Persuasion is defined by Codoban as the
“process by which a person’s attitudes or behaviors
are, without duress,
influenced by other people through communication” (Codoban, 2006, p. 151). He goes on to explain that persuasion assumes
that the persuasion decision is made freely and consciously by the person being
persuaded (Cobodan, 2006, p.151).
Persuasion happens when one party takes a stance on a subject and
another party consciously tries to make the first party see their stance and
change their opinion to match their own.
The key to persuasion is that the person being persuaded knows that they
are being persuaded and is able to make a decision either to change their
attitude or behavior or not. Persuasion
is used in advertising, by politicians, as well as, by individuals in
one-on-one or group conversations.
According to Codoban who quoted
Cialdina, manipulation differs because it is “the ability to produce a distinct
kind of automatic, mindless compliance from people, that is, a willingness to
say yes without thinking first” (Codoban, 2006, p. 154). Seduction, on the other hand, focuses on a
subject or object and promises that happiness or pleasure will results from
changing one’s attitude or behavior (Codoban, 2006, p.157). With manipulation the party being manipulated
does not consciously know that they are being manipulated. Much like manipulation, someone being seduced
does not always know they are being seduced at that time; although, in most
cases, they are likely to figure it out later.
Persuasion in a one-on-one situation
is when two people have differing opinions on a subject and one tries to educate
the other person so they will not only understand and accept their
point-of-view, but adopt the other’s point-of-view, as well. Someone can use persuasion to try to convince
their friend to watch a television show that they really enjoy, by telling them
a little about the show
and why they think they will enjoy it as well. Someone can use persuasion to try to get
another person to come to their church, or change their religion, by telling
them about their experience and showing them why their beliefs are supported in
the Bible. One can attempt to persuade
another person on just about any subject, some major and some that are minor.
Manipulation in a one-on-one setting
can happen using many different approaches.
The author has a first-hand example from high school. She and her friends were trying to raise
money for a party. Her friend went
around and asked for two dollars from people that planned to attend and only
raised twelve dollars. The author went
around and asked people for fifty cents.
Most people wouldn’t even ask why and just give her a dollar. Those that did ask why ended up giving more
than a dollar and in half an hour at lunch she raised more than fifty
dollars. Asking for a smaller amount
made the giver feel more generous and manipulated them into giving more, which
was her plan the entire time.
Seduction can happen in a one-on-one
or group situation. The key to seduction
is to offer a promise that is appealing enough to your audience to make them do
what the seducer wants. It helps to know
your audience, or at least know what would appeal to most people if you are talking
to a group. A boss may try to seduce
their employee into supporting them by telling the employee that they will get
the raise, a bonus, or promotion by doing so, when in reality they have no
control over the raise or promotion.
This has happened to multiple people at the author’s employer. In advertising companies try to seduce the
audience by showing individuals that are elated and living a perfect life with
the suggestion that you too, will have their happiness if you use or buy their
product.
Prime examples of persuasion and seduction are political campaign ads. Many times these advertisements will incorporate some sort of seduction. Take for instance President Obama in his 2008 run for Presidency. His campaign ran a slogan “Change We Can Believe In” for about nineteen
months before changing to “Change We Need” (Hoppock. 2008). His campaign slogans used seduction promising that he was the change needed to bring the economy back and give hope to the American people. He used persuasion by running commercials that showed facts that his opponent had voted over ninety percent of the time with the current President who had run the economy into the ground and wanted to privatize and cut Social Security. In addition, he knew that being African American was a hurdle to overcome, so he started off with commercials displaying pictures from his childhood and spoke of being raised by a single mother and grandparents and he spoke about coming from poverty to gain common ground with the lower and middle class families that were struggling (Obama Media Team, 2008, Country I Love). These were tactics to manipulate the public into overlooking the color of his skin, and putting the focus on commonalities he had with so many Americans.
He also used persuasion to show that one of the biggest issues to the American people at the time, the economy, was not considered broken by his opponent with his commercial, Fundamentals, that showed a clip of John McCain stating that the “…fundamentals of our economy are strong…” then the commercial asked how can John McCain can fix something he doesn’t think is broken (Obama Media Team, 2008). This persuaded many Americans to believe that Obama was the only candidate that could fix the economy. This commercial was targeting the great majority of voters that were struggling financially.
Audiences vary greatly, and so will
their receptiveness to persuasion, manipulation and seduction. Persuasion works best on individuals that
have a wide latitude for acceptance, or a wide range of positions found to be
acceptable (Seiter, 2006, p. 55).
Seduction works best on individuals that buy into the promise of
happiness or pleasure, or have a lust for the results promised. There are some individuals that are not
swayed by the power of seduction because they are too analytical, so they are
too busy looking at the facts and questioning the validity of the promises
being made. Manipulation can only occur
if the party being manipulated does not know they are being manipulated.
Motivation by the party trying to
persuade and by the party being persuaded both have a major role in the success
of the persuasion attempt; as does the ability to convey the message and
understand the message. These two
elements are key to persuasion, manipulation and seduction. If the person trying to persuade, manipulate
or seduce is not properly conveying the message, or does not have the proper
motivation, their message will not be received well. That being said, no matter how well a message
is delivered, if the audience has no motivation to thoroughly listen to the
message, or does not have the ability to grasp the message it can also stop the
persuasion, manipulation or seduction from happening. If the audience has the motivation to listen,
but does not have the ability to understand, it can still result in the person
being persuaded because they may just accept that the other party knows more so
they are credible and they should listen to the person delivering the message.
Persuasion works best on individuals
that are not closed minded and will hear other opinions on a subject. Manipulation works best on simple decisions
that do not take a lot of thought.
Seduction works best on people that are not analytical, but have a
desire for the promises the deliverer has to offer. All three methods can be used separately, or
in conjunction with one another. The key
to any attempt at persuasion, manipulation or seduction is to know enough about
your audience to take the proper approach, to have the motivation and to
understand their ability to grasp, or not to grasp, your desired outcome.
References
Codoban,
A. (2006) From Persuasion to Manipulation and Seduction. JSRI Vol. 14, 151-158. Retrieved from http://vizedhtmlcontent.next.ecollege.com/pub/content/7303136c-1384-4799-959b-55428afb6176/Aurel_Codoban_Article_Week_2.pdf?eclg_res=1356403&eclg_resver=2640695
Hoppock,
J. (2008, September 12) Obama’s ‘Change’ Slogan Gets a Change. ABCNews.com
Retrieved from http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2008/09/obamas-change-s/
Obama
Media Team. (2008) Obama for America. Country
I Love. From Museum of the Moving Image, The Living Room Candidate:
Presidential Campaign Commercials 1952-2012. Retrieved from www.livingroomcandidate.org/commercials/2008/country-i-love
(accessed October 6, 2013).
Obama
Media Team. (2008) Obama for America. Fundamentals.
From Museum of the Moving Image, The Living Room Candidate: Presidential
Campaign Commercials 1952-2012.
Retreived from: www.livingroomcandidate.org/commercials/2008/fundamentals.
(accessed October 6, 2013).
Seiter. Perspectives on Persuasion, Social Influence,
and Compliance Gaining. Pearson Learning Solutions. Retrieved from
<vbk:0558414850#outline(5)>.
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