Persuasion, manipulation and seduction all have an important place in the breadth of human communication. While all have common factors, they each have specific characteristics which differentiate them from the other terms. When thinking of connecting with an audience, each term can be manifested in multiple ways, using varying mediums. Persuasion, manipulation and seduction are each effective forms of human communication.
Persuasion
The term ‘persuasion’ can be thought of in many terms. Using one of many possible definitions, it can be likened best to “the shaping, changing, or reinforcing of receivers’ responses, including attitudes, emotions, intentions, and behaviors,” (Pfau, 1993, p. 6). In other words, the intention of persuasion is to alter the perception of the audience.
When attempting to persuade someone, the quality of the argument is just as important as the words that are used. One study showed that persuasion had different effects on people who were either highly egocentric or not, and that the determining factor was the quality of the argument. The article states, “high-involvement people are susceptible to persuasion when argument quality is high,” (Park, 2007, para 1). Contrary to beliefs that people who are more self-aware would be more resistant to persuasion, arguments with valid points actually have more of an effect on this group than any other. In the same article, it was found that while less self-involved people were more easily persuaded with low-quality arguments, these same arguments were found to have a ‘boomerang’ effect, and the audience eventually reverted back to their initial viewpoint and attitude (Park, 2007, para 1).
The results of this study are particularly interesting because of the surprising finds with the more self-aware group. This group would likely be more skilled communicators, and the effects of persuasion would not generally be as effective on this group because of their strong opinions and viewpoints. However, it appears that when concise, effective communication tactics are used, this group identifies more easily with the message and is more likely to shift their viewpoint to accommodate the new information, because the argument seems to be more concrete. Using a flimsy argument on this group would not be effective because it wouldn’t offer any new, founded information to the listener. It is clear that persuasion tactics must be changed to fit each individual audience.
Manipulation
Manipulation is considered to be a form of deceptive communication. As one article states, “Deception involves the deliberate manipulation of information, behavior and image in order to lead another person to a false belief or conclusion,” (Littlejohn, 2002, p. 138). Essentially, this take on human communications focuses on ways to bring the audience to another way of thinking by using unclear, possibly false information and tactics.
One current example of manipulation through communication is the media circus surrounding the memoir “A Million Little Pieces” by James Frey. Initially upon publication, Frey toted his novel as a non-fiction memoir. After it was introduced into Oprah’s Book Club, and subsequently topped the New York Times Best Seller list for fifteen straight weeks, Frey continued to tout the embellished story of his struggle with addiction, luring new fans with tales of his gruesome battles, giving a false role model to millions. Only after several instances in his book were shown to be fabrications did Frey admit to the falsehoods, saying only that the dramatizations of his life were necessary to produce a great story, basically justifying spreading the lies of his book over the course of several months. Later, instead of pulling the book from shelves, the publishing company downplayed the found falsehoods, as the book surpassed selling five million copies. In ‘retribution,’ Frey appeared on several shows to apologize to viewers, and Random House included an editor’s note in the new publications that stated that the novel may have elaborated concepts and stories.
In this case, Frey manipulated the facts in his novel to make a more dramatic story that more people would be interested in purchasing and reading about. Even as his fame grew, Frey did not succumb to his moral compass, instead continuing to plug the book to millions, preying on the empathy and compassion that the audience felt for him. This is an example of the worst kind of manipulation: the kind that involves a person’s emotions, that causes them a sense of false hope and belief. The fall is always hardest on those who really need something to believe in, and that was Frey’s core audience. Frey used the publicity that Oprah’s audience lent him to create a following based on a lie.
Seduction
Seduction is another term that can bring to mind multiple meanings. However, in the arena of human communications, it has a more specific meaning. “Unlike consumers in ordinary services interactions, those in seductive ones are lured into temptation and motivated to make choices without considering the consequences,” (Stern, 1997, para 8). In this type of communication interaction, sellers use the weaknesses of the audience to garner interest and fund their products.
Today I encountered one of the most common types of this communication. All of the employees at the real estate company that I work for received an email from one of the agents, stating that she was in London and had been robbed at gunpoint, and that she needed everyone to wire her funds so that she could return to America. Several of the agents I work with were extremely worried; because we don’t use a company email list, the email was sent to all of our individual accounts, and it really did appear as though this agent was stranded in Europe. Eventually, after some investigating, we found that the agent’s account had been hacked, and the email had been sent to over three hundred people. Unfortunately, some of the people contacted were not quite aware of the scam, and did send a few thousand dollars over the wire. This is the type of communication which confronts the receiver with a quick decision to make, and not enough time to fully consider the consequences. Receiving a message that a friend is in desperate need plays on the emotions of the receiver, and causes them to react in a way that is emotional, not logical. This can be extremely dangerous, especially when it gets to the larger levels of fake charities and non-profits, or false cases brought to the Make A Wish Foundation, etc. This type of communication would work best on people close to the ‘victim,’ those with known backgrounds in charity, or the older or younger audience that may not be savvy enough to determine when something is a scam. Seductive communication strategies use the lowest level of moral reasoning of all three terms, and can cause the most amount of damage.
It is clear that whether using persuasive, manipulative, or seductive communication devices, the tactics are adjusted to fit each intended audience. Regardless of whether their behavior is moral or not, those utilizing these strategies all use effective communication tactics to relate to their target audience and to garner the intended result. Persuasion, manipulation and seduction are each effective forms of human communication.
References
Littlejohn, S. (2002). Theories of Human Communication (7 ed.). Wadsworth, p. 138.
Pfau, M., and Perot, R. (1993). Persuasive communication campaigns. Boston: Allyn & Bacon, p. 6.
Park, H., Levine, T., Kingsley Westerman, C., Orfgen, T., & Foregger, S. (2007). The Effects of Argument Quality and Involvement Type on Attitude Formation and Attitude Change: A Test of Dual-Process and Social Judgment Predictions. Human Communication Research, 33(1), 81-102. Retrieved May 3, 2010, from Research Library. (Document ID: 1288636901).
Stern, B. (1997). Advertising intimacy: Relationship marketing and the services consumer. Journal of Advertising, 26(4), 7-19. Retrieved May 3, 2010, from ABI/INFORM Global. (Document ID: 28288549).
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