How persuasive is Facebook?

Before dipping into behavioral science and the use of persuasion techniques in the world of social media, it is only normal to consider and decorticate the moral and ethical implications within such realm. What is morality? And what moral agent should we look up to when deciding what’s right or wrong? The answers to these questions are overly complex and simple at the same time because it mirrors the human condition. A moral choice is most of the time, personal, financial, and/or ethical, and is always taken in regard or at the expense of others. In 2018, Facebook encountered major criticism regarding the negligence of its data protection, which led to millions of its user's information being used by Cambridge Analytica to help US politicians drive their electoral campaigns. In logical terms, one would think that this data breach would make actual and potential users boycott Facebook and opt for alternative solutions. Yet, in the months that followed, the number of users continued to grow at a steady pace. If David Hume were alive, he would argue that the decision taken by the people to either create an account or to continue using Facebook after the privacy breach, is due to the fact that morality is based on emotions rather than logical reasoning, the "wrong" in this case is shadowed by the pleasure of using the platform and by the fear of losing the connections made as well as the content shared over time. Immanuel Kant, on the other hand, would have criticized such behavior, arguing that some universal laws of morality shouldn't be broken under any circumstances. He would later expand his explanation by urging the users to imagine a world where the information about their personal life is used to manipulate and deceive, in this case, private information would be abused, and duplicity would be the norm. Therefore, promoting such behavior after an apparent and flagrant lack of consideration for the promise given to its users would be going against universal laws of morality.

Introducing morality was the first step, narrowing it down to behavioral science, and persuasion is the second. In the following paragraphs and for the sake of example and clarity, we will involve Facebook's newest ad campaign and analyze first the psychological factors taken into consideration and second, the persuasion techniques that have been used to influence and attract perceptions.

Facebook launched its first-ever ad commercial in 2020 during the highly praised Super Bowl, the name of the ad is called "Ready to Rock?" which is part of the year-round "more together" campaign; the aim is to encourage users to join Facebook groups to talk about their shared experiences and interests. People with knowledge in psychology would directly spot the heuristics and biases the ad elicits, and the people without any psychology background will soon be able to understand their peers' behaviors more clearly. Thanks to Icek Ajzen and his theory of planned behavior, we can give sense to subject norms, attitudes, and behavioral intentions of individuals. To make it simple, the theory states that people would be highly motivated to perform an action if they believe it positive as well as having their significant others display interest. In regard to Facebook's ad, many behavioral theories are to be discussed, self-identity is one of them; it links a person's sense of whom they are based on their integration to a group. Being a member of a Facebook group would, therefore, enhance the individual's pride and self-esteem. The second theory in relation to the ad is not too disparate from the first and is of belongingness; the theory stipulates that humans have an emotional need to be accepted and validated members of a given group, hence en inherent desire to be part of something greater than their individual selves. Facebook clearly understands this psychological factor and on that account promotes the rationality of having different groups available for different kinds of hobbies. Another interesting concept at hand is the one of social-adjustive attitudes; it describes the relationship regulations that enable the drive for individuals to climb the social ladder; the display of status tends to play a big role in a person's attractiveness and popularity within a valued group. This concept gives valuable information about one of the many impulses individuals join clubs, communities, and, in our case, Facebook groups, which refers to a praised position between a set of people. Last but not least, one of social media's dark side with its users is an acute behavioral addiction toward a need for social validation when it comes to sharing content. Users would crave "likes" and approbation upon downloading an image, a video or simply posting a note or a review in regard to someone else's material. This phenomenon occurs in general without necessarily the need to belong to a group, but being part of one will enhance the aforementioned behavioral effect, for the sole reason that groups are micro versions of a whole system, hence a narrowed public exposure toward the user's shared content.

We saw in the above that subjective norms influence greatly the behavior of individuals in a given environment or network. Understanding the human mind and how it operates within different contexts is therefore paramount when launching a campaign or an advertisement. After discussing some of the theories in play when thinking about Facebook's latest ad, it is time to make the transition toward ways one can use this knowledge to persuade a targeted audience.

In the simplest of terms, persuasion is a process that influences a person's attitudes and behaviors by means of communicating with other people. Persuasion can be manipulative or thoughtful, and the major attribute that can tip the scale from one end to the other is intent. With this in mind, there are many techniques that can be used for better or worse to persuade people to engage in wanted actions for the benefit of businesses. Facebook took many persuasion techniques into consideration when launching their "Ready to Rock?" ad and Robert Cialdini is one of many to thank for. Consistency is the first principle that Facebook exploits; the commitments users took when they created an account in the past prone them to accept and use any additional features the same platform is offering them, i.e. Facebook groups. The second principle that benefits Facebook is of Liking, which stipulates that people would prefer to say yes to the ones they like. "Ready to Rock?" ad is, therefore, promoting groups where people are similar in character, pays compliments to each other, and cooperates toward a mutual goal… what's not to like!. The last of Cialdini's principles to mention is consensus; this basis explains that in times of uncertainty, people will look at the behaviors of others to make a decision of their own. So by showcasing the grouping of a large number of people throughout the ad, Facebook is pointing out the action many before undertook and enjoyed. Finally, as an honorable mention, it is worth talking about repetition. In "Ready to Rock?" one can see the same visuals on a loop for about 50 seconds (people in groups enjoying their respective activities), putting in place this repetition strategy increases the effectiveness and the agreeableness toward the main message. The second and last honorable mention is the Elaboration Likelihood Model. This dual process theory explains attitude change regarding different processing ways; by introducing 2 celebrities in the last 10 seconds of the ad, Facebook adopted a peripheral route in introducing cues of credibility and attractiveness to the user. The likelihood of elaboration, in this case, got determined by the individual's motivation to positively evaluate the ad's message.

To conclude, the human's psych has so many impediments, yet an inherent mechanism available in all modern human still allows room for undiscerning persuasion. Throughout history, articles were published and books were written about the consciousness to cognition processes contrived by the human brain, on a personal level this has helped with understanding ourselves deeper and on a professional level, this has allowed companies to improve targeting and produce better outcomes from generated campaigns.

With all this knowledge in human behavior being transmitted and enriched from generation to generation, would we get to a point where our awareness of the subject stops us from being prey to misleading influence?

References

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