Global Security and Intelligence Studies Volume 5, Number 1, Spring / Summer 2020 | Page 39

Psychology as a Warfighting Domain
Odysseus seeking a way to get past the
impenetrable walls of Troy. Supposedly
inspired by the Greek goddess, Athena,
Odysseus ordered a ruse in which all
of the Greek army would appear to sail
away and leave the gift of a large wooden
horse for the city of Troy. The Greek
army left one soldier, Sinon, behind to
tell the Trojans how the Greeks had given
up and left, with the horse as a gift.
In reality, the Greeks hid their forces off
the coast of a nearby island, with a small
contingent of fighters left hidden inside
the horse. The soldiers waited for the
Trojans to enjoy a drunken celebration
of their victory before they emerged
from the horse to attack Troy from
within (Cartwright 2018). This classic
tale of deceit shows the importance of
knowing the adversary’s worldviews,
their susceptibility to deception, and
using multiple indicators to create a believable
story. In this case, the Trojans’
ego and hope for an end to the fighting
perhaps allowed them to overlook the
obvious strangeness of a large wooden
horse left outside their gates. Because
the army appeared to retreat, leaving
one of their own behind to explain, the
Trojans were more susceptible to believe
what they wanted to believe—a
psychological phenomenon now called
confirmation bias.
These examples of evoking fear,
understanding a target audience, and
MILDEC demonstrate the use of psychological
warfare in ancient times.
While stories and myths from antiquity
provide an entertaining glimpse of psychology
as a warfighting domain, the
rest of this article focuses on modern
military and political efforts. Various
time periods of conflict are discussed,
using examples of different types of
influence in order to highlight the importance
of understanding and using
human psychology to achieve effects in
conflict.
“I Want You!” Posters and
Propaganda during World War I
The world began to understand
the utility of the psychological
domain during World War I
(WWI). One reason WWI is significant
to the consideration of the psychological
domain is its unique positioning
in human history. This was the first
time when the majority of nations involved
in a conflict had well-educated,
wealthy, and urbanized populations.
Warfare was beginning to evolve and
look different. There was another war
behind the scenes of mechanized and
trench warfare that characterized many
of the battles. In this other war, governments
fought to shape the opinions
of the masses and to shape the ideas
surrounding the war effort (Kaminski
2014). The US government began
to understand the importance of propaganda—the
spreading of ideas, information,
or rumors for the purpose
of helping or injuring an institution, a
cause, or a person (Merriam-Webster,
s.v. “propaganda,” accessed January 18,
2020, https://www.merriam-webster.
com/dictionary/propaganda)—propaganda,
or the use of information (both
true and false) to bolster the war effort.
The goals of propaganda were simple;
increase support for the war effort,
boost military conscription, and lead
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