Citation

Gentile DA. J. Agromed. 2010; 15(2): 96-97.

Affiliation

Department of Psychology, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 50011-3180, USA. dgentile@iastate.edu

Copyright

(Copyright © 2010, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/10599241003627151

PMID

20407989

Abstract

Advertisers are adept at changing our attitudes and purchasing behaviors, but we rarely notice the effects. This plenary talk at the eighth annual Midwest Rural Agricultural Safety and Health Forum, November 2009, focused on the psychology of advertising and how advertising is designed to work outside of our conscious awareness. Several psychological "tricks" are used to influence us, with the goal being to get us to change our behaviors but to think that it was our idea all along. These tricks include using emotional appeals and persuasion techniques that rely on biases in human problem solving. This power can be used for social marketing, the use of these techniques to promote social well-being, rather than simply for commercial purposes. Understanding how advertising works therefore allows us to use this power to effect positive changes in society.

Language: en