TARGET AUDIENCE AND ISSUE ANALYSIS
Target Audience and Issue Analysis
Target audience and issue analysis (TAIA) formally begins upon determination or receipt
of the Psychological Operations objectives (POs), supporting Psychological Operations
objectives (SPOs), and potential target audience list (PTAL). The Target Audience Analysis
Model (TAIAM) provides the framework by which PSYOP Soldiers identify and study TAs.
Using the TAIAM, PsyOps Soldiers examine the motivations and consequences of behavior to
determine how best to influence the TA. The end products of TAIA are the PSYOP arguments
used (the overall argument and approach to obtain the desired behavior from the TA) and
recommended actions that a military unit can take to influence the behavior of selected
audiences.
TAA is the cornerstone of effective PsyOps. To change a group’s behavior, PsyOps
Soldiers must understand why the TA behaves as it does. Conducting effective TAIA is one of
the most vital skills that a PSYOP Soldier can cultivate. PsyOps will be ineffectual or even
detrimental to mission accomplishment without this critical analysis of the TA.
CONDUCTING INITIAL RESEARCH FOR TARGET AUDIENCE ANALYSIS
1. PsyOps Soldiers should keep abreast of current events and study the history, culture,
society, and political makeup of their respective target areas to increase their awareness of long-
standing and emerging PsyOps-relevant issues. These issues could adversely affect national
policies in the commander’s area of operations. Acquiring more than a general knowledge of the
area, their institutions, populace, and culture is a fundamental responsibility of every PsyOps
Soldier.
2. Upon the completion or near-completion of PsyOps planning, TAIA begins. PsyOps
Soldiers initiate TAA by conducting preliminary research on information related to the AO and
its population to identify the specific individuals, organizations, and key demographic sets that
PsyOps may target.
3. Accurate and worthwhile TAIA requires research and in-depth analysis of large
amounts of information. PsyOps Soldiers conducting TAIA must evaluate these sources of
information to determine their credibility, accuracy, and relevance. Sources of information for
TAIA research, to include responses to information requirements (IRs) that are integrated into
the commander’s collection efforts, are the following:
Results of PsyOps-specific intelligence preparation of the battlefield
(IPB), to include the PSYOP characteristics overlay, threat center of gravity (COG)
analysis, and threat templates.
Open-source information, to include Internet sites, news agencies,
academic journals, and unclassified government and nongovernment information.
PsyOps or supported unit documentation, to include situation reports
(SITREPs), after action reports, OPLANs, and other archival information.
Finished intelligence products produced by Intelligence agencies.
PsyOps-relevant research and published studies produced by civilian
analysts assigned to the Research and Analysis Division.
ANALYZING THE PSYOP TARGET AUDIENCE
PsyOps TAIA is a detailed and comprehensive examination of selected groups and/or
individuals to determine how best to influence their behavior favorable to national policies. The
TAIAM is designed specifically to determine how to elicit certain behaviors from individuals
within a particular group. Through TAIA, PsyOps Soldiers perform these critical functions for
the development of effective PsyOps:
Identify groups and individuals that can accomplish SPOs.
Understand the motivations for TA behavior.
Identify potential vulnerabilities PSYOP can use to influence behavior.
Develop a PSYOP argument and the recommended actions to influence TA
behavior.
THE FIVE KEY QUESTIONS
The TA is analyzed in relation to a given SPO; that is, the specific behavioral goal for
that group or individual. TAs have unique characteristics and they are motivated and affected by
different events, stimuli, and experiences. The degree to which they can be influenced and how
they are best influenced could vary greatly or slightly. Thus, the PsyOps Soldier must determine
each TA’s conditions and vulnerabilities as they relate to the specific SPO. (The conditions and
vulnerabilities of the PsyOps TA will be discussed later in this chapter.) PsyOps arguments and
Psychological Operations actions (PSYACTs/Deed PsyOps) are tailored to each TA to more
precisely influence its behavior toward the achievement of the SPOs.
Accurate and thorough analyses of the TA will yield vital information for the PSYOP
Soldier.
PSYOP TAIA seeks to answer five key questions:
What TAs will be most effective in accomplishing the SPO?
What are the reasons for the TA’s current behavior?
What are the best means of communication to reach the TA?
How can the TA be influenced to achieve the desired behavior?
What are the appropriate criteria by which to assess behavior change?
PSYOP TARGET AUDIENCE ANALYSIS MODEL
The TAIAM is a practical research and analysis method that yields the necessary
information for developing PsyOps products and actions. The TAIAM is implemented in Phase
II of the PsyOps process as a critical step toward developing effective PsyOps, and it
incorporates the pertinent information obtained
During planning and from incoming data and intelligence. This analytical model is based
on eight sequential and interrelated steps. Each step is as important as the next, as the precision
and relevancy of the resulting information will serve as the basis for the creation of the PsyOps
arguments and for the determination of the appropriate PSYACTs/Deed PsyOps to influence the
intended audience. The analysis is captured in a TAAW, which provides the recommended
arguments and PSYACTs/Deeds that PsyOps Soldiers use to develop PsyOps series. (Chapter 3
discusses series development.) The PsyOps TAIAM consists of the following eight steps:
Step 1: Identify and refine TAs.
Step 2: Determine effectiveness.
Step 3: Identify conditions.
Step 4: Identify vulnerabilities.
Step 5: Determine susceptibility.
Step 6: Determine accessibility.
Step 7: Develop PSYOP arguments and recommend PSYACTs/Deed PsyOps.
Step 8: Refine assessment criteria.
