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POSITIVE PROVOCATION IN THE POSTMODERN SOCIETY: OPPORTUNITIES AND RISKS

S. Tumskiy

Abstract

In the postmodern society with its rapid changes, actors strive to find the most efficient means of social adaptation that would enable them to achieve their personal goals in the shortest possible time. The complexity of social relationships forces social actors to use provocations as a more advanced means of influence. Oftentimes, provocators resort to provocations in order to have an emotional impact on their opponents and galvanize them into actions that are programmed to damage them for the sake of realization of the provocatorsВ’ hidden interests. Still, provocations can be employed for social interaction with the intention of achieving results that are beneficial to both the subject and the object of provocation. Such provocations may be called positive provocations. They are an excellent means of impact if the provocator wants to achieve their target but doesnВ’t state the real intentions to the vis-a-vis fearing that they would be opposed to their plan. This paper is aimed at determining the essence of positive provocation as a social phenomenon, as well as its difference to the negative one in terms of areas of its application in social interaction, their impact and the risks involved. The research is focused on the analysis of cases of application of positive provocation in social interaction. The paper concludes that positive provocations are not destructive in their nature; they can instead be used to encourage actions that are advantageous for both the provocator and the object of provocation. Positive provocations are not always ethical and presuppose using some manipulative techniques. So, their risk level is rather low and their benefits are considerable.

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DOI resolver: doi.org/10.5593/SWS.ISCSS.2019.3/S12.080

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