CHAPTER 1

6

ETHI C

S O

F PER

SU

ASIO

N

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ETHICAL ISSUES ARE BOUND UP IN THE USE OF COMMUNICATION

Every interaction involves a “content” and a “relationship” dimension

ethical implications are entailed in both dimensions

Persuasion is goal-directed Persuaders must make choices between

means and ends

Richard Weaver maintains that all language is “sermonic”

Language is inherently normative, value-laden

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negative stereotypes persuasion as “sophistry,”

including deceit, beguilement, trickery

idealistic view persuasion as “manipulation,”

getting others to do our bidding

feminist view persuasion as a “masculine,”

“patriarchal” practice

Note, that all of these views are persuasive in and of themselves

A person who is attempting to convince others that persuasion is unethical is persuading

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IN GENERAL, IS PERSUASION UNETHICAL?

OUR VIEW OF ETHICS AND PERSUASION

Idealistic views of human communication are unrealistic, impractical

communication does break down people do have incompatible goals

Persuasion is not a dirty word “tool” analogy of persuasion (amoral

view)

The motives color the means The motives (ends) of the

persuader, more than the strategy used (means), is what makes persuasion more or less ethical

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THE MOTIVES COLOR THE MEANS

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means “good” motive or end

“bad” motive or end

Use of deception

Concealing a surprise party for the person in whose honor the party is being given

Trying to swindle an elderly person out of his/her life savings

Use of fear appeals

Trying to convince a child never to accept a ride from a stranger

Threatening to demote an employee for resisting a superior’s sexual advances

Use of ingratiation

Trying to cheer up a friend who is discouraged about a grade on a test

Lavishing attention on a dying relative in hopes of being named in the will

Central processing is based on:

thought, reflection, deliberation

scrutiny of message content high level of receiver

involvement

Peripheral processing is based on:

mental shortcuts such as credibility, images, appearance-based cues

emotional processing low level of receiver

involvement

Cultural differences Individualistic cultures tend

to favor direct strategies

Collectivistic cultures tend to favor indirect strategies

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ETHICS OF CENTRAL VS. PERIPHERAL PROCESSING

ETHICAL QUESTIONS THAT CAN’T BE ANSWERED BY RESEARCH

“Truth” versus “truths”

Issues related to the ends of persuasion

pro-life versus pro-choice

same sex marriage

assisted suicide

capital punishment

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The Federal Trade Commission (FTC)

regulates truth in advertising

Institute for Advertising Ethics

http://www.aaf.org/default.asp?id=1236

American Association of Advertising Agencies

http://www.apa.org/ethics/code/index.aspx

Word of Mouth Marketing Association

http://www.womma.org/ethics

American Psychological Association

http://www.apa.org/ethics/code/index.aspx

International Sociological Association

http://www.isa-sociology.org/about/isa_code_of_ethics.htm

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DIFFERENT FIELDS HAVE DIFFERENT ETHICAL STANDARDS

Intentionality

Conscious awareness

Free choice, free will

Language-based

Reliance on central processing

Presumptive superiority of words over images

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CHARACTERISTICS OF ETHICAL INFLUENCE

Brockriede’s types of arguers

Seducers

use charm deception, flattery, beguilement

Rapists

use force, coercion, threats, ultimatums

Lovers

view another as a partner

Characteristics of ethical influence

Respect

Reaffirming the other’s self worth

Treating another with dignity

Equality

Equal status, shared goals

Tolerance

Respecting differences of opinion

Remaining open to new ideas

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PERSUADERS AS LOVERS

ROBERT CIALDINI’S ETHICAL APPROACH

Bunglers are inept, utilize ineffective strategies, may use unethical

strategies because they don’t know any better an inept salesperson, a naïve persuader, an uninformed advocate

Smugglers are sneaky, have little or no concern for ethics, will resort to any

strategy to succeed con artists, hucksters, high pressure salespeople

Sleuths Are knowledgeable about persuasion, employ effective and

ethical strategies, and adapt their message to the listener’s frame of reference

TED talks speakers, Steve Jobs’ commencement address,

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Should some forms of persuasion be banned?

