Americans create 57% of the world’s advertising while representing only 6% of its population; half of our waking hours are spent immersed in the mass media. Persuasion has always been integral to the democratic process, but increasingly, thoughtful discussion is being replaced with simplistic soundbites and manipulative messages.
Drawing on the history of propaganda as well as on contemporary research in social psychology, Age of Propaganda shows how the tactics used by political campaigners, sales agents, advertisers, televangelists, demagogues, and others often take advantage of our emotions by appealing to our deepest fears and most irrational hopes, creating a distorted vision of the world we live in.
This revised and updated edition includes coverage of the Clinton/Lewinsky scandal, recent election campaigns, talk radio, teen suicide, U.F.O. abductions, the Columbine shootings, and novel propaganda tactics based on hypocrisy and false allegations.
Age of Propaganda: The Everyday Use and Abuse of Persuasion
by Anthony R. Pratkanis, Elliot Aronson
“We’re all headed for an ‘ignorance spiral’ if we don’t stop American standards of persuasion from deteriorating . . . Don’t be part of the problem. Read the book.”
–“Philadelphia Inquirer”
“A brilliant tour-de-force . . . about the most pervasive cultural phenomena of our time.”
–George Gerbner, Dean Emeritus of the Annenberg School of Communication
“The authors . . . inform, provoke, and occasionally shock the reader about the ways in which our beliefs, preferences, and choices are constantly influenced.”
–Mahzarin Banaji, Yale University
“After reading this book, I have begun to doubt that I ever had much control over how I have been influenced by media hype and clever half-truths.”
–James Randi, debunker of psychic fraud and author of “Flim-Flam” and “The Mask of Nostradamus”
“I could easily list ten reasons why you should read this book, but your boss and colleagues will probably tell you more about it at the office tomorrow–or worse, your competitors will show you next week.”
–Peter H. Farquhar, Center for Product Research, Carnegie-Mellon University
“A gold mine of valuable information and insights into the persuasion process.”
–Robert B. Cialdini, Arizona State University, and author of “Influence”
“A people’s guide to baloney-detecting.”
–“Seattle Times”
by アンソニー プラトカニス, エリオット アロンソン
(1998)
現代に生きる私たちは、大衆操作の企てや集団規模の説得の標的となっている。それらの圧倒的なパワーは、私たちの日々の買い物や選挙での投票や価値観に影響を与えようとしている。
現代に生きるわたしたちは、大衆操作の企てや集団規模の説得の標的となっている。プロパガンダの歴史と社会心理に基づきながら、わたしたちがそれらからいかに身を守るかをわかりやすく解説する一冊。