The Psychology of Advertisement

Have you ever wondered why advertisement exists? Why do we see so many ads everywhere? Do you wonder if advertisement actually works?

It seems that everyday we see more and more ads. We get bombarded by the amount of ads we see on the TV, on newspapers and on the Internet. What we need to understand is that advertisement is an approach to change an attitude about a subject or an object.

WHAT ARE ATTITUDES?

In social psychology there are two types of attitudes. Cognitively based attitudes are people’s belief about the properties of an object. An example of cognitively based attitudes can be seen when we buy cars. Nowadays we think of cars in terms of miles per gallon, safety or long term value. These are attitudes based on the merits of an object. In this case a car.

Affectively based attitudes are people’s beliefs about the nature of an object. If we decided to buy the car based on the color and how it makes you feel, then we consider that decision was made based on an affectively based attitude. It is important to understand that attitudes are built on conditioning (Classical and Operant conditioning). Just look at “Black Friday”. Do we really need to camp out three days to buy that TV? Do you really need to shop until you drop?

THREE WAYS ADS CHANGE YOUR MIND

The goal of advertisements is to change your attitude towards a object. Ads aim to persuade your attitude towards a side of an issue. So how do they change your attitudes? Studies have supported a three-prong approach that seems to be the most effective. People tend to change their attitudes about an object when the source of the communication is a credible one or an attractive one. That is why you see athletes or models endorsing products. Remember: “Be like Mike?”

The other approach is based on what is being said. We tend to be more influenced by messages that do not seem like advertisement. That is why there is an increase of “commercials” masked as news briefs or medical tips. Usually, these messages only show one side of the argument.

The last approach is by narrowing down the audience. Studies have found that people between the ages of 18 and 25 seem to be the most impressionable. After the age of 25, people’s attitudes tend to be more stable. Now you know why credit cards target college students. As a matter of fact, just look at beer or cigarette commercials and see who are they targeting.

HOW DOES ADVERTISEMENT INFLUENCE YOU?

Advertisement works by shifting your attitude of their product towards a favorable one.

For example, have you seen vacuum cleaner advertisements claiming that their product now comes in red or blue?  That is an affective approach to make you buy the product regardless of the facts. Ask yourself: Does it matter if the vacuum is of a specific color? Does the red vacuum work better than a grey one?

Advertisement works by changing your attitudes either logically or emotionally. Ultimately, we are the ones who react to that information.