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Schizophrenia Community
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Tutorialemma
Starting Member
16 Posts
Gratitude: 2
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 Posted - 05/26/2005 : 16:15:26
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Because psychologists have studied the techniques about which we are concerned, it is appropriate for them to offer opinions about how the use of these techniques may impinge on others, recognizing, of course, that the input of other professions is prerequisite to a full understanding of the issue.
Deceptive and indirect techniques of persuasion and control appear in politics, business, education, medicine, law, the media, the psychological services industry, and religion. Although our concern has been the latter two areas, the other areas should not be, and fortunately have not been, ignored. As early as 195x, Vance Packard decried the "hidden persuaders" in advertising.
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| AusieAnna
Starting Member
22 Posts |
Posted - 05/26/2005 : 16:18:23
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quote:
Originally posted by Tutorialemma
Because psychologists have studied the techniques about which we are concerned, it is appropriate for them to offer opinions about how the use of these techniques may impinge on others, recognizing, of course, that the input of other professions is prerequisite to a full understanding of the issue.
Deceptive and indirect techniques of persuasion and control appear in politics, business, education, medicine, law, the media, the psychological services industry, and religion. Although our concern has been the latter two areas, the other areas should not be, and fortunately have not been, ignored. As early as 195x, Vance Packard decried the "hidden persuaders" in advertising.
Recent debates about the effects of violent TV programs and commercials on children are also significant, as are consumer protection laws aimed at unscrupulous sales practices. Liberals' objections to McCarthyite techniques of persuasion and control on campuses of the 1950s are now echoed by similar accusations on the part of conservatives. Phenomena such as ABC-TV's "Viewpoint" programs (in which media professionals are questioned by their audience) and the rapid growth of organizations such as Accuracy in Media demonstrate that the public is becoming more aware of and concerned about how the media influences them. Because of increased appreciation of how interaction with authority figures can neutralize critical thinking and reduce personal autonomy, informed consent has become fundamental to ethical practice in medicine and all other helping professions, including psychology. Research into how psychological factors can manipulate and deceive juries (e.g., Orne, 198x) is having an impact on legal practice. And despite the traditional tolerance toward political rhetoric and machinations, recent revelations about the cultic nature of some political groups (e.g., the LaRouche movement, Mintz, 1985) raise questions about the ethics of deceptive and indirect techniques of persuasion and control in politics. |
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| harryrayce
Starting Member
12 Posts |
Posted - 05/26/2005 : 16:21:22
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quote:
Originally posted by AusieAnna
[quote]Originally posted by Tutorialemma
Recent debates about the effects of violent TV programs and commercials on children are also significant, as are consumer protection laws aimed at unscrupulous sales practices. Liberals' objections to McCarthyite techniques of persuasion and control on campuses of the 1950s are now echoed by similar accusations on the part of conservatives. Phenomena such as ABC-TV's "Viewpoint" programs (in which media professionals are questioned by their audience) and the rapid growth of organizations such as Accuracy in Media demonstrate that the public is becoming more aware of and concerned about how the media influences them. Because of increased appreciation of how interaction with authority figures can neutralize critical thinking and reduce personal autonomy, informed consent has become fundamental to ethical practice in medicine and all other helping professions, including psychology. Research into how psychological factors can manipulate and deceive juries (e.g., Orne, 198x) is having an impact on legal practice. And despite the traditional tolerance toward political rhetoric and machinations, recent revelations about the cultic nature of some political groups (e.g., the LaRouche movement, Mintz, 1985) raise questions about the ethics of deceptive and indirect techniques of persuasion and control in politics.
