Strategic Personality Simulation:
A New Strategic Concept

Dr. Norman D. Livergood
Chairman, Department of Artificial Intelligence, 1993-1995

Published by the U.S. Army War College, 1995

Executive Summary

  A Strategic Group (group desiring to predict and control some individual's or group's behavior) selects a personality as its target for control (termed Personality 1)

The target personality might be:
  • An enemy leader of a hostile nation
  • The CEO of a competitor corporation
  • A candidate in a national election
  • Any person or group whose behavior you wish to control and/or influence
  The Strategic Group builds a profile of P1, the target personality, through whatever means and sources it has at its disposal. These can include:
  • Interviews with the target personality
  • Observing it
  • Studying its communications (both written and oral)
  • Interviews with persons who know P1
  • Experimental interventions to test the effectiveness of the simulation system
  The Strategic Group views the personality as the intersection of internal and external elements:
  • Incoming (factors and personalities which control P1) and
  • Outgoing (factors and personalities which P1 controls)

  The strategic personality simulation would also include external factors (such as the political situation) and external persons (such as P1's superior).

  The Strategic Group would influence and/or control P1 through:
  1. Indirect means - influencing/controlling other persons or factors which in turn control/influence P1
  2. Direct means - influencing/controlling internal elements within P1
Strategic Personality Simulation involves:
  1. A Strategic Group (SG) attempting to control a target personality (P1)
  2. A target personality (P1)
  3. The SG's objectives (actions it wants P1 to perform)
  4. Quantitative analysis of the internal and external elements which control P1
    • Factors
    • Personalities
  5. Testing of the analysis in a gaming environment
  6. The Strategic Group making recommendations to key decisionmakers as to how to control P1
  • IP = Influencing personality - personality which influences/controls P1
  • IF = Influencing factor - factor which influences/controls P1
  • OP = Outside personality - personality over which P1 has some influence/control
  • OF = Outside factor - factor over which P1 has some influence/control
By creating a sophisticated profile of any irrational personality (individual or group), it is possible to influence and control that personality's thoughts and behavior.

References: