I found the video posted below over at The Situationist. It’s billed there as a study “on the effects of popular company logos on human behavior.” What struck me about it was the study being an example of how powerful symbols can be in influencing us through our latent, unconscious belief systems.
While it can be argued that this study is a thinly veiled ad for Apple, the point being presented is solid. Essentially, if you’ve previously bought into a belief that’s been advertised, then when a symbol (in this case a company logo) representing that belief is subliminally registered by you the symbol will “prime” the belief and influence your behavior.
The example given in the study is that if I believe Apple’s advertising that their products can make me more creative, then just seeing their logo (even subliminally!) can activate that belief, which will then actually make me more creative.
The implications for how symbols representing belief systems can influence people is interesting to think about, and a bit sobering. What latent beliefs do I carry around that are constantly being influenced?
What’s funny to me is that at the end of the clip the advice the researcher offers concerning his findings is solely about how advertisers can use that knowledge to better manipulate consumers. But, I guess I shouldn’t expect more from a business school professor.
On the other side of the coin, are their ways that we can use this knowledge to our own benefit? If symbols have the power to activate and influence latent beliefs, then one idea is to surround ourselves with symbols that prime beliefs that we want to increase the influence of in our lives. For example, in a religious context, lets say that I want to help my daughter feel as though God watches over her and protects here. I could choose a specific symbol that represents that belief and activates it when the symbol is used at particular times. That’s the exact motive that I had in mind when we crafted Katie’s hoop dance regalia (the sun shield on her cape).
We can be determined and purposeful with what we choose to help influence us, if we put in the work to do so. What beliefs would you like to increase in your life? What can you do to help counteract all of the subtle manipulations of our thoughts and behavior from pop culture and advertising?
Enjoy the clip, and let me know what thoughts you have.
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Whoa. That’s pretty amazing. I was once told that they did an experiment in a movie theater where, in a movie, every 12 frames, they would show 1 frame that was an ad for Coke. I can’t quite remember the numbers, but it was something like half of the people in the theater bought a coke from the movie theater after. These big companies are smart.