Persuasion, Manipulation, and Seduction

Persuasion, Manipulation, and Seduction

  Persuasion, manipulation, and seduction are three techniques that can be used when communicating with someone and trying to alter their state of thinking. Many times people do not think of persuasion, manipulation, and seduction as relating to human communication. Although, it directly deals with communication it is like there is a mental block that stops the association.

Persuasion is a much nicer way of say you convinced someone to do what you want or think how you want them to. Manipulation is a harsher word that basically means you twisted and turned things so someone was forced into a mindset or action which they really didn’t want to be in or perform.  When it comes to seduction most people think in terms of sex. This is fairly accurate because seduction plays upon the wants, desires, emotions, feeling, and sexual thoughts of a person. Although sexual seduction is based on sex; it is because of the emotional attachment to sex and the emotions behind it rather than physical desire. Therefore it’s the driving force of sex that enables the possibility of seduction. 

          When it comes to persuasion there are many different types of techniques that can be utilized. One type is the use of fear to persuade someone. The use of fear can be used to convince someone that a negative outcome could result is a certain action is not performed.

Fear is often used as a means of producing behavior change. Classic examples covered in the Jones and Gerard text are studies on getting children to brush (and today, floss) in the interest of preventing tooth decay (and today, gum disease) and on getting children not to smoke. In one study (Janis and Feshbach) researchers found that a strong appeal to fear (such as the depiction of gross tooth decay) had the reverse of the expected results. Children reported improved practice in brushing their teeth in response to the milder appeals that did not invoke fear and anxiety. (pp. 459 - 463)

Fear as an attitude and behavior change mechanism is a risky choice. Putting a student in fear of bad grades may motivate the student to work harder. But it may also have the reverse effect of causing the student to give up in expectation of failure. Jones and Gerard deal with fear and grades on p. 467. They also summarize Goldstein's conclusions from another study that: "when a person is threatened . . . there are two things that he can do. He can cope with the threat by adopting the belief advocated by the communication and subsequently chanage his oral hygiene practices [this was the tooth decay study]; or he can avoid anything and everything that might sustain the fear in the present or re-arouse it in the future. [Some of us just avoid dentists like the plague.] If he reacted defensively with avoidance, he would be less likely to show concern with dental hygiene practices subsequent to the threat." (Jones and Gerard, p. 462.) (Curran & Takata, 1999)

Authority is another way to persuade someone to do something. According to Curran and Takata someone in an authoritative position can use their power and position to “persuade” which means tell someone what to do without really telling them? Leaders within the church sometimes use the authority given by God by saying they were “called’ to do something making the churchgoers think if they don’t think or perform a certain way they are disobeying God (Curran & Takata. 1999).

Other forms of persuasion also include the use of a prestigious spokesperson such as commercials and Nike Jordan basketball shoes or the use of debate to persuade someone. The use of debate is most familiar with the public in the court of law and citing previous cases and situations where something occurred in favor of the one doing the persuasion.

As in the case of persuasion there are also different types of manipulation techniques. Below are different types of techniques used in manipulation and mechanisms. Perhaps you have used some or they have been used on you.

“Do you know what a “free sample” is? A good place for free samples is the supermarket, where customers are frequently provided with small cubes of a certain variety of cheese or meat to taste. After that, many people buy the product, even if they might not have liked it especially well. A “free sample”, is a sort of a gift and, as such, can engage the rule of reciprocity. (Maybe, this example has become so well known that doesn’t work anymore.)

A friend asks you for an amount of money that you think he will not be able to return, and you refuse. Then, the friend reduces drastically his demand and you lend him   the money. That is “the door-in-the-face” technique: ask for something too big, and then         get the thing you wanted. Also here the rule of reciprocity seems to be in act: because the other became rational in his demand and made a concession, you feel the obligation to make a similar concession.

A psycho-sociological experiment showed us that if one asks us on the street “what time is it?” and we answer him, and then he asks for change to make a phone-call, we are inclined to give him the money with an increase probability than in the case he hadn’t asked about time and/or we hadn’t answered. That is “the foot-in-the-door” technique: you ask for something meaningless, and get something important. Here the mechanism of consistency is at work: most peoples have the tendency to be and look consistent within their own words, beliefs, attitudes, and deeds. The best explanation for these phenomena is offered by Leon Festinger’s book A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance (Row, Peterson and Co., Evanston, White Plains, 1957).”(Codoban, 2014, Pg.3-4)

            The other topic up for discussion is the process of seduction which is a form of aderviting.

“Seduction was often examined before, but almost all the time from o moral and religious perspective. Baudrillard was the one who imposed a new view, from the perspective of communication. Post-modern seduction is apparently the reverse of manipulation: in this case the subject offers himself /herself as an object, but as an object - secret, miraculous, strange - that is missing to the other in order for him/herto be “entire/whole”. The object of seduction, the object that seduces, is the object of desire. Baudrillard observes that “the subject can only desire, the object seduces”: “the seducer cannot be what he/she is only if he/she is nobody”, only if his/her subjectivity is annulated.”(Codoban, 2014, P. 5)

When it comes to modern day persuasive devices the television covers persuasion, manipulation and seduction. However, I would say first and foremost when it comes to persuasion family, friends, and television commercials effect everyone on a daily basis. The act of being convinced or persuaded by family, friends, or television ads is unavoidable. Most times commercials for food or drinks is my downfall. Watching a show and seeing a certain food is a form of persuasion or trying to get your kids to clean their room and do homework is a daunting task that takes lots of persuasion.

            A persuasive device that falls in line with manipulation is most definitely your spouse. Although device is not a true depiction of someone’s spouse they definitely know which buttons to press to you manipulate you into doing something. Convincing you of an outcome based on your failure to do nor not do something seems like a natural thing for all significant others. You and I even do so to our significant others.

            Seduction is probably a method that most adults are familiar with. Being told you will be “rewarded” if you do household chores or some other task is all too common. This technique is used against adults but also relates to kids. Of course not sexually but if you think back to your childhood what one thing always seduced you and all the kids in the neighborhood to come running? That’s right; the ice cream truck music! This simple pure sound seduced you by appealing to your emotions that you wanted a dessert from the truck. Whether it a rocket pop or a Scooby Doo pushup; that song seduced you.

            Many times we really don’t step back and look at effective methods of persuasion. We know they happen but if we took the time to break them down then we could do it more proficiently and perhaps stop it from happening to us so often. Overall, all three can be very useful but just as dangerous if used in an incorrect form.   

References

Codaban, A. (2014, July 11). From persuasion to manipulation and seduction. (A very short history of global communication) (PDF Download Available). Retrieved from http://www.researchgate.net/publication/26450086_From_persuasion_to_manipulation_and_seduction._(A_very_short_history_of_global_communication)

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