Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy

Virtual Issue: Military Social Influence, June 2011

The study of social influence has long played a significant role in shaping public opinion, foreign as well as domestic, and in times of peace as well as war. In the first years of the 21st Century, that role may well be increasing in importance. Consequently, it could be argued that social psychologists, particularly those in the United States, have a responsibility to familiarize themselves with the use of social influence in the military. Yet there remains little to no discussion of military social influence in contemporary civilian texts and journals. This omission may be grounded in ambivalence, particularly in the wake of the so-called enhanced interrogation techniques used at Guantanamo Bay (Costanzo, Gerrity & Lykes, 2007, this journal). Beyond this, many social scientists believe that while it may be humane to replace the lethal tools of war with the gentler ones of influence, it is also potentially Orwellian. And yet the use of social psychology in the military goes on. A US Army General predicted that social scientists will be as important in the wars of the future as physicists have in the wars of the past - and this was before the social network facilitated popular uprisings of the Arab Spring of 2010-2011. The present virtual issue provides an introduction to both the nature of military social influence and some of the ethical issues which frame it. The collection includes a target article by Dr. Sara King, seven comments and an author's rebuttal; the comments are noteworthy not merely in the breadth of the concerns they raise but also in the diversity of their geographical origins, with contributors from Australia, Canada, Great Britain, and Taiwan, as well as the United States. Taken together, this provides a global perspective on military social psychology that is unique, is thought-provoking, and that will be of interest to a wide range of students, scholars, and analysts.

Military Social Influence in the Global Information Environment: A Civilian Primer
Sara B. King

Roots, Shoots, and Fruits of Persuasion in Military Affairs
Robert B. Cialdini

Commentary on the article by Sara King (2010), Military Social Influence in the Global Information Environment: A Civilian Primer
Mandeep K. Dhami

Influence Scholarship and Ethics: Commentary on the article by Sara King (2010), Military Social Influence in the Global Information Environment: A Civilian Primer
Stephan Lewandowsky and Werner G. K. Stritzke

Military Social Influence Commentary on the article by Sara King (2010), Military Social Influence in the Global Information Environment: A Civilian Primer
David R. Mandel

Muslim World Outreach: The United States Intervenes in Religious Identity: Commentary on the article by Sara King (2010), Military Social Influence in the Global Environment: A Civilian Primer
Clark McCauley

Should Social Scientists Aid the U.S. Government in Information Campaigns? : Commentary on the article by Sara King (2010), Military Social Influence in the Global Information Environment: A Civilian Primer
Sophia Moskalenko

Can Social Scientists Promote the Effects of Social Influence During War? An Effect Size Perspective: Commentary on the article by Sara King (2010), Military Social Influence in the Global Information Environment: A Civilian Primer
Chih-Long Yen

Author Response to: Military Social Influence in the Global Environment
Sara B. King