All of these problem areas revolve around the ethics of how one individual or group influences another. Yet in all of them, the ethical question is often obscured by other factors: The doctor genuinely concerned about the medical needs of this particular patient at this particular time can easily lose sight of why informed consent is a necessary ethical procedure. The advertiser determined to sell children’s toys may not appreciate the long-range consequences of his methods. And politicians intent on winning may forget that the Constitution they swear to uphold is founded on the notion that a free yet orderly society must have rules to determine how its citizens influence one another. |
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| Tutorialemma
Starting Member
16 Posts
Gratitude: 2
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Posted - 05/26/2005 : 16:25:43
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quote:
Originally posted by harryrayce
quote:
Originally posted by AusieAnna
[quote]Originally posted by Tutorialemma
All of these problem areas revolve around the ethics of how one individual or group influences another. Yet in all of them, the ethical question is often obscured by other factors: The doctor genuinely concerned about the medical needs of this particular patient at this particular time can easily lose sight of why informed consent is a necessary ethical procedure. The advertiser determined to sell children’s toys may not appreciate the long-range consequences of his methods. And politicians intent on winning may forget that the Constitution they swear to uphold is founded on the notion that a free yet orderly society must have rules to determine how its citizens influence one another.
The Constitution and the body of law issuing from it articulate the written rules governing social influence, e.g., libel law. Tradition determines the unwritten rules. These, in recent decades, have become increasingly ambiguous, largely because the traditions on which they rest have been questioned unceasingly. To some extent this phenomenon may reflect the waning of America's historical Protestant ethic and the triumph of pluralism. This change has negative as well as positive implications.
The growth of cults and LGATs, some advocating moral positions antithetical to the mainstream, contributes to the conflict to which Berger alludes. A pluralistic society wants to remain open and tolerant; yet an extreme moral pluralism may render it so open that it becomes vulnerable to those seeking to transform it into a totalist system. A key challenge to society, then, is arriving at an ethical consensus which allows for pluralism without inviting moral (used as a synonym to ethics) anarchy. |
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| harryrayce
Starting Member
12 Posts |
Posted - 05/26/2005 : 16:39:31
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| This challenge poses a dilemma: What ethical rules shall govern how we attempt to influence one another while we struggle toward a consensus concerning a broad range of fundamental ethical issues, including the ethics of social influence? If, for example, person A believes that media manipulation is an ethical means of resolving disputes, while person B rejects this position, is it ethical for A to manipulate the media in an attempt to persuade B to change his or her position regarding the ethics of media manipulation? |
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| AusieAnna
Starting Member
22 Posts |
Posted - 05/26/2005 : 16:41:50
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quote:
Originally posted by harryrayce
This challenge poses a dilemma: What ethical rules shall govern how we attempt to influence one another while we struggle toward a consensus concerning a broad range of fundamental ethical issues, including the ethics of social influence? If, for example, person A believes that media manipulation is an ethical means of resolving disputes, while person B rejects this position, is it ethical for A to manipulate the media in an attempt to persuade B to change his or her position regarding the ethics of media manipulation?
The tolerance for manipulation in politics renders the public policy arena a dubious field for discussion of ethics. Perhaps, then, scholarly and professional disciplines, which are well-grounded in rationalistic ethics, might best begin the debate, in a non-public way. Psychology ought to play a key role in this endeavor, for our field has studied the psychological mechanisms underlying persuasive processes. It is necessary to understand the full range of ways in which we persuade each other before we can rationally discuss the ethical boundaries of persuasion. And these must be defined before we can arrive at an acceptable consensus on other ethical issues. Otherwise, the debate will be full of accusations of cheating.
The study of deceptive and indirect techniques of persuasion and control in cults and large group awareness trainings charts out the unethical extreme of persuasive processes, thereby serving as a frame of reference for one side of the influence continuum. A large body of social psychological research is applicable to an understanding of other parts of the influence continuum. More research is required, however. Furthermore, this huge body of data needs to be integrated in a way that will help clarify the ethical aspects of social influence. Then, perhaps, disputing groups within society can attempt to influence each, within ethical boundaries, on broader ethical/moral questions (e.g., sexuality, the death penalty, abortion drug-taking, criminal punishment) in the hope of coming to a working moral consensus without being sidetracked by "games" in which one side tries to manipulate, rather than reason with, the other.
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| warbird
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Ethical Issues for Nonpsychologists
