Online Manipulation: Hidden Influences in a Digital World

Privacy and surveillance scholars increasingly worry that data collectors can use the information they gather about our behaviors, preferences, interests, incomes, and so on to manipulate us. Yet what it means, exactly, to manipulate someone, and how we might systematically distinguish cases of manipulation from other forms of influence—such as persuasion and coercion—has not been thoroughly enough explored in light of the unprecedented capacities that information technologies and digital media enable. In this paper, we develop a definition of manipulation that addresses these enhanced capacities, investigate how information technologies facilitate manipulative practices, and describe the harms—to individuals and to social institutions—that flow from such practices. We use the term “online manipulation” to highlight the particular class of manipulative practices enabled by a broad range of information technologies. We argue that at its core, manipulation is hidden influence—the covert subversion of another person’s decision-making power. We argue that information technology, for a number of reasons, makes engaging in manipulative practices significantly easier, and it makes the effects of such practices potentially more deeply debilitating. And we argue that by subverting another person’s decision-making power, manipulation undermines his or her autonomy. Given that respect for individual autonomy is a bedrock principle of liberal democracy, the threat of online manipulation is a cause for grave concern

Contribution of online trading of used goods to resource efficiency : an empirical study of eBay users

This paper discusses the sustainability impact (contribution to sustainability, reduction of adverse environmental impacts) of online second-hand trading. A survey of eBay users shows that a relationship between the trading of used goods and the protection of natural resources is hardly realized. Secondly, the environmental motivation and the willingness to act in a sustainable manner differ widely between groups of consumers. Given these results from a user perspective, the paper tries to find some objective hints of online second-hand trading’s environmental impact. The greenhouse gas emissions resulting from the energy used for the trading transactions seem to be considerably lower than the emissions due to the (avoided) production of new goods. The paper concludes with a set of recommendations for second-hand trade and consumer policy. Information about the sustainability benefits of purchasing second-hand goods should be included in general consumer information, and arguments for changes in behavior should be targeted to different groups of consumers. Keywords: online marketplaces; online auctions; consumer; electronic commerce; used products; second-hand market; sustainable consumptio

News in an era of content confusion: effects of news use motivations and context on native advertising and digital news perceptions

This study examined the effects of differing native advertising framing contexts (hard versus soft news) and individuals’ news use motivations on ability to perceive commercialized content, evaluations of native advertising, and ensuing digital news perceptions. Based upon the framework of the persuasion knowledge model, an online experiment was conducted among a sample of U.S. adults (N = 684). When revealed as advertising, people were more likely to perceive the hard news rather than the soft news framing as commercial in nature. Furthermore, hard news approaches to native advertising were perceived unfavorably by audiences and tarnished the subsequent reporting of actual journalists.Accepted manuscrip

THE MALLEABILITY OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOR - EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES OF PRESENTATION FORMATS ON CONSUMER CHOICE AND PERCEPTION

Ph.DDOCTOR OF PHILOSOPH

A Psychological Analysis of Behavioral Consumerism: Advertising, Decision-Making, and its Implications for Retailers

Advertising is a ubiquitous and substantial influence in consumerism, prompting psychological decision-making processes and behavioral consumerism. Selective marketing, advertising, and merchandising can only be successful when the processes within populations are identified and modified to fit the consumer. This paper examines psychological concepts surrounding the complex variables of decision-making. It will discuss relevant literature and empirical evidence that are imperative to further studies of behavioral consumerism. Such concepts that will be examined include: the elaboration likelihood model, regulatory focus theory, paradox of choice, as well as consumer variables such as influences of personality and maximizers versus satisficers. It then addresses these concepts through the lens of advertising and merchandising, and explores effective applications for behavioral persuasion and the implications for retailers

Ask Your Doctor About Exposure Therapy!: Direct-To-Consumer Marketing Of Empirically Supported Psychological Treatments For Anxiety

Despite efforts to disseminate Evidence-Based Psychological Interventions (EBPIS) to mental health practitioners, most individuals with psychological disorders do not receive any form of treatment, and many others who do seek treatment do not receive EBPIS. The success of the pharmaceutical industry in effectively marketing prescription drugs directly to consumers is considered as a model for advancing dissemination of EBPIS. Utilizing undergraduate students as participants, the current study examined how potential consumers of mental health services respond to internet-based marketing information about EBPIS. Participants vieinformation about anxiety disorders and a specific type of treatment (i.e., cognitive-behavioral therapy) in both text and video formats, with appeal type and tone as the independent variables. Dependent measures assessed consumer attitude and evaluation, intent to try or recommend, and recall. Multiple analyses of variance (anovas) on these measures indicated that no one type of approach to advertising is universally preferred, but respondents tended to respond more favorably in terms of positive affect to emotional- and directive-based advertisements, and they were more likely to report an intent to try cbt with text-based advertisements when compared to corresponding video-based information. The results of the current study provide an important foundation for future research in direct-to-consumer marketing of psychological treatments

