This article examines the impact of discoveries and methods of neuroscience on marketing practices as they relate to the exercise of individual free will. Thus, our focus centers on ethical questions involving consumers’ awareness, consent, and understanding to what may be viewed as invasion of their privacy rights. After a brief introduction, the article turns to scientific literature on the brain, followed by discussion of marketing persuasion models. Ethical dilemmas within the free will paradigm and Rawlsian justice developed in moral philosophy are delineated next. The article closes with policy implications and a revised consideration of consumer privacy.
Our purpose is to examine the evolving public policy and marketing domain of consumer privacy as it relates to current and future advertiser strategies and activities. After a brief introduction, the paper discusses major privacy concerns identifi ed in the literature, focusing on tensions between advertiser interests and consumer needs. The regulatory environment is chronicled next, emphasizing Federal Trade Commission (FTC) policies and domains representing old practices and new considerations-direct mail, Internet, and neuromarketing. The closing section presents a call for coherent rationale and practical guidelines for consumer self-protection, self-regulation, and legislation involving primary (product) as well as secondary (informational) exchanges.
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