Effects of Integrating Advertising Ethics into Course Instruction

Abstract

Based upon the first-known quasi-experiment of advertising ethics education, this study offers suggestive evidence that advertising ethics instruction using duty-based practices in combination with case-specific scenarios may facilitate student understanding of complex issues in ethics. The comparison of those who have and have not had advertising ethics integrated into class instruction appeared to show directionally that students who had received instruction were better able to recognize ethical challenges, were significantly more likely to behave in a manner consistent with their values, and were directionally better prepared to expect to confront an ethical dilemma in the future. If students are able to increase their ethical recognition abilities and likelihood to behave consistently after extended exposure to ethics instruction, then this practice may well help to address some of the negative activities plaguing the industry. This study should be of interest to advertising and communication professors, administrators and graduate students, as well as advertising and marketing practitioners.