Why do retail investors make costly mistakes? An experiment on mutual fund choice

There is mounting evidence that retail investors make predictable, costly investment mistakes, including underinvestment, naïve diversification, and payment of excessive fund fees. Over the past thirty-five years, however, participant-directed 401(k) plans have largely replaced professionally managed pension plans, requiring unsophisticated retail investors to navigate the financial markets themselves. Policy-makers have struggled with regulatory interventions designed to improve the quality of investment decisions without a clear understanding of the reasons for investor mistakes. Absent such an understanding, it is difficult to design effective regulatory responses. This article offers a first step in understanding the investor decision-making process. We use an internet-based experiment to disentangle possible explanations for inefficient investment decisions. The experiment employs a simplified construct of an employee’s allocation among the options in a retirement plan coupled with technology that enables us to collect data on the specific information that investors choose to view. In addition to collecting general information about the process by which investors choose among mutual fund options, we employ an experimental manipulation to test the effect of an instruction on the importance of mutual fund fees. Pairing this instruction with simplified fee disclosure allows us to distinguish between motivation-limits and cognition-limits as explanations for the widespread findings that investors ignore fees in their investment decisions. Our results offer partial but limited grounds for optimism. On the one hand, within our simplified experimental construct, our subjects allocated more money, on average, to higher-value funds. Furthermore, subjects who received the fees instruction paid closer attention to mutual fund fees and allocated their investments into funds with lower fees. On the other hand, the effects of even a blunt fees instruction were limited, and investors were unable to identify and avoid clearly inferior fund options. In addition, our results suggest that excessive, naïve diversification strategies are driving many investment decisions. Although our findings are preliminary, they suggest valuable avenues for future research and important implications for regulation of retail investing

Alcohol Restraint Television Advertisements Targeted At Adolescents : A Three-way Comparison Of Reinforcement Styles On Attitude To The Advertisement, Attitude To The Cause And Attitude To The Act

Adolescent binge-drinking is an area of great concern in Australia as it is with many other developed countries around the world. Every year in Australia, Commonwealth and State health authorities invest considerable resources into trying to address this issue and the results have been described as being at best, mixed. Health promotion initiatives such as school programmes, media promotion and health programmes coupled w1th restrictions on supply of alcohol are all used to try and curb the incidence of adolescent binge drinking. In recent years television advertising has specifically been used to try and curb the incidence of adolescent binge-drinking behaviour. The aim of this study was to look more closely at the likely effectiveness of those advertising executions that are now commonly used to influence adolescents\u27 attitudes and behaviours toward alcohol. To this end, three advertising executions were presented to 720 Perth school students who were mostly aged between 14-15 years old. The three advertising executions differed in that one was of a positive appeal execution type, one was of a negative advertising execution type, and the other was of a \u27combination\u27 negative/positive advertising execution type. After a review of the literature the expectation was that the combination advertising execution would most likely be the most effective advertising executions. The findings of this study were however, different to expectation. It was found that the negative execution performed similarly or perhaps even marginally better than the combination execution. In contrast, the positive execution appeared to carry less impact with adolescent audiences suggesting that of the three execution styles it is probably the least effective method for communicating to adolescents about alcohol restraint. In addition to these investigations into advertising executions other background research was also conducted. This research explored adolescent attitudes toward the whole idea of anti-binge drinking advertising. This area of investigation was thought to be important because marketing theory suggests that advertising requires positive attitudes from it\u27s audiences to work at an optimum level. For example, it has been suggested that a positive attitude toward an advertisement not only makes the audience more receptive but it also makes consumers more approving of the product (or in this case the cause), and mane likely to act on the information. Adolescents were generally found to be concerned about alcohol abuse and seemed to be generally supportive of health promotion initiatives. These finding have therefore been discussed in this dissertation keeping in mind those findings regarding the three advertising executions. It is believed that studies such as this are of importance to our communities. It is for example, anticipated that the results from such studies have the potential to assist health promotion planners to plan their health promotion strategies mane effectively in future. It should be added too, the implications of studies such as these are that health promotion planners will not only be assisted in the future in the area of adolescent binge-drinking but also in other areas of health such as in the areas of illicit drug use, smoking or diet and exercise strategies