Paths to Persuasion in Global Warming
Persuasion is defined as the act of influencing the behavior and actions of people to change their perceptions on certain aspects and issues. Persuasion involves influencing people through the use of arguments and sound reasoning as well as communication to convince people on certain aspects. About global warming, environmentalists have involved the use of persuasive tactics to change the general behavior of human beings towards the environment. Persuasion tactics have played an important role in environmental advocacy programs as well as awareness campaigns to protect the environment against the adverse effects of global warming (Larson, 2010).
The basic paths of persuasion that are used by many environmentalists in their environmental campaigns are made up of four components with the first being the persuader or communicator. The persuader has to be knowledgeable in environmental matters if he/she is to succeed in influencing people to change. Another component of persuasion tactics is the message that the persuader or communicator wants to relay to his target audience. The message has to be presented in a way that will convince or influence the behavior of people. For example, the simple message of “Global warming is real and it is alarming” is enough to spur a reaction amongst the persuader’s audience. The third component of persuasion tactics is the format of the message where the persuader presents the message in a way that is meant to persuade his audience. The final component of a persuasion tactic is the target audience for whom the message is intended (Larson, 2010).
Tobacco Industry and Impression Management
The tobacco industry is one that has been constantly plagued with a poor public image because of its products (cigarettes) which have been identified by many physicians and doctors to cause adverse health conditions such as lung cancer, chronic illnesses, and respiratory problems. To deal with its poor image, the tobacco industry has in the recent past resorted to framing its tobacco messages and adverts as part of its image management campaign where the tobacco messages are accompanied by health warnings of the dangers of smoking. Some companies within the industry such as BAT have launched websites that are dedicated to informing the general public on the adverse effects caused by smoking and also showing the dangers of prolonged smoking. Such activities have been directed towards the management of the industry’s image which has mostly been perceived in a negative way (Fox, 2005).
Spin Doctoring
Spin doctoring is referred to as presenting information that was positively given negatively. It is also referred to as the art of altering the description of something that was widely perceived to be negative so that it appears to be a positive or good thing. Public relations and publicity professions have been referred to as spin-doctoring because they mostly skew the descriptions of certain events to appear more favorably. The main aim of spin-doctoring is to create more positive rather than negative information to ensure that certain aspects of information are not perceived in a bad light by the general public.
When compared to propaganda, spin-doctoring is different since the former is mostly a form of communication aimed at swaying people’s attitudes towards a certain cause. The main aim of propaganda is to present information to influence an audience to react to that information. Concerning the weapons of mass destruction, propaganda was used by the United States government to try and influence the public’s perception of their invasion in Iraq. Information on nuclear weapons was presented to the public through the use of propaganda to try and change the public’s perception of the Iraq Invasion. Propaganda became an important tool in the political warfare between the United States and Iraq during the Second Ira War as well as in the Cold War (Cull et al 2003).
References
Cull, N.J., Culbert, H.D., & Welch, D., (2003). Propaganda and mass persuasion: a historical encyclopaedia, 1500 to present. California: ABC-CLIO Incorporated.
Fox, B.J., (2005).Framing tobacco control efforts within an ethical context. Tobacco Control. Web.
Larson, C.U., (2010). Persuasion: reception and responsibility. Boston: Wadsworth