Persuasion, Manipulation & Seduction

            The world is full of opinions, theories, and thoughts. Each person evolving their own views on life and all that it holds. As a basic human trait, it is not uncommon that people choose to believe that their evaluation of the world is correct, and therefore it becomes necessary to set about convincing others. It is impossible to ignore the obvious attempts, and impossible to avoid the subliminal attempts. At every turn a type of persuasion is available, and each person reacts differently depending on the technique applied. Persuasion, manipulation and even seduction can be used to change someone’s opinion, all three terms sharing a common goal but each one unique in its method influence.

            Persuasion is the basic and least callous of the three terms. Persuasion can be all inclusive and include the other terms, but more often it can stand on its own. Determining a single definition for persuasion is near impossible, so many exist and they change throughout society’s growth. The simplified idea is that persuasion is intended to induce belief or action, that it’s a form of social influence. “One agent (the speaker) wishes to persuade another agent (the listener) to take a certain action. Whether or not the listener should take the action is dependent on information possessed by the speaker” (Glazer & Rubinstein, 2004). A modern day example of persuasion is advertisements, the whole point of an advertisement is to supply ample details to the listener to convince them that their product, event etc is worth the listeners time, money etc. Many advertisements are full of humor, which seems like a great asset to assist in persuasion. “Those concerned with politics, advertising, or rhetoric often suggest that humor enhances the effectiveness of a persuasive message. Yet research considering the effects of humor on message effectiveness suggests that its contribution is questionable” Markiewicz (1974). Even though extensive research has been done to analyze persuasion, still little has been determined that a majority of people feel committed to. Persuasion is an art, that is ever evolving and unique to every individual.

            A form of persuasion called manipulation is a callous form of pressure. Manipulation can simply be defined as an exercise of shrewd or devious influence especially for one’s own advantage. So independent from persuasion, manipulation takes advantage of a person’s emotions and feelings for the speakers own potentially malicious devices. “Certain kinds of ‘manipulation’ that bypass or somehow supersede or fundamentally distort the human capacity for practical reasoning are salient examples of responsibility-undermining factors” (Fischer, 2004). Manipulation is a blatant lack of responsibility by the speaker, who is out to deceive the listener for their own gain. Manipulation that succeeds can essentially cause a person to do something that they otherwise wouldn’t normally do, something that could potentially not be in their best interests. “Persuasion thus may play a role in manipulation of dimensions, both by facilitating a change in audience opinion and by influencing other perceptions of audience opinion” (Paine, 1989). When executed correctly manipulation can undermine a weak mind to act for another, or the way that the speaker is intending. This conniving form of persuasion often leaves the manipulated feeling used, abused and without control of their own lives.

            Another form of persuasion is referred to as seduction, which is rarely considered without sexual connotations. Seduction is simply defined as enticing or inducing someone to engage in a sexual relationship, to win over or attract someone. Seduction is a form of romantic courtship which can be used in both a right and a wrong way. The right way seduction can be used to attract and charm, to create romance in relationships. The wrong use of seduction can lead to regret and potentially rape. “Among human beings sexual pursuit takes many forms. Some forms, like courtship, are morally innocuous. Other forms like rape are categorically immoral. Still other forms are provisionally immoral. Such forms of sexual pursuit involve a wrongful element sufficient to render them wrongful on balance provided that this wrongful element is not counterbalanced by even more important competing moral considerations” (Cave, 2009). Seduction is a powerful form of persuasion because it takes advantage of emotions and hormones. Used appropriately it can lead two people to a place leaves them feeling high. Used inappropriately it can leave a person to feel worse than what manipulation can. People who are taken advantage of by seduction feel preyed upon and left vulnerable.  

            Persuasion, manipulation and seduction can all lead people to believe another person’s opinions. Such influences come with responsibility, used inappropriately they can at worst destroy a person’s life, however used responsibly they can open new possibilities to people who are open to alternative views. Influence allows people to affect others and it’s consistently part of each individual’s life. Television, books, people, and all other sorts of day to day influences are trying to entice and persuade people one way or the other.  

 

Sources

Cave, E.M. (2009). Unsavory seduction. Ethical Theory and Moral Practice, 12(3), 235-
            245. Retrieved April 12, 2010, from JSTOR database.
Fischer, J.M. (2004). Responsibility and manipulation. The Journal of Ethics, 8(2), 145-
            177. Retrieved April 12, 2010, from JSTOR database.
Glazer, J. & Rubinstein A. (2004). On optimal rules of persuasion. Econometrica, 72(6),
            1715-1736. Retrieved April 12, 2010, from JSTOR database.

Markiewicz, D. (1974). Effects of humor on persuasion. Sociometry, 37(3), 407-422.
            Retrieved April 12, 2010, from JSTOR database.  

Paine, S.C. (1989). Persuasion, manipulation and dimension. Cambridge University
            Press. 51(1), 36-49. Retrieved April 12, 2010 from JSTOR database.