Preview

John Watson: The Art Of Subliminal Advertising

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
197 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
John Watson: The Art Of Subliminal Advertising
Media companies have mastered the art of subliminal messaging and it seems to be very effective. A pioneer of the psychological effects on consumers would be John Watson who by taking his knowledge of behaviorism and applying it to the advertising field, helped companies increase sales, “Watson concluded that sales could be influenced by manipulating the images associated with brand names (Hergenhahn & Henley, 2014).” With every commercial I see, especially those that are trying to sale beauty, the person(s) in the advertisements are either famous or have the same body features.
I believe that the images portrayed in advertising correlate with the increase in cases of eating disorders over the past thirty years (Comer, 2015)(pg. 317). With

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    For example, television advertisement is telling our young and mature women they can be beautiful and near goddess like if they simply buy their company’s product. From what I’ve seen as long as I buy Covergirls™ latest wrinkle cream I’ll never age a day in my life and I’ll look remarkable similar to the model advertising it. Not only women are being effected by this “image” but men too. Another example of these false advertisements are the Axe Deodorant™ commercials that are constantly implying to men that as long as they buy this particular deodorant and use it they’ll have dozens of beautiful women crawling on them all at once. I can’t be certain…

    • 853 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    According to Prah, there is a complicated combination of biological, psychological and social factors that cause eating disorders, and our culture continues to endorse thinness (3). Over time there has been a shift in the way that society views being thin. Starting at the end of the Middle Ages, “women who fasted were thought to possess evil spirits and were accused of being witches bent upon destroying the Catholic Church” (12). Next, in the 17th and 18th centuries, when women were too thin, they were thought of as being “victims of poor health” (12). Then in the 1940s and the 1950s, the full figured woman became the ideal (13). When Twiggy, a famous model who stood 5’9” and weighed 90 pounds, was growing up in the 1950s, she hated her body. She wanted to “look like Brenda Lee, very curvy and round” (Abagond), because that was the optimal body. But today, our society not only approves of being thin, but idealizes it. Before Twiggy, “the average fashion model weighed just 8 percent less than the average American woman, but today fashion models are thinner than 98 percent of American women” (13). The exposure starts at an early age; children are being exposed to the “thin ideal” with dolls such as Barbie, who “would stand 5’9” and weigh a mere 110 pounds” if she were a real person (13). This early introduction makes a big impact because as girls’ bodies develop, they become worried about the places that they are gaining weight where they didn’t have fat before (14). A sickening figure depicts that more than 50 percent of 9 and 10-year-olds say that “they feel better about themselves when they’re dieting” (33), and research found that girls who were as young as 7 years old thought that the thinner women in drawings were more popular and happier (34). These…

    • 2426 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Gender Roles In Vogue US

    • 771 Words
    • 4 Pages

    This is due to the fact that fashion magazines and the industry itself, are synchronized with the corresponding seasons. Also, collectively, the fashion industry tends to have the same opinion on aesthetics regardless of cultural differences. When analyzing fashion advertising, the effects of its impact can go beyond that of body image and eating disorders. This study helped to discover a connection between eating disorders and gender stereotypes. When women are portrayed in advertising, they are depicted as the ideal; slim and embodying the ultimate achievements of a woman. This can create a complex for some female viewers to essentially strive to achieve this look, therefore leading to body image…

    • 771 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Editing in the Media

    • 3411 Words
    • 9 Pages

    The edited images of ideal bodies perpetrated by the media are a contributing factor to poor body image, low self-esteem, and eating disorders among females. According to numerous doctors and therapists, self-worth is established in relation to what is portrayed in the media, and when magazines and advertisements are Photoshopped, the expectations for average women are altered. In an attempt to reach this new standard for females, some girls develop eating disorders and obsess about losing weight and become thinner and more beautiful.…

    • 3411 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Several studies have shown that there are many ways in which a woman’s body image, eating patterns, and self-esteem is negatively affecting what audiences see and hear from the media. In 1996, an article titled, “Body Image: A Cognitive Self-Schema Construct, by Altabe and Thompson, indicates that “social endorsements” are inherent in how the media is portraying the “ideal body.” This has created a sense in women to examine the image of their body to determine if they need to radically alter their eating habits in order to offset that undesirable body. This, in turn, may have led to eating disorder. Also, Heinberg and Thompson (1995) indicated that females who were exposed to appearance-related media were less satisfied with their body shape than females who were exposed to non-appearance related…

    • 967 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Wendy Spettigue covers what role the media plays in eating disorders. How the media focuses on the importance of appearance for women, but also creates the epitome of beauty by portraying exaggerated features that beauty consists of. She also covers how media connects to the etiology (Medicine-the cause, set of causes, or manner of causation of a disease or condition) of eating disorders. And how it works to maintain eating disorders. She has also authored 2 book chapters on psychopharmacology for the treatment of eating disorders (Cambridge Univ Press and Guilford…

    • 1101 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In this era, both men and women are obsessed with beauty and obtaining perfect bodies to be accepted by society. The majority of the population can be found on social sites or watches numerous hours of television a year, which contain advertisements and product placement. The media is responsible for creating the idea of what body image and beauty standards are accepted. Body image plays a very important role in our society in shaping our identities. Advertisements can have both benefits and damages depending on the illustration, model, and message. In the United States, the damages associated with negative body image is a significant problem as young adolescents, in an effort to adhere to the supposed criterion of beauty, consequently develop…

