NCJ Number
191428
Date Published
2000
Length
11 pages
Annotation
This essay highlights perception management in the Information Age.
Abstract
Perception Management targets the human dimension in politics and conflict in a way that kinetic weapons cannot. Perception Management includes actions to convey and/or deny selected information and indicators to foreign audiences to influence their emotions, motives, and objective reasoning. Perception Management mechanisms will most often be employed in conjunction with the physical elements (active or deterrent) of national and international power to form a more synergistic whole. The purpose of Public Affairs is to generally inform broad audiences of various policies and actions. Public Diplomacy is meant to generally persuade audiences of the wisdom of various policies, intentions, and actions. Strategic Psychological Operations are conducted “to influence and induce attitudes, perceptions, and behavior in favor of government policies.” Deception seeks to deliberately distort the opponent’s sense of reality. The intent of Covert Action is to influence an adversary’s understanding of the political situation by shaping, limiting, or re-focusing his informational intake. Perception Management is about shaping the Information Environment. In the realm of Information Operations, Information Warfare, and Perception Management, a set of commonly understood operational concepts and procedural mechanisms is needed. There will be a need for adequate strategic policy control in order to assure propriety of and coherence in the Perception Management program. Such mechanisms as Public Diplomacy, Psychological Operations, and Deception need to be controlled at the top, but that cannot be at the expense of operational flexibility. 1 figure, 11 endnotes