Ethics and Persuasion
"If you’ve got em’ by the balls, their hearts and minds will follow"
General George S. Patton
Ethical issues are bound up in the study/use of communication
 | Every interaction involves a "content" and a "relationship" dimension, either of which may entail ethical implications. |
| Communication is goal-directed, and therefore involves choices between means and ends. |
| Richard Weaver’s notion that all language is "sermonic." |
Many persuasion texts ignore the subject of ethics entirely!
| They presume they are simply imparting knowledge and information |
| They presume that ethical judgments are matters of personal opinion |
| They think it is presumptuous, or even unethical, to teach ethics |
Is persuasion in general unethical?
| Idealistic view: persuasion as "manipulation," getting others to do our bidding |
| Feminist view: persuasion as "masculine" approach to problem solving |
| win-lose orientation, emphasizes power/status differences |
| as opposed to a feminine approach which emphasizes shared goals, cooperation, mutually satisfactory outcomes, |
| Negative stereotypes: persuasion in the form of deceit, beguilement, trickery, |
Gass & Seiter’s view
| idealistic views of human communication are unrealistic, impractical |
| communication does break down at times, people do have incompatible goals at times |
| Persuasion is not a dirty word |
| Persuasion as a "tool" |
| Persuasion is androgynous; persuasion can emphasize cooperation or competition, power/status differences or equality |
| Gass & Seiter "The motives color the means" |
The motives color the means
Central versus peripheral processing: Is one more ethical than the other?
| 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 |
Ethical questions that can’t be answered through the study of persuasion
| Issues related to the ends of persuasion |
| pro-life versus pro-choice controversy |
| assisted suicide controversy |
| capital punishment |
| Well-known approaches to ethics (see sidebar in text) |
Persuaders as Lovers
| Wayne Brockriede’s (1974) notion of arguers as lovers |
| seducers: charm, flattery |
| rapists: threats, ultimatums |
| lovers: genuineness, positive regard |
| characteristics of persuaders as lovers |
| respect |
| equality |
| tolerance |
Characteristics of Ethical Influence
| Intentional on the persuader’s part |
| Conscious awareness on the receiver’s part |
| Free choice, free will on the receiver’s part |
| is there a right to avoid influence attempts? |
| In the "world of words" e.g., language and symbolic action |
Can 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 |
| the "ticking bomb" scenario |
Ethical questions regarding source credibility
| 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? |
Ethical questions regarding the use of deception
| Is deception ever justified? Is honesty always the best policy? |
Ethical questions relating to receivers
| What ethical guidelines should be followed when attempting to persuade highly vulnerable audiences? |
| Children |
| Elderly |
| Poor, inner-city residents |
Ethical questions related to the use of fear appeals
| Is the use of fear appeals ever ethically justifiable and, if so, under what conditions or circumstances? |
| Is the use of threats ever ethically justifiable and, if so, under what conditions or circumstances? |
Ethical questions related to using emotional appeals
| Is playing on another’s emotions ethically defensible? |
| Are some types of ethical appeals better, or more ethically defensible than others? |
Ethical questions related to the use of ingratiation?
| Is ingratiation an unethical strategy, or an honest acknowledgement of the way things work? |
Ethical questions related to the use of subliminal persuasion
| Should subliminal messages be allowed and, if so, should they be regulated by the
government or some other institution? |