Age of Propaganda: The Everyday Use and Abuse of Persuasion - Softcover

Pratkanis, Anthony; Aronson, Elliot

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0805074031 ISBN 13: 9780805074031

Publisher: Holt Paperbacks, 2001

Synopsis

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.

About this title

Review:

Drawing on the history of propaganda and modern research in social psychology, this book reveals mass persuasion in action -- not just the tactics, but why they work so well, and how we can protect ourselves from manipulation.

From the Inside Flap:

PRAISE FOR THE PREVIOUS EDITION

"In one brilliant tour-de-force, Pratkanis and Aronson give us . . . a comprehensive text of what we really need to know 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”

About this edition

• Publisher: Holt Paperbacks
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0805074031
• ISBN 13: 9780805074031
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 432