Слухи как социально-психологический способ манипулирования By Svetlana Pacynko (at 25th of February 2007) The analysis of russian voters behavior is impossible without the accouting specialities of russian political field and factors which can affect on electoral behavior and features caused by specificity of given field. Lately in the Russian society such attributes of democracy as a freedom of speech, independence of mass-media, selectivity of authorities have taken roots. In the same time with various democratic freedom there were such phenomena as a manipulation public consciousness and psychological influence on the social environment. In a modern world, manipulation with electoral behavior during elective campaigns has got the open and purposeful character. The political struggle existed at all times, and together with it the technologies declining the public choice to one or another side. The science development, changing of political system and value changings contributed to working new manipulations methods of human consciousness and has concerned almost all the life spheres of Russian society. Talking about manipulation it's necessary to pay attention a little bit more in detail on concept "manipulation". The word "manipulation" has a root a Latin word manus - a hand (manipulus - the handful, from manus and ple-fill). The Oxford dictionary of English language treats manipulation as "the certificate of influence on the people or managements of them with dexterity, especially with scornful implied sense, as the latent management or processing". All variety of operations made over the information can be grouped on several parameters. Information distortion varies from a pure lie to partial deformations such as substitutions of the facts or drifting along the semantic field of the term. Concealing information is most fully represented in covering up the information - hiding some specific subjects. The methods used far more often are partial reporting or selectively covered material. The way of giving of the information quite often plays a main role in that the informed maintenance has been apprehended by image necessary for its sender. The fullest review of mainly information ways of psychological influence contains in R.E.Gudina's monograph. He describes, for example, «linguistic traps» - not the obvious limitations imposed on the maintenance by the elite for its words transfer or expressions and way or tradition of their using, «rhetorical tricks», symbolical compensation, rituals etc. Thus the majority of researches of electoral behavior changings are devoted influence of mass media on this process. While studying of influence of hearings in the course of political communications is considered pretty rarely. Mass-media shine elections intensively, it conducts to various degree of informing the voters about forthcoming elections and candidates. But on a level with official information sources, exist informal - such as hearings. Quite often similar informal channels of message transfer become the strongest communication media as extend faster, than the official information and are more influential, than usual mass-media. By estimations of experts, information influence on the population by means of hearings costs today in the same row with press influence, radio and TV. Therefore studying of behavior of voters on elections and as the reasons on which they vote for this or that candidate, is an important point at carrying out of any election campaign. At the same time, the problem of management of streams of the unofficial information is now enough serious and actual. In spite of wide application and purposeful using of this means in marketing, political consulting and PR, at psychological influence on the social environment, mass mood and the electoral behavior, till now many questions connected with hearings are not studied, it is not generated accurate theories, recommendations and programs on their studying. With the advent of a multi-party system, executive power verticals in Russia have appeared the consulting companies working on elections, together with them and pre-election political technologies. Nowadays the special urgency was got by such tools as PR, marketing and advertising; mass-media plays also not a small role, but together with them there is such tool as the informal communications as element like hearings. Thus, they are the manipulation tool public consciousness that conducts to their purposeful using, but at the same time there is no certain uniform control mechanism over the information of a similar sort. As for people the basic way of reception of the necessary information is dialogue - that the most effective, at the same time and the most dangerous way of influence on a choice of this or that group is creation and distribution of hearings. In a modern society the person faces hearings everywhere as at all times during joint activity people exchange among them the various information. Since times of occurrence of the first cities-states, writing and official documents, hearings were allocated in an independent category information messages and have started to be used with a view of ideological and political strike, especially in wars. Ancient manuscripts inform that before approach of the Roman legions among potential opponents hearings about unprecedented bravery of Romans were started, their fearlessness and cruelty. The medieval European herald or the herald reading the same monarchical decree in different settlements with different intonation and "expression", inevitably transformed the text into retold hearing - «turning in hearing» the written information. The effect increased, when the told was transferred not by the professional but simple people. In history there are not few examples of influence of hearings on public consciousness and a social situation. So, for example, in 1918 mutiny of the Czechoslovak case has been provoked by hearings that Bolsheviks will put soldiers of the case in a concentration camp or will give out to Germans Long time hearings did not cause the big interest from scientists. Per 1920-30 the western researchers have estimated their role in psychology formation of weights, management of behavior and