In relation to classical and operant conditioning, analyse how the three given ads can be persuasive

Behaviourism is a school of psychological thought that concentrates on the study of observable behaviour rather than inner mind workings that were concentrated on beforehand, i.e. Freud and Gestalt. Watson, who went on to work in advertising, led many people into this new way of thinking, with an emphasis on wanting psychology to be more scientific and measurable than the previous mixings with a more philosophical leaning.  Classical conditioning is described as a reactive behaviour as it’s ‘beyond voluntary control’ and becomes an involuntary response after the conditioning occurs (Psychology, pg 22). In the same way that heuristics means that you pick up the same brand of toothpaste regardless of advertising as it’s a habit, post conditioning an animal will have a response that is like a reflex. On the other hand operant conditioning is described is an active behaviour, where stimuli to response to consequence occurs, and the consequences affect the future behaviour of the organism.
The first advertisement is the seat belt ad which formed part of the ‘Backwards’ campaign in 2003. Operant conditioning can be seen here as the stimuli, response, consequence sequence is used. By showing a situation with the inclusion of injury or death being a likelihood, the consumer is persuaded of the importance of wearing a seat belt when travelling by car, thereby encouraging a respect for their own life. By using a demonstration situation, the consumer is further aware of the contrast of effects of not wearing a seat belt vs wearing a seat belt, this further encourages them to keep themselves safe by wearing a seat belt when travelling. It could be noted that in real life, wearing a seat belt as an example of classical conditioning due to the progressive conditioning you receive when young, i.e ‘get in the car and put on your seat belt’, much like the ongoing progress Pavlov had when working with the dogs in the food and fork tone research (Psychology, pg 224).

Backwards Campaign 2003
Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWN6kchSI2E

Petty noted that attitude was an important factor when researching persuasive techniques and found three attitude-led responses, affect, individuals personal feelings, cognition, thoughts and associations linking it to the stimulus and conation, an individual’s behavioural response (Elaboration Likelihood Model of Persuasion, 1986). In the case of this car ad, someone could have previously not worn a seat belt and been involved in an accident, their affect response could be fearful and wary, their cognitive response could be associations with not wearing a seat belt being the cause and the conative response could be that they always wear a seat belt now and encourage others with them to do the same. In relation to the ad this individual would not be persuaded as their mindset is already clear; seat belts are effective.  Petty went on to argue how an individual’s attitude to stimulus within an advertisement would be important to how persuasive they found the ad. Alternatively to the previous example, a person could have previously not worn a seat belt and been safe (affect), with thoughts and associations being that nothing bad had happened  to them (cognitive), and the conative response being that that they don’t bother with wearing seat belts. This individual would likely have a bigger change in attitude and interrelated persuasion from this ‘Backwards’ campaign.

This is the first ‘Diet Coca Cola hunk’ as he’s become known, making a first appearance as a construction worker in 1994. Positive reinforcement is one of the key concepts in operant conditioning and has been used in this ad. Skinner notes a reinforcer as being ‘any stimulus that functions to increase the likelihood of the behaviour that led to it’ with the words positive and negative being used to ascertain whether the stimulus was ‘presented or removed’ (Psychology, pg 227). Correspondingly, a woman in the ad can be heard saying ‘same time tomorrow’ which increases the sense that the behaviour will be continued. This sense of continuity can be interpreted as persuasive as people like routine (The Efficiency of Social Comparisons With Routine Standards, 2009) and therefore Diet Cola would become part of that.

Diet Coke Coke Break ad featuring Diet Coke hunk 1993
Available from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdrE1VMxzoE

The way in which the Diet Cola ad gives the impression that the employees are having a break coincides with Albers-Miller and Stafford who noted how positive emotional appeal often increases effectiveness (An international analysis of emotional and rational appeals in services vs goods advertising, 1999). This similarity to the joy people often feel when given a break, which has been noted to enhance productivity and morale in the workplace could be seen as a reflection of the satisfaction of drinking Diet Cola (Impact of Employment basics on Employee Engagement, 2014). Notably Coca Cola do use classical conditioning with their Christmas ad, as the US, getting towards Christmas time, and CS (the ad), then UR and CR being excitement about Christmas coming- emphasised by the theme ‘holidays are coming’.

Zazoo condom ad 2003
Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWkZ_StRjU0

Zazoo are a French condom brand who in 2003 ran an advert that included a screaming child in a supermarket. This ad shows an example of a different operant conditioning concept, negative reinforcement, whereby the child is the negative reinforcer for using condoms. Thorndike said of operant conditioning that ‘the consequences of an organism’s behaviour will determine whether it will be repeated’ (Psychology, pg 24). This ad can be interpreted as persuasive due to the use of humour, in order to convey the social embarrassment the man feels as a result of the screaming child.  Persuasion can also be seen in the way that the message isn’t entirely clear until the end of the ad, by holding interest you decrease the chance of skipping, fast forwarding or avoiding the ad (The Residual Impact of Avoided Television Advertising, 2010). Another example of a negative reinforcer would be a bad grade for a student, whereby the student would study in order to get a good grade, in the same way the man could have used a condom and avoided having a child and being in the situation that the ad shows.

In conclusion, examples of operant conditioning can be seen within the given adverts, including negative reinforcement and positive reinforcement as well as the use of humour, emotional appeal and demonstration as persuasive techniques.

References

Albers Miller, N. & Stafford, M. (1999) An international analysis of emotional and rational appeals in services vs goods advertising. Journal of Consumer Marketing. [Online] 16 (1) 42-57. Available from: http://www.emeraldinsight.com.proxy.worc.ac.uk/doi/pdfplus/10.1108/07363769910250769 [Accessed: 17 February 2015]

Bellman, S. Schweda, A. & Varan, D. (2010) The Residual Impact of Avoided Television Advertising. Journal of Advertising 39. 66-80. Available from: http://web.b.ebscohost.com.proxy.worc.ac.uk/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=58a68794-9858-4864-8020-23038ba257eb%40sessionmgr110&vid=1&hid=107 [Accessed: 17 