of predetermination consists in an explicit or implicit description of one or another (predetermined) situation related to the future, with a simultaneous, explicit or implicit, statement that it is the predetermined outcome of the development of the situation in the present. This kind of influence is especially important if people’s behavior in the present is connected with their forecasts of the development of the situation into a predetermined one.

In the described video of NDR, the concept of “house” acts as a polysemantic concept, which is used both in the traditional meaning of home and house - “NDR”, and allows for additional linking. Agree with the stereotypical and familiar statement: “They say that every person in life must plant a tree, raise a son and build a house on the earth,” after entering additional information (“We have built our house on our land. And we have no other house and will be") is transferred to "NDR".

During the presidential elections of the Russian Federation, G. Zyuganov used the slogan: “For victory, for peace, for prosperity. Life will get better with Zyuganov.” At the same time, the concept of “victory” also played two roles: winning, victory over the enemy and at the same time the name of the block G.A. Zyuganov.

A group of information reframing methods is used quite widely in modern Russia. For example, we came across the method of reframing information through the transfer of a game situation to a real one in the “Right in the Kremlin” action, which was carried out by the “Union of Right Forces” during the elections to the State Duma in 1999. At its core, the action was a concert of pop stars in support of the right , however, using the symbolic meaning of the Kremlin, it created an association and programmed that the right were already in the Kremlin, therefore, they gained power and entered the Duma.

For example, we encounter the method of reframing information through the formation of predetermination in another line of videos from the Union of Right Forces. The videos in this series are designed as a news program from the first months of 2000. Let us recall that the videos were broadcast during the election campaign in 1999. In these “news” programs, the announcer described the situation of confrontation between the “new” faction and the “old” faction: “Representatives of the “new” intend to support the government’s policy and continue the policy of reforms begun in the country.

In contrast to them, the coalition of the “old” will seek to change the course taken. Analysts note that “for the first time we have witnessed such a clear confrontation between politicians of different generations.” Taking into account the fact that the “new” party was clearly associated with the “Union of Right Forces,” these videos created the illusion of “predestination” for the right to enter the State Duma.

Method problem - solution

Another method that was widely used in the propaganda products of various parties and movements in the 1999 election campaign was the problem-solution (threat-salvation) method. It is aimed at achieving the general goals of information and psychological impact. Depending on the specific needs of the subject, the impact can be set to achieve either one of the goals or several. The objects can be those persons, organizations, programs, goods, etc., a positive, negative or specialized attitude towards which on the part of the target audience is necessary for the subject of influence. Actions can include a desire to vote for or against a certain person or party in elections, to take part in certain events, a desire to purchase a particular product, a desire to surrender during hostilities, abstaining from violating curfews, rules of public behavior, etc. .

The main and most important part of the method is the existing specific threat (problem). A threat to life or health can be used as a threat (problem); loss of status, family, friends, comfort, prosperity; poor-quality operation of a particular device, etc.

The creation of a negative or positive attitude towards a particular object occurs by associating a particular object with a threat (problem) or getting rid of it. If the main purpose of using this method is to create a negative attitude towards one of the objects, this object is associated with a threat. And if the main goal is to create a positive attitude, this object is associated with getting rid of this threat.

For example, one form of the method is to use “fear of change.” People are usually afraid of changes, especially unexpected ones and those over which they have no control. The purpose of using fear of change is to prevent certain actions of the target audience. Creating a mindset to carry out certain actions is done by associating these actions with getting rid of the threat (solving the problem). Creating an attitude to refrain from certain actions, not to interfere with the implementation of actions, is created through a similar connection with the method of getting rid of the threat.

This method is used in two forms:

1. With a direct appeal to the target audience, when the actors in the messages using this method are the target audience to whom the message is directly sent.
2. With an indirect appeal to the target audience, when the actors in messages using this method are some abstract audience, usually similar in characteristics.

The factors influencing the effectiveness of this method are:

1. The reality of the threat for the target audience, as well as for audiences close to the target. For example, to increase the effectiveness of the method, children, elderly people, women are often considered as the object of threat, that is, those categories that can withstand the threat to a minimal extent, which increases the emotional impact of the threat.
2. The degree of negative consequences of the threat.
3. The audience’s confidence that after certain actions on its part the threat will disappear or decrease (the problem will be completely or partially solved).
4. The clarity and simplicity of those actions that will lead to the elimination of this threat (solution to the problem), the degree of feasibility of these actions for the target audience.

During the elections of the President of the Russian Federation, this method was actively used by G. Yavlinsky. One of the videos began with a shot of a government Mercedes car with a state license plate and a blaring siren, which drives down the street and throws mud at a line of people standing near a store with the words “Milk” and “Products”. A saleswoman comes out of the store and addresses the queue: “Tell me that they won’t take it anymore.” After this, a short dialogue takes place between the woman and the man with the child.

Woman: “We’ve arrived... And you, young man, who did you vote for?”
Man: “Yes, I didn’t go to the polls at all...”
Woman: “And I was walking around, thinking, at least this will bring order, it will bring order...”
Man: “Yes, you should have voted for the economist. For Grigory, for Yavlinsky, he could fix everything.”
Woman: "Yes."
Voiceover: “Vote for your future.”

This video simulates the situation “after the elections”; the following negative consequences of voting are positioned as a “problem”: queues for food, the authorities’ disregard for the people, unfulfilled hopes for order. At the same time, the image of V. Putin, G. Yavlinsky’s competitor in the elections of the President of the Russian Federation, is clearly associated with the problem. This is achieved both with the help of a government “Mercedes” and through the words of a woman “And I walked around, thinking that at least this would restore order” (V. Putin, to a greater extent than other candidates, is associated in the public consciousness with “order”). Thus, the positioned problem is associated with V. Putin. After this, the solution to the problem is positioned: “Vote for your future. Grigory Yavlinsky. Reason, will, result."

Another video by G. Yavlinsky uses this method in the same way, but in an even more explicit form. This video begins with footage of military men firing back (“senior” and “junior”), who, to the sound of gunfire, exchange phrases about which of them went to the polls and for whom they voted:

Junior: “Yes, I was generally against everyone and didn’t go to the polls...”
Senior: “And I walked around, thinking he would restore order,... he did.”
Junior: “Yes, we should have voted for an economist... For Grigory, for Yavlinsky, we would have dealt with these differently...”
Senior: “Yes.”
Both continue to fire back.
Voice-over: “Vote for your future...”
Caption: “Grigory Yavlinsky. Reason, will, result."

The problem here is war. At the same time, V. Putin is clearly associated with the war, and G. Yavlinsky is clearly associated with the solution to this problem.

At the same time, it should be noted that despite the competent and interesting layout of the video, the combination of “for an economist” and “we would have dealt with these things differently” should hardly be considered successful, since it does not create the most successful associations with the form of solving this problem.

The end of the article is in the next issue of the almanac.

Maxim Grigoriev