Hate speech? (Westboro Baptist Church) Speech codes on college campuses? Cyber-bullying? KKK or Nazi rallies? Abortion clinic hecklers?

Is there a right to avoid influence attempts? Telemarketing Spam Webtracking Aggressive panhandling

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WHEN IS BANNING PERSUASION ETHICAL?

IS THE USE OF COERCION EVER BE ETHICALLY JUSTIFIED?

A child is forced to get a vaccination by his or her parents

a psychotic or delusional person is forcibly restrained so he/she won’t harm him/her self or someone else

Enhanced interrogation techniques: under a ticking bomb” scenario, is using torture to save lives justifiable?

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Is it unethical for a celebrity endorser to promote a product or service he or she does not actually use, or about which he or she lacks expertise?

Does the use of authority become an abuse of authority if receivers place too much faith or reliance in a particular source? Celebrity endorsers

must disclose their relationship with an advertiser

They must be a “bona fide” user of the product

Would a celebrity say the same thing about a product if she/he were not being paid?

Does “bona fide” user mean the celebrity uses a product once per week, once per year, or once only?

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ETHICAL QUESTIONS REGARDING SOURCE CREDIBILITY

ETHICAL QUESTIONS RELATING TO CHILDREN

What ethical guidelines should be followed when attempting to persuade highly vulnerable audiences?

Children

May believe all ads are truthful and accurate

May be lured by giveaways (free toy)

May be exposed to adult advertising

Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) limits information that kids are required to divulge online

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Baby Bratz dolls are popular with girls ages 4-12

The dolls are dressed in provocative clothing

Accessories include Jacuzzis and mixed drinks

The American Psychological Association maintains that Bratz dolls contributes to the early sexualization of girls

(APA Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls, 2004)

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SELLING OVER-SEXED TOYS TO KIDS

ETHICAL QUESTIONS RELATED TO SENIORS

Elderly

Are more vulnerable to scams: 80% of fraud victims are 65 or older (FTC)

55-80% of telemarketing is aimed at seniors (National Crime Prevention Council)

Elderly are more likely to fall for deceptive prize promotions, sweepstakes, lottery scams, bogus charities, and bank error scams

Aging results in damage to the ventromedial prefrontal cortex which regulates doubt and skepticism (Rogalsky, Vidal, Li, & Damasio, 2012)

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ETHICAL QUESTIONS RELATED TO AT-RISK ADULTS

Poor, inner-city residents

People living in poor, urban environments are subjected to more billboard ads for alcohol and cigarettes

Because they often lack education, they are susceptible to misleading advertising

Immigrants, non-English speakers

Employers may exploit undocumented workers by denying them benefits, allowing unsafe working conditions, and threatening to report workers if they complain

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ALCOHOL ADVERTISING IN THE INNER CITY

African-American communities are targeted by the alcohol and tobacco industry

Billboards: 55%-58% of inner city billboards carried cigarette and/or alcohol ads compared to only 34% in more affluent areas

Magazine ads: Black youths were exposed to 66% more beer and ale ads and 81% more distilled spirits magazine advertisements in 2002

Radio ads: Blacks youths heard 12% more beer advertising and 56% more ads for distilled spirits than non-African-American youth

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COMMON CRITICISMS OF ADVERTISERS/MARKETERS

Advertising sells us dreams and entices us with romanticized images

Advertising makes us believe there is a quick fix for all of life’s problems

Advertising panders to our desires for things that are bad for us

Advertisers manipulate us into wanting things we don’t really need

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COMMON RESPONSES TO CRITICISMS

Caveat emptor—let the buyer beware

Consumer stupidity is not the fault of advertising

Media literacy movement: can facilitate better understandings of media

Economic Darwinism: bad products won’t survive no matter how good the advertising

The FCC and other watchdog groups already regulate advertising

Advertisers and other groups have their own professional codes of ethics

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Is deception ever justified? Is honesty always the best policy?

Is deception a form of communication competence? Should people practice being better deceivers?

Not all lies are self-serving.

Would you tell the Nazis if Anne Frank were hiding in your attic?

Are parents who tell their children about Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny bad parents?

