Toward an Interdisciplinary Model of Organized, Psychology-Based Persuasive Communication: Expanding Critical Propaganda Studies

Abstract

This article responds to recent calls to expand political communication research through renewed engagement with propaganda studies. It addresses two related challenges: the need for a deeper understanding of organized, manipulative communication in liberal democracies and the need for terminological clarification in its analysis. The article develops the analytical category of Organized Psychology-based, Persuasive Communication (OPPC) that provides a framework for the examination of the deliberate use of soft-power-techniques within organized, persuasive communication. The interdisciplinary OPPC model used to illustrate the analytical category of OPPC includes five key elements of the communicative process (transmitter, receiver, process, effects, and feedback loop) and adds a psychological layer by distinguishing between inner-, and extrapsychological aspects and by integrating the inner-psychological process of information processing into the communicative framework. Furthermore, it embeds the individuals within their social, historical, and cultural contexts. The model is intended as a medium-level analytical framework and starting point for future empirical research rather than as a complete account of psychological mechanisms. Its contribution is to provide a clearer conceptual and interdisciplinary basis for analyzing the construction, dissemination, processing and effects of organized persuasive communication.