Ethics of Persuasion “If you’ve got em’ by the balls, their hearts and minds will follow” General George S. Patton

Persuasion text ignores ethics because: 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.

The motives color the means Central Processing based on: 1. Thought, reflection, deliberation. 2. Scrutiny of message content. 3. High level of receiver involvement. Peripheral Processing based on: 1. Mental shortcuts (credibility, images, appearance) 2. Emotional processing 3. Low level of receiver involvement.

Ethical Q regarding source credibility Is it unethical for a celebrity endorser to promote a product/service he/she does not actually use or lacks expertise? Does the use of authority become an abuse of authority if receivers place too much faith/reliance in a particular source?

Ethical Q regarding the use of deception Is deception ever justified ? Is honesty always the best policy?

Ethical Q relating to receivers What ethical guidelines should be followed when attempting to persuade highly vulnerable audiences? - children - elderly - poor, inner-city residents

Ethics and emotional appeals Some people view emotional appeals which tug at receivers’ heartstrings, are unjustified precisely because they appeal to emotion rather than to reason. Persuasion, they say, should aim higher, at the mind, not the heart, and certainly not below the belt.

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 Responsibility Persuaders’ ethical responsibility stems from a status/position they have earned or have been granted. Responsibility includes the elements of fulfilling duties and obligations, being accountable to others by agreed upon standards. Most importantly it involves thoughtful and deliberate judgement.

Ethical Responsibility In persuasive situations, persuaders have an ethical obligation to double-check their evidence and reasoning before it is presented to others. The same things applies to appointed government officials.

Ethical Responsibility You need to carefully analyze claims, soundly assesses probable consequences and weigh relevant values. If communication behavior seems to stem more from accident or unintentional slip of tongue/ ignorance, we are less harsh in our ethical assessment.

Ethical Responsibility- questions Does sincerity of intent releases a persuader from ethical responsibility concerning means and effects? To what degree is it ethical for persuaders to alter their ideas and proposals to adapt to the needs, capacities, desires and expectations of an audience?

Approaches to ethics Ends versus means Whether the means or method of influence is justified by the desirability of the outcome.

Approaches to ethics Situational ethics/relativism There a re no moral absolutes, no ethical maxims. There are always exceptions to every rule. Depends on the situations, the parties involved, nature of the issue and other related factors

Approaches to ethics Free market ethics Based on the metaphor of free market. Should be little or no prior restraint on persuasive messages. Places greater responsibility on receivers to critically evaluative persuasive messages.

Ethics and Visual Persuasion If a picture is worth a thousand words, then is a misleading image equivalent to a thousand misleading words? What social responsibilities accompany the use of images and other forms of visual persuasion?