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ETHICAL QUESTIONS REGARDING DECEPTION

Is an M.D.’s use of strategic ambiguity, equivocation, a lie of omission, or other type of deception ever justifiable?

Scenario: A pedestrian, who has been run over by a car, arrives at the emergency room

The ER physician can tell that the patients’ legs are crushed and there is damage to the spine

The patient asks, “Am I going to be okay? Am I going to live? Will I be able to walk again?”

Question: What should the doctor say?

Possible answers: “I’ll do everything I can.” “It’s too soon to tell.” “I’m afraid it doesn’t look good.” “There is serious injury to both

legs and damage to your spine.” “I’ll be honest with you, you’ll

probably live, but you’ll be confined to a wheelchair the rest of your life.”

Is a patient’s right to know tempered by the need to prevent added stress?Can a patient who is in a state of shock make an informed decision?

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DOCTOR-PATIENT DECEPTION

ETHICS AND THE USE OF THREATS AND FEAR APPEALS

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Is the use of threats ever ethically justifiable?

Is the use of fear appeals ever ethically justifiable and, if so, under what conditions or circumstances?

Barry Glassner, a sociology professor at USC, claims Americans are bombarded with fear appeals

Fear mongering increases during “sweeps “week on TV

Fear of terrorism

National health insurance and “death panels”

Fear of immigrants taking jobs, jobs being outsourced overseas

Fear of exotic diseases

Fear of ailments that require prescription drugs

Fear of crime, violence

Fear of lack of health care coverage

Fear of Social Security cuts

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AMERICA: A CULTURE OF FEAR?

PANIC

Scary diseases Swine flue or H1N1 Mad cow disease West Nile virus Sars Ebola Flesh eating virus Avian flu

Yet, many Americans fail to get a flu shot

Some 10,000 or more people die per year from the flu!

No one in the U.S.A. has died from Mad Cow disease (BSE)

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A CULTURE OF FEAR?

Is the purple pill right for you?

Pharmaceutical firms claim they are “empowering consumers” by running ads

But are they creating unnecessary demand?

U.S. drug makers spend 2.5 times as much on marketing and administration as they do on research75 percent of new drugs approved by the FDA are me-too drugs“no better than drugs already on the market to treat the same condition.”

Marcia Angell, former editor of the New England Journal of Medicine

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PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANIES AND FEAR MONGERING

Mass shootings: There were 16 mass shootings in 2012, that left 88 people dead

BUT137 children, ages 15 or younger drowned in pools and spas in 2012

Drownings are much more preventable-all that is required is adult supervision

Compared to: 35,000 injuries per year

from nail guns Food allergy fatalities

100-200 per year Bathtubs: 337 fatalities Dog bites: 16 fatalities Fireworks: 13 fatalities Hornets, wasps, and

bees: 46 fatalities  Lightning: 63 fatalities

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KEEP THE NUMBERS IN PERSPECTIVE

Is playing on another’s emotions ethically defensible?

Are some types of emotional appeals better, or more ethically defensible than others?

Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech employed emotional appeals

Coaches use emotional appeals to inspire their teams

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ETHICAL QUESTIONS ABOUT EMOTIONAL APPEALS

ETHICAL QUESTIONS RELATED TO THE USE OF INGRATIATION?

Is ingratiation an unethical strategy, or an honest acknowledgement of the way things work?

Research by Ronald Deluga shows ingratiating employees enjoy a 5% advantage when it comes to employee performance reviews

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ETHICS AND VISUAL PERSUASION

Lancet reported that aid organizations seek to raise their own media profile at the expense of the needy

Philip Morris spends twice as much promoting its philanthropy as it does on philanthropy itself

Pharmaceutical manufacturers spend twice as much on marketing as on basic research

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THE CAMERA DOES LIE

The infamous KONY documentary; false and misleading images

The documentary quality of photographs and video footage makes people believe photos are “objective,” “impartial” representations of reality

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ETHICAL OF SUBLIMINAL PERSUASION

Should subliminal messages be allowed and, if so, should they be regulated by the government or some other institution?

Do online subliminal messages pose any risk?

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