    • 219 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Heinberg L, Thompson K. “The Media’s Influence on Body Image Disturbance and Eating Disorders: We’ve Reviled Them, Now Can We Rehabilitate Them?” Journal of Social Issues, Vol. 55, No 2, 1999. 339-353.…

    • 1559 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The media contributes to what teenagers believe is “thin and beautiful.” This is why controlling what is in the media is vital to teenagers. Frances O’Connor, the author of Obesity and the Media, explains advertisers bombard viewers with approximately five hundred advertisements everyday, and at least ten percent of these advertisements are directly about beauty. This information shows that there are an overwhelming number of messages from the media about beauty. In addition, O’Connor later goes on to write that, advertisers expose viewers to the idea that being skinny and losing weight will make them happier. However, in the article, “Eating Disorders and the Media,” The Camp Recovery Center Health Group proves that long-term “regimented diet plans do not work”, the more people purchase diet products, the more the diet industry will keep pushing their false advertisements and slogans. According to the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, “Nearly 70 percent of girls in grades five through 12 said magazine images influence their ideals of a perfect body.” This shows that the media, which can lead to many eating disorders, influences more…

    • 1306 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The media is a powerful tool with a huge place in today's society. However, in a society filled with young women crazed to look like super models, movie stars, and Barbie dolls, the "thin ideal" is silently advertised through various television shows, movies, and magazine articles, projecting the idea that women need to look a certain way in order to be accepted. With such a strong effect on the lives of people, today's media has had a prominent influence on eating disorders among young women.…

    • 274 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    eating disorders

    • 1141 Words
    • 5 Pages

    What has the world come to when women are given the message at a very young age, that in order to be happy or successful they must be thin. Our society repeatedly sends the message that thin is beautiful. Today every time we walk into a store we are surrounded by images of skinny, beautiful models that appear on the front cover of all fashion magazines. In the media, we daily see weight-loss programs advertisements featuring young underweight women. Diet commercials are constantly appearing on our television screens telling us that once we lose weight will be happier. This shows that the American culture tends to value people on their physical appearance rather than other important qualities. As a result, eating disorders have been on the increase because of the value society places on being thin. Media is brainwashing society into believing that being thin is important and necessary. Eating disorders are a common problem in our society but have not been acknowledged as much as they should. There are three subtypes of eating disorders: Anorexia nervosa, Bulimia nervosa and Binge eating. However, society is not the only contributing factor to eating disorders. Women with eating disorders have a difficultly controlling their actions. They suffer from low self-esteem which drives them toward perfectionism. Women set themselves standards that are unhealthy, physically and emotionally. These eating disorders can be life threatening if not treated on time. An examination of our society reveals that they are one of the major contributing factors to the three eating disorders among women.…

    • 1141 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Negative Body Image

    • 2040 Words
    • 9 Pages

    The average woman today sees 400 to 600 advertisements per day causing a negative impact on how females view their bodies. Advertisers often emphasize sexuality and the importance of physical attractiveness in an attempt to sell products. But beneath selling a product is the pressure being placed upon women to focus on their appearance rather than buying a product. Advertisements may adversely impact women's body image which can lead to unhealthy behavior as women strive for an ultra-thin body idealized by the media. In a recent poll by People magazine, "80% of women reported that the images of women in advertisements make them feel insecure about their looks."(Gunter)The Negative portrayals…

    • 2040 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Media Eating Disorders

    • 1935 Words
    • 8 Pages

    We are constantly surrounded and influenced by the media no matter where we go. With all of the great improvements the media has provided to our lives, it is hard to recognize how much the media has negatively impacted us as well. Media advertises body images that are deemed to be “perfect” which pressures individuals to change their appearance to meet the standards of society’s view of “perfection.” Not everyone can achieve self-satisfaction with his or her appearance. Body image is the mental image of one’s own body based on self-esteem. Since the media does not provide a realistic standard of beauty, it does not help self-esteem and can even worsen one’s body image. According to the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA), in the United States, 20 million women and 10 million men will suffer from a clinically significant eating disorder at some time in their life. Out of those men and women, low confidence and self-esteem are already a problem especially since research has shown that those individuals are the most influenced by the media and society. Exposure to the media can strongly contribute to the development of an eating disorder.…

    • 1935 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Eating Disorders

    • 2036 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The Journal of Adolescent Health states, “81 percent of American 10-year-olds are afraid of being fat” (Rodenbough 4). Our society is turning into a terrible place to bring up children. The age of women affected by eating disorders seem to be decreasing. No child should feel self-conscience about their appearance. No one should, no matter their age. What will change how society feels if, “They are constantly bombarded with images of thin, beautiful young women and lean, muscular men in magazines, on billboards, on the internet, on television, and in movies” (Wexler 4)? Men and women all around the nation need to be informed about what types of eating disorders exist and common symptoms that occur along with them. They should also be aware of the media’s influence on our population along with the fashion industry. Solutions for those with an Eating Disorder need to be known among society as well.…

    • 2036 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The subject of subliminal messaging is hardly a secret. The topic has been a main storyline is recent Hollywood movies such as Josie and the Pussycats, Zoolander, Fight Club and Serenity. According to a recent survey of American consumers, "it is found that almost two-thirds believe in the existence of subliminal advertising, and more than one-half are convinced that this technique can get them to buy things they do not really want." (Solomon, p. 63)…

    • 1554 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays