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.While recognizing, just as the lawyer does,that every one has the right to present his case in itsbest light, he nevertheless refuses a client whomhe believes to be dishonest, a product which he be-lieves to be fraudulent, or a cause which he believesto be antisocial.One reason for this is that, eventhough a special pleader, he is not dissociated fromthe client in the public's mind.Another reason isthat while he is pleading before the court the courtof public opinion he is at the same time trying toaffect that court's judgments and actions.In law,the judge and jury hold the deciding balance ofpower.In public opinion, the public relations coun-sel is judge and jury, because through his pleadingof a case the public may accede to his opinion andjudgment.He does not accept a client whose interests con-flict with those of another client.He does not accept45Propagandaa client whose case he believes to be hopeless orwhose product he believes to be unmarketable.He should be candid in his dealings.It must berepeated that his business is not to fool or hoodwinkthe public.If he were to get such a reputation, hisusefulness in his profession would be at an end.When he is sending out propaganda material, it isclearly labeled as to source.The editor knows fromwhom it comes and what its purpose is, and acceptsor rejects it on its merits as news.46CHAPTER IVTHE PSYCHOLOGY OF PUBLIC RELATIONSTHE systematic study of mass psychology re-vealed to students the potentialities of invisible gov-ernment of society by manipulation of the motiveswhich actuate man in the group.Trotter and LeBon, who approached the subject in a scientific man-ner, and Graham Wallas, Walter Lippmann andothers who continued with searching studies of thegroup mind, established that the group has mentalcharacteristics distinct from those of the individual,and is motivated by impulses and emotions whichcannot be explained on the basis of what we knowof individual psychology.So the question naturallyarose: If we understand the mechanism and motivesof the group mind, is it not possible to control andregiment the masses according to our will withouttheir knowing it?The recent practice of propaganda has proved thatit is possible, at least up to a certain point and withincertain limits.Mass psychology is as yet far frombeing an exact science and the mysteries of humanmotivation are by no means all revealed.But atleast theory and practice have combined with suffi-cient success to permit us to know that in certain47Propagandacases we can effect some change in public opinionwith a fair degree of accuracy by operating a certainmechanism, just as the motorist can regulate thespeed of his car by manipulating the flow of gaso-line.Propaganda is not a science in the laboratorysense, but it is no longer entirely the empirical affairthat it was before the advent of the study of masspsychology.It is now scientific in the sense that itseeks to base its operations upon definite knowledgedrawn from direct observation of the group mind,and upon the application of principles which havebeen demonstrated to be consistent and relativelyconstantThe modern propagandist studies systematicallyand objectively the material with which he is workingin the spirit of the laboratory.If the matter inhand is a nation-wide sales campaign, he studies thefield by means of a clipping service, or of a corps ofscouts, or by personal study at a crucial spot Hedetermines, for example, which features of a productare losing their public appeal, and in what new direc-tion the public taste is veering.He will not fail toinvestigate to what extent it is the wife who has thefinal word in the choice of her husband's car, or ofhis suits and shirts.Scientific accuracy of results is not to be expected,because many of the elements of the situation mustalways be beyond his control.He may know with afair degree of certainty that under favorable cir-48The Psychology of Public Relationscumstances an international flight will produce aspirit of good will, making possible even the con-summation of political programs.But he cannot besure that some unexpected event will not overshadowthis flight in the public interest, or that some otheraviator may not do something more spectacular theday before [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]