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Psychologic Effects of Advertising

use of subliminal stimuli directed into the unconscious mind by the advertisers of the nation. Techniques of this sort are in wide use by media, advertising and public relations agencies, industrial and commercial corporations, and by the Federal government itself. Wilson Brian Key feels that subliminal perception is being used by advertisers in service to this manipulation, which goes much farther than simply lying about products or using prejudices as selling tools (1).

Packard points out that there are serious antihumanistic implications to this manipulation, with much of it being regress rather than progress for the human being. Interestingly, there is a dichotomy between the way the typical American citizen is portrayed in the media and the way he is manipulated by these advertising concerns. On the one hand, the typical American is considered a shrewd individual and is dramatized as a thoughtful voter, rugged individualist, and above all as a careful and hardheaded consumer of the many products created by American enterprise. Most Americans like to try to fit themselves into that picture, which is certainly flattering. Packard, however, feels that the persuaders in our society use this image to manipulate and direct behavior. They see the American people in a very different light. They see the people in psychological terms as a collection of daydreams, hidden yearnings, guilt complexes, and irrational emotional blockages. Packard notes: "They have found the supporting evidence for this view persuasive enough to encourage them to turn to depth channels on a large scale in their efforts to influence our behavior" (7).

Scientists, psychiatrists, social scientists, and other experts are involved with the advertisers in devising the means of manipulating the energies and desires of the public. Motivation research is the basic tool used by them to determine how to proceed. They add depth to the selling of ideas and p...

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Psychologic Effects of Advertising. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 16:10, March 28, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1682124.html