Neuromarketing is an emerging field that applies neuroscience-based methods to marketing research. While its applications are exciting, its ethical repercussions remain poorly understood.
Misunderstanding and overstating of findings are commonplace in new scientific fields, with marketing applications particularly at risk. To protect participants, as with any form of research it’s essential to obtain genuine informed consent from all participants involved in your experiment.
Ethics in Neuromarketing
Neuromarketing is a relatively new field of marketing that utilizes neuroscience to study consumer behavior. Its primary purpose is to increase marketing effectiveness by understanding how customers react to different stimuli.
Neuromarketing studies use brain scanning and other methodologies to pinpoint specific emotions associated with various decisions and desires, providing data that can then be used to influence consumer choices. Though neuromarketing offers potential advantages, its practices must still comply with ethical requirements.
Concerns have been expressed over the risk that companies might attempt to influence consumer decisions through neuromarketing research, given its focus on sensitive data like brain activity and heart rate measurements. Additionally, many methods used for neuromarketing research are intrusive and could breach consumers’ rights.
Companies conducting neuromarketing research should clearly communicate its purpose to their test subjects and be open about any risks or discomfort involved in their study.
Ethics in Neuroscience
Neuroethics is an emerging field that examines the impact of scientific and technological advancement on humanity. This field integrates traditional philosophical and religious foundations with medical science and perspective; with it comes potential transformation but also ethical quandaries that arise due to it.
At stake is the potential use of new knowledge against humanity. Francis Bacon famously wrote, ‘Knowledge is Power’ (ipsa scientia potestas est). With this in mind, it is crucial that any new neuroscience discoveries be put to good use.
Neuroethics should focus on three main goals: preventing harm, safeguarding autonomy and dignity, and assuring informed consent. Additionally, it must explore the roles played by governments and public bodies in conducting neuroscience research and development, while taking steps to combat under-representation of marginalized social groups such as Black people in clinical trials or experiments.
Ethics in Marketing
George Brenkert provides an interesting glimpse of marketing ethics; however, his book should not be taken as an exhaustive study of this field. As an academic trained in philosophy he does not possess as much familiarity with business life than many of his counterparts; this shows itself at various points throughout his book.
His coverage of cause-related marketing falls short by making the assumption that all marketers are motivated to increase community well-being purely due to cost/benefit analyses; rather, research should explore whether their efforts are driven by moral principles.
Brenkert’s discussion of ethical decision-making does not adequately acknowledge the vast literature on organizational and professional ethics, omitting references to culture as an influence on ethical practices within companies, stakeholder theory being glossed over too quickly etc. He should have drawn from an established body of literature already present to expand on his work more successfully.
Ethics in Advertising
Advertising can be an invaluable asset to businesses looking to increase customer trust and loyalty, while at the same time meeting social responsibility goals. Ethical advertising involves following specific principles to avoid using offensive material such as stereotypes; while prioritizing consumer privacy while prioritizing transparency.
Unethical advertisements with exaggerated claims or that present an imagined world can deceive consumers and cause lasting psychological trauma and even lead to life-threatening risks for some consumers. Ads that encourage unsafe or unhealthy acts should especially be considered harmful.
Advertising ethical issues are complex and multidimensional. They include challenges faced by marketers in regards to ethical dilemmas they encounter; impacts upon their personality and moral compass; differences across cultures when it comes to marketing ethics; as well as gaps in research surrounding this topic (which despite growing literature coverage is lacking a true examination).