The impact of prepersuasion and social influence tactics on military decision making

Military decision making is influenced by a commander's perception of the physical environment. The information presented in the physical domain and how it is processed may be altered to persuade an adversary into making predetermined decisions. Prepersuasion social influence tactics may be used to structure a situation to establish a favorable climate for influence. Examples of how prepersuasion influence has impacted the military decision making process have been demonstrated in several international conflicts. One goal of prepersuasion influence is to have an adversary choose a predetermined course of action, on his own accord, that best suits the needs of the communicator. A second goal is to have an individual use prepersuasion to influence a large audience to support their decisions. Prepersuasion influence has been used effectively in the past because communicators, individuals or groups, have successfully impacted their audience's cognitive domain and shaped their perceptions. The ability to identify and resist the social influence tactics used to influence the military decision making process will benefit future commanders. What impact do prepersuasion influence tactics have on the military decision making process? This paper will answer this research question and offer recommendations on how military decision makers can resist prepersuasion influence.

Department dc:contributor.department

Information Sciences (IS)

Grantor dc:publisher

Monterey, CA; Naval Postgraduate School

Year dc:date.issued

2011

Author dc:creator

• Greenlees, Andrew J.

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Iatrou, Steven J.

Statement dc:rights

• This publication is a work of the U.S. Government as defined in Title 17, United States Code, Section 101. Copyright protection is not available for this work in the United States.

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/10945/5762

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:calhoun.nps.edu:10945/5762