فصلنامه مطالعات عملیات روانی
پیاپی 47 (پاییز و زمستان 1396)

The purpose of the present research work is to study the psychological mechanisms of establishing social security using the Prophet's life story. To do so, the qualitative, documentary, library, and conceptual research method was utilized. First, an attempt was made to answer the question, ‘How is social security established through psychological mechanisms?’ Then, the individual, social, disciplinary, solidarity, confidence-building, participatory, and valuation dimensions of this important issue were surveyed in detail. Next, making use of the Quranic verses, hadiths and narrations, each of the dimensions mentioned, social security indicators and mechanisms, and the psychological factors influencing it were documented. Ultimately, it was revealed that, in the Prophet's life story, individual security was accomplished through affection and respect, broad-mindedness, living a simple life, and endurance. The Prophet (p.b.u.h.), with all his diligence and strong resolution to carry out the mission, showed affection and respect, was cheerful, and lived a simple life in order to win the trust of the people. As regards the social dimension of security, social justice, satisfaction, fulfillment of promise, trust, participation of people, the protection of people's rights, and the presence of the Prophet among the people were among the psychological mechanisms of establishing social security in the Prophet’s life, which institutionalized trust, participation, and social security in the heart and soul of the people.

Psychological operations are a set of planned, purpose-bound measures carried out by the enemies of Islam in order to fulfill the goals of domination, transformation of cultural identity, and changing the willpower, beliefs, and behavioral patterns. The history of mankind has always been the scene of the battle between the truth and the falsehood. As regards intellectual and social assaults, the age of Imam Baqer (a.s.) is considered an important period and a milestone in the life of the Shiites. Using various psychological techniques, the Umayyads directed the public opinion toward accepting the distorted truth. Under such circumstances, Imam Baqer (a.s.) did not hesitate to enlighten the public and their minds. Using the descriptive-analytic research method and adopting a cross-disciplinary approach, the present article explores Imam Baqer's preventive strategies in the face of the enemy's psychological operations from the perspective of narrative-historical sources and presents an overview of the Islamic strategy towards this issue. The present study reveals that Imam Baqer (a.s.) made the conditions unfavorable for the psychological measures of the Umayyads within the framework of the five reinforcement, institution, advice, control, and prevention techniques and his wise leadership caused the influence of the enemy's psychological operations to be minimized in the community.

Modern virtual networks, as a new generation of virtual communication systems, have been instrumental in directing and influencing public opinion and have directed important developments in the political, social, cultural, etc. fields. Social networks are so institutionalized and widely used among the citizens that currently a large share of their media consumption in many countries, including Iran, is produced and distributed by these networks. Internationally, major political developments in recent years, such as Arab revolutions, US elections, and the Turkish coup, clearly signaled that social networks have surpassed the classic mass media in directing public opinion. Thus, under the current conditions, it can be argued that in directing and influencing public opinion, the traditional mass media act under the authority of social networks, and social networks are the main actor in public opinion management. The present study aims to delve into the way social networks direct public opinion and the process of directing opinions to the level of formation of a political mobilization in crises, in which virtual networks, as influential actors, instrumental.

As the smallest social unit, the family can be very instrumental in producing both the positive effect of creating a center of serenity and the negative effect of reproducing social harms. ‘Divorce’ with its devastating effects in various social dimensions and numerous social anomalies is among the negative phenomena associated with family life. Various known and unknown factors have contributed to marital maladjustment, the dissolution of the family, and the rise in divorce rates in Iranian society, especially in recent years. One of the possible factors contributing to the increase in the divorce rate among Iranian couples is ‘social networks’. Given the increasing use of cyber social networks among different strata of society, the present paper seeks to answer the question, "What are the impacts of cyber social networks on the growth of divorce rates in Iran, and how do these networks affect marital life?" The findings of the present research work, conducted through the descriptive-analytic method, show that there is a significant relationship between the increase in the divorce rate in the country and the use of social networks. The greater the use of these networks among couples, the greater the chill of marital relationships and divorce rate. Although using social networks has its own attractions, it affects family life and marital relationships, and this factor has become one of the reasons for the increase in divorce rates in the country.

The national language is one of the important components of the identity of any political and social system, whose negligence can lead to a lot of damages. The official languages have various social, political, legal, etc. functions, each of which can affect the fate of the countries. One of the important factors in the policies related to the national language is to consider the role of language in national unity and social solidarity. Considering the importance this issue, the present paper attempts to answer the following question using the analytical-descriptive method and library studies: ‘What is the impact of the Persian language on Iran's social solidarity and national unity?’ Some of the findings of the present study reveal that the Persian language has a strong relationship with the national unity of Iranians and it consolidates national solidarity and unity in Iranian society through the establishment of national identity, creation of effective interaction in society, instillation of the spirit of coexistence and avoidance of conflict, mediation between different language dialects in the country, public attachment, resistance culture, power generation, loyalty, etc. The history of the Islamic Iran shows that the Persian language has united Iranians against domestic and foreign enemies in different ages and has facilitated the process of conflictfree collective existence. To support the Persian language, we can take such measures as expanding media products, supporting research projects related to the promotion of the Persian language, increasing written products related to the Persian literature, supporting Persian language departments abroad, proliferating Persian language research journals, reinforcing Persian language courses in schools, etc.

Since its inception, the film industry has been at the service of the goals of colonial, intellectual, and cultural policies and has become a tool for infiltration and cultural transformation in the target communities. The emergence and development of this industry shows that, given its appeal to the general public, this phenomenon has always been at the heart of the cultural policies of colonial states towards other countries and cultures. In fact, the film industry can be considered the cultural infantry of the hard policies of the gluttonous states. Presenting a historical overview of the emergence and development of the film industry in the world, this article, first, attempts to demonstrate that this industry has been used as a power instrument by colonial states. The second part of the article is a review of the story of the cinema in the pre-revolutionary period, which confirms the policy of cultural infiltration of colonialists adopted by the Shah’s regime. Finally, the post-revolutionary Iranian cinema policy is discussed. The results of the present research underline the point that religious, revolutionary, and cultural potentials of Iranian cinema have not been properly explored and are in need of paying more attention.

Recent years have seen an explosion of activity from states and non-state actors seeking to manipulate on-line political discourse at home and abroad. These efforts have leveraged a range of different techniques, from the use of swarms of automated bots to the systemic spreading of misleading or outright fabricated information through social media. Most dramatically, recent revelations at the time of writing have suggested that the use of these techniques by the Russian government may have played a role in swaying the outcome of the 2016 US presidential elections. Technological trends seem poised to make these types of online psychological operations ever cheaper, more effective, and difficult to attribute in the near future. Given the potential for this new generation of psychological operations to destabilize the global political environment, what can be done through channels of international law and other forms of coordination to combat or control the impact of these persuasive campaigns? This paper examines this question in the context of state and nonstate actor use of online psychological operations to undermine other states. It also examines the current state of development of these techniques, and projects future capabilities based on recent advances in artificial intelligence and quantitative social science. It then examines a set of applicable international legal frameworks, arguing that the existing body of laws and norms fail to adequately constrain the use of these techniques. Finally, it provides a set of potential interventions for exploration, considering both technical and legal approaches. The European Research Council supports the present paper under the title of "Computer Advertising: The Impact of Algorithms and Virtual Robots on European Political Discourse." Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations provided in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Research Council.