Propaganda and Persuasion

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Propaganda and Persuasion

be linked with a general societal process, whereas persuasion is regarded as an individual psychological process. Propaganda has not been altogether successfully differentiated from persuasion by other writers. The model in Figure 1.6 is our attempt to differentiate between them and to demonstrate a separation according to purpose and process. The model also reveals the similarity between persuasion and propaganda, with subtle differences of technique used according to purpose. Communication Defined Communication is a process in which a sender transmits a message to a receiver through a channel. This process has been represented by both linear and transactional models. One of the earliest models of communication was developed by Aristotle (333 B.c.E.), who described a speaker, a speech, and an audience as the major components of the communication act. A linear model that influenced communication research was developed by Shannon and Weaver in 1949 for the study of electronic engineering. Its components were source, message, transmitter, signal, and receiver. Other linear com munication models that followed were similar to Shannon and Weaver's because they emphasized source, message, channel, and response. Communication involves attempts to share meaning through a process of symbolic interaction between and among human beings. Communication has been defined as "an essential life process of exchange through which humans create, acquire, transmit, and utilize information" (O'Donnell, 1993, p. 8). Communication is built around an exchange of information that has both intended and perceived meaning. Information exchange can reduce uncertainty after several cycles of exchange. The tendency is for the sender and the receiver to move toward one point, for one to move toward the other, or for both to unite in a common interest or focus. A straightforward definition of the communication process is that which happens when A (sender) communicates to B (receiver) about X (Westley & MacLean, 1977). A may be a person, a group, or a social system. B may be a person, a group, or a social system as well. Communication is often a human face-to-face transaction, but it is also often a mediated interaction whereby A communicates to B through C about X. Here, C is a gatekeeper, an encoder of a message, or quite possibly an agent for B (Westley & MacLean, 1977). It is important to examine both the message and the response to it in the study of communication. Responses may be in the realm of feedback, or they may be examined as effects on the audience. The elements of face-to-face or mediated communication or both must be examined in the light of the