Psychological Operations

noun phrase (plural)

/ˌsaɪ.kəˈlɒdʒ.ɪ.kəl ˌɒp.əˈreɪ.ʃənz/

Planned operations that convey selected information and indicators to target audiences — adversaries, neutral parties, or friendly populations — to influence their emotions, motives, objective reasoning, and behaviour in ways that support the accomplishment of national security objectives; includes propaganda, deception, and information warfare

✍️ Usage in a UPSC answer

The proliferation of deepfake technology has made psychological operations cheaper and more scalable — state and non-state actors can now manufacture convincing disinformation at minimal cost, particularly dangerous along India's communally sensitive fault lines.

Synonyms

PSYOPSinformation operationsinfluence operationspropaganda operationsperception management

Antonyms

transparent communicationpublic diplomacy (non-deceptive)factual information dissemination

🌱 Word Family

psychological operations (n phrase), PSYOPS (abbreviation), psychological (adj), operation (n)

🔡 Root

Greek psyche = soul/mind + logos = reason/study + Latin operatio = a working (operari = to work)

📜 Etymology

PSYOPS formalised as military doctrine during World War I and II; India's Directorate of Psychological Warfare operates under the Indian Army; in the digital age, psychological operations have blurred into influence campaigns conducted through social media, fake news, and deepfakes, raising new security and democratic integrity challenges

🧠 Memory Hook

PSYCHO + LOGICAL + OPERATIONS: OPERATIONS that target the PSYCHO-LOGICAL — your mind is the battlefield, your beliefs are the objective

🛡️ Internal Security 📖 Seen in: Internal Security — Threats, Cyber Sec...

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