lecture 11

Question 1

Propaganda

Answer 1

the attempt to transmit social and political values in the hope of affecting people’s thinking, emotions, and behaviour

e.g. state media publications and programs,
political education in schools

Question 2

models of propaganda/indoctrination

Answer 2

Mainstream model
Exposure to political communication, tends to promote support for the ‘mainstream’ political norms

if no mainstream consensus exists or norms are changing..

Exposure-Acceptance Model
Exposure to political communications is positively associated with levels of political awareness.
Uncritical acceptance –> negatively associated with awareness.
–> middle levels of awareness will be most susceptible to political information
–> Highly aware persons show selective resistance to the messages which they encounter – they are persuaded
if they agree, they resist if they disagree.

Question 3

Assumptions:

Answer 3

Pr(Exposure) increases with political awareness.
Pr(Acceptance | Exposure) decreases with political awareness and predisposition against the message.
(Neither awareness alone nor dispositional factors alone induce resistance.)

Question 4

Why do authoritarian governments engage in unpersuasive propaganda?

Answer 4

(example former syrian president)
- gives an implicit message of strength
- signal of capacity and resources
- not to brainwash, but forewarn

Question 5

signalling

Answer 5

indirect (soft) provision of information through the government’s act of doing the propaganda

Question 6

empirical test

Answer 6

Ideological Education of Chinese Students in sustaining CCP rule
1989 student-led Tiananmen Movement → government to the brink of collapse
Since then, mandatory ideological and political education courses have been reemphasized in college curricula.

Question 7

Soft propaganda aims

Answer 7

changing social attitudes

Question 8

Hard propaganda aims

Answer 8

deterring political opposition.