The Fitness-Validation Model of Propagandist Persuasion and the 5Ds of Propaganda

Although pervasive in our history and modern ecology, propaganda has yet to be explicitly described by social psychological science. In this paper, we propose a Fitness-Validation Model (FVM) of propagandist persuasion. This synthetic model posits that influence is proportional to the degree of fit between message characteristics (social content, prescriptive content, descriptive content, framing) and recipients’ (group identity, attitudes, knowledge, cognitive makeup). Fitness on these four characteristics then shapes perceptions of thought validity regarding the message and ultimately behavior change. Thus, we propose that propaganda attempts to maximize fitness between message and recipient characteristics and self-validation in the direction of the message. From the FVM, we then derive five main pathways for propagandist persuasion and dissuasion, which we label the 5D: Deceive social intuition, Divert resistant attitudes, Disrupt information processing, Decoy reasoning, and Disturb meta-cognition. The 5D are mutually inclusive and can be seen as the “building blocks” of real-world propaganda. We discuss the implications of the FVM for media psychology and conclude the model should be used to craft more effective liberal democratic (counter)propaganda.