began to study laws of their distribution. «Quickly enough in America there were the business concerns specializing on distribution of hearings where it was possible to order the necessary plot for the necessary audience, having paid "service" in the price-list. It became, for example, with a view of advertising of the goods, suppression of the competitor or struggle against trade union. So, among workers of a competitor firm such hearing which could provoke them to strike extended. Or, on the contrary, the owner, having learnt about preparing strike at its own enterprise, ordered distribution amongworkers wives of hearing how trade-union leaders make profit of strikes, etc. In Germany, with coming to power of Nazis, research works in this area have been coded and have got an ominous orientation. German armies, and also their allies actively and effectively enough used the received knowledge and recommendations on Second World War fronts. After the war confidential German documents and experts have transferred the base in the USA, the commercial activity directed on distribution of hearings, by law has been forbidden, and regular work with hearings has become a state prerogative. P.Lazarsfeld is the first who began to carry out regular researches of the factors influencing formation of electoral behavior. He has measured for the first time influence of the information on election campaign on process of voting during presidential elections of the USA at 1940. He has come to conclusion, that mass-media are not a unique source of the information, interpersonal dialogue here is not less important. Besides, he concluded, that political preferences of voters have a talk with the help of socially determined characteristics, such as the social status, the income, a trade, a religious accessory, and mass media only strengthen them. Already in 60th years, according to the American experts, propagation by means of hearings, especially in foreign policy activity, on the value was comparable to propagation through mass-media. Mechanisms of hearings distribution professionally studied in CIA, the Pentagon and special divisions of the American army. In embassies the experts worked who attentively traced subjects, the maintenance and dynamics of the hearings circulating in the countries. Long time hearings were used in interrelate struggle as the tool of intrigues, in due course they have found mass character. Official communications and mass media have turned to the new channel of their distribution. In a modern society hearings do not hand over the positions and remain the most powerful tool of influence on people both in social groups, and between them. Today, speaking about hearings, even experts in the field of public relations put in them the various maintenance. The analysis of the scientific literature as has shown, that till now there is no accurate definition of concept "hearings" in this connection there is a necessity of the analysis of existing definitions, for more concrete understanding of essence of a phenomenon and is possible, their generalizations. Most often in the scientific literature there are following definitions of a phenomenon of hearing: Hearings are «the mass event of an interpersonal exchange of the deformed, emotionally painted information. More often hearings arise in the absence of full and trustworthy information on question any interesting people». «Hearings - a specific kind of communications interpersonal in which process the plot to a certain extent reflecting some real or invented events, becomes property extensive diffusive audiences». K.G. Yung, facing in the practice with the phenomenon of hearings, gives following definitions of hearing as: «the Hearing is« the circulating form of communications with which help people, being in an ambiguous situation, unite, creating its reasonable interpretation, together using thus the intellectual potentialities ».« The hearing is «indirect display collective unconscious, defined archetypic displays. It is the answer to collective disturbing expectations which are in everyone». But, in our opinion the fullest definition of hearing gives A.V.Obolonsky: «the hearing is a certain version of the information which extends exclusively on informal channels and collective attempt to find the answer to a certain pressing question in the conditions of deficiency of the information» is directed on not which satisfaction of the real information requirement which are not satisfied with different ways. The carried out analysis of definitions allows drawing a conclusion that hearing this mass phenomenon of interpersonal communications which arises in the absence of full and trustworthy information on a question interesting a society. It is possible as to conclude, that it is system of communications which exists in parallel with official sources. The given phenomenon of interpersonal communications exists as the channel of distribution and as the form of existence of public opinion; it contains the information on the socially-significant event demanding decision-making. The nature and the maintenance of information requirements are deeply connected with all ability to live of the person, as well as any other stimulus of human activity, are boosters activity of people. If they are not satisfied with the messages transferred by mass-media the audience or receives the necessary information on other channels, or suppresses an information need of a similar sort, and, hence, and the activity in this sphere. Getting on pages of printing mass-media, the information loses many qualities as there it serves only as an occasion to a refutation or acknowledgement; however is not thus already independent unit. In this connection, the important communicative component, for hearing, transfer of its information maintenance oral by, during the moment when it cannot be fixed anywhere in written form is characteristic. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- http://translated.by/you/hearings-as-a-socially-psychological-way-of-a-manipulation/into-en/trans/ Original (Russian): HEARINGS AS A SOCIALLY-PSYCHOLOGICAL WAY OF A MANIPULATION (http://www.yandex.ru/) Translation: © Klementina, adolgushin, ochenprosto. translated.by crowd