Persuasion’s Forms
Persuasion is a term that is used when one is attempting
to get another to change their mindset or action in one form or another. However, persuasion can sometimes be confused
with other terms that are utilized to do a similar act. These terms would be seduction and
manipulation. The three are similar in many
ways but the intentions associated with these three terms differentiate them in
large ways.
Persuasion
Persuasion is a form of
communication that takes place on a daily basis within our society. Merriam-Webster Online defines the act of
persuading as the ability “to move by argument, entreaty, or expostulation to a
belief, position, or course of action”.
Essentially, persuasion is changing someone’s beliefs or mind about
something.
Persuasion is not a new
concept. It is stated by Aurel Codoban
(2006) that “the ancient Greeks were the first to be interested in influencing
convictions, attitudes and actions or human behavior through communication”
(pp. 152). This means that this
particular art of communication has been around for a long time.
Manipulation
Manipulation is another form of
communication. “…Manipulation always
involves interference with freedom, at any rate beyond what is normal in
personal interaction, or that the problem with manipulation is essentially a
problem about unfreedom” (Greenspan, 2004, pp. 155). Another way that manipulation is defined, by
Merriam-Webster Online, would be “to control or play upon by artful, unfair, or
insidious means especially to one’s own advantage”. One can attempt to persuade another through
manipulation by being “unfair” and, in essence, deceiving the person that they
are attempting to persuade to do whatever action or think whatever thought they
want them to.
Seduction
Another form of communication
utilized to changed one’s mind is seduction.
Merriam-Webster Online defines seduction as the ability “to persuade to
disobedience or disloyalty, to lead astray usually by persuasion or false
promises, [or] to carry out the physical seduction of: entice to sexual
intercourse”. This communication method
is used to persuade people by appealing to their sexual desires, needs, and
emotions.
Modern Day Methods
There are many methods of persuasion
utilized in today’s society. Persuasion
is used to get people to do anything from a simple to a complex request. Persuasion is a communication method that can
be found on a daily basis from the young to the old. It is used between family, friends,
coworkers, salesman, and countless other interactions.
One method utilized to persuade individuals to change
their mind or actions is the use of fear.
As taken from the Jones and Gerard material, one example of utilizing
fear to persuade would be “…getting children to brush in the interest of
preventing tooth decay” (cited in Curran & Takata, 1999). This is a classic example of the use of fear
to persuade. Parents tell their children
to brush their teeth and then tell them the negative and potentially scary
things that could happen as a result of not brushing.
One method utilized to persuade individuals to change
their mind or actions is the use of fear.
As taken from the Jones and Gerard material, one example of utilizing
fear to persuade would be “…getting children to brush in the interest of
preventing tooth decay” (cited in Curran & Takata, 1999). This is a classic example of the use of fear
to persuade. Parents tell their children
to brush their teeth and then tell them the negative and potentially scary
things that could happen as a result of not brushing.
Another, and very common, method of
persuasion would be the use of advertisement to persuade consumers to purchase
products, eat at restaurants, watch certain movies, and just generally consume
in one form or another. According to
Berger (2008) $245 billion was spent in advertising in America in 2004 (pp.
117). $245 billion spent to persuade
consumers to consume. Companies pay for
spots on billboards, commercials, magazines, and any other location that they
can present ads to persuade their audience.
Persuasion through the use of
seduction can be viewed on late night television through commercials trying to
entice individuals to call and chat with single women. The commercials showcase young and attractive
women that are basically begging viewers to call them for what they call
fun. The pull of sex is used to try to
get men to call in and pay by the minute to speak with women that they have
never met about whatever topics they might choose.
Examples of manipulation can be
found through accessing your email, mailbox, or even by answering your
telephone. Companies and individuals
alike are calling and writing with a variety of scams intent on swindling
unsuspecting people of their hard earned money.
New scams are circulating often, and people are persuaded by the promise
of quick money or deals that seem to-good-to-be-true.
Conclusion
In conclusion, though persuasion,
manipulation, and seduction are all used to get an individual to perform an
action or think a thought that they might not have otherwise done, all three
methods are different. Persuasion is the
attempt to change one’s mind.
Manipulation attempts to get to the same end result through the use of
practices that are dishonest. Seduction
goes another route by persuading through the use of appealing to an individual
through a sexual nature. The three are
utilized commonly in daily communication.
They are three forms of communication that all have the same end result
but get there through a different mode of transportation.
References:
Berger, A.
(2008). Seeing is Believing An Introduction to Visual Communication
Codoban, A. (2006). From
persuasion to manipulation and seduction. (A very short history of global communication).
Retrieved May 29, 2010 from www.jsri.ro/new/?download=jsri_14_articol_14_aurel_codoban.pdf
Curran, J. & Takata,
S. (1999, August). Use of Fear to Persuade. California State University. Retrieved May, 29, 2010 from http://www.csudh.edu/dearhabermas/argpers.htm
Greenspan,
P. (2004, April). The Problem with Manipulation. American Philosophical Quarterly,
Vol. 40, No. 2., pp. 155-164. Retrieved May 29, 2010, from JSTOR database.
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