ENGL 147N Week 6 Discussion 2 Deceptive Arguments
University:
Chamberlain University
ENGL 147N Week 6 Discussion 2 Deceptive Arguments
Paper Instructions
Initial Post Instructions
Part 1 Research & Review
Review the two articles in Required Resources on the uses of logical fallacies and rhetorical appeals in the healthcare field.
The Krishen and Bui (2015) article discusses the active use of logical fallacies to manipulate obese consumers into making better health choices through two oppositional approaches fear tactics and positive reinforcement.
The Giachino, Stupino, Peratulo, and Bertoldi (2017) article presents a study of fear tactics applied through social advertising, similar to the ads we discussed in our Week 3 discussion boards. Students were exposed to fear advertising in an attempt to reduce high speed driving.
Part 2 Application
Apply what you have learned about logical fallacies and rhetorical appeals to interpret and summarize the articles. Consider the following questions;
- If the participants are aware of misleading manipulation techniques, are they immune to their effects?
- What are the limitations of these types of fear inducing tactics?
- How would you react if you were a subject in one of these studies?
- What can we take away from these articles to apply in our own topics?
- Where else have you seen these types of fear tactics applied (e.g., advertising, social media, word of mouth, etc.)? Are these other mediums effective? Why is that the case?
Cite your sources in APA format.
Follow-Up Post Instructions
Respond to at least two peers or one peer and the instructor. Offer additional insight into your peers’ responses by furthering the discussion.
- Did you notice any inconstancies in the persuasive methods applied that your peer might have missed?
- Did you notice any other specific logical fallacies in your peer’s response?
- Have you ever fallen prey to the types of fear tactics commonly used in your classmate’s topic?
- Provide an example if so. If not, how were you able to avoid susceptibility?
Note If you see that someone has already received feedback from two peers, please choose to help a peer who has yet to obtain feedback.
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Sample Answer
In the first article, Fear advertisements influencing consumers to make better health decisions, Krishen and Bui (2015) analyze whether people are more prone to make healthier choices through fear or hope. They analyze previously recorded research and build upon it. They conclude that people respond more to fear than hope. People will choose healthier foods if they feel fear from an advertisement rather than hope.
I think if the participants were made aware of the manipulation tactic being used, they would distrust the advertisement entirely and would continue with their current choices. Using fear-inducing tactics has limitations because there also has to be a positive goal associated. Furthermore, the participant must have a goal they want to obtain in order to take the fear tactic into consideration and therefore change their behaviors or choices.
In the second article, Fear appeals in social marketing The case of anti-speeding video advertisement “Mistakes”, Giachino et al. (2017) analyzed 20 young Italian students. The research is to see if they drove within the speed limit after watching the anti-speeding video. It appears that the students were aware of the purpose of the study and the results may be biased due to that (GIachino et al., Spring 2017).
I believe knowing they were being manipulated made them immune to the effects of this research. In the 10 females analyzed, some females actually increased their speeding after the video. Giachino et al. (2017) believe this may be due to them feeling like their freedom was infringed upon. The limitations of this research are that the results are short term and do not show the long term effects of the fear tactics used.
According to Giachino et al. (2017), the more one is exposed to the fear tactic the less effective it is. (Giachino et al., 2017) Another limitation is that they used a small group of young Italian students. In order to have a better understanding of the results of the fear appeal, they would have to increase the number of people analyzed as well as a more diverse audience.
I think if I were a subject in one of these studies I would probably be induced to give the results they were looking for.
For instance, I would drive within the speed limits while I was being watched but once the research was over, I probably would go back to my bad habits. I feel like normally I stay within the speed limit but in roads such as the parkway, where the normal is 10 miles above the speed limit, I tend to follow the crowd. I also noticed that personally, fear tactics have a short term effect on me. I tend to make changes but with time go back to what I used to do. I believe it’s because, like Krishen and Bui state, you must have a personal goal for making the choice in order for the fear strategy to work (Krishen and Bui, 2015). I have seen many documentaries on Netflix that use fear tactics to manipulate the audience.
There are documentaries on how bad sugar is for you, how bad meat is for, and other types of documentaries. I think a lot of the documentaries use fear appeal when manipulating their audience. Even the music used and the images are all to bring about fear to the viewer. I don’t think any of them worked long term on me or my family. Nonetheless, I have seen others make life changes after seeing the same documentaries.
Vera
Reference
- Giachino, C., Stupino, M., Petrarulo, G., & Bertoldi, B. (2017, Spring). Fear appeals in social marketing The case of anti-speeding video advertisement “Mistakes”. https //eds-b-ebscohost-com.chamberlainuniversity.idm.oclc.org/eds/detail/detail?vid=0&sid=3e711d84-309d-441c-b43c-119c2ebc4d96%40pdc-v-sessmgr02&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmUmc2NvcGU9c2l0ZQ%3D%3D#AN=124409330&db=bth
- Krishen, A. S., & Bui, M. (2015). Fear advertisements Influencing consumers to make better health decisions. https //eds-b-ebscohost-com.chamberlainuniversity.idm.oclc.org/eds/detail/detail?vid=0&sid=c26a72fd-b85b-479c-9f98-1bc31f3e6fdf%40pdc-v-sessmgr05&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmUmc2NvcGU9c2l0ZQ%3D%3D#db=edswss&AN=000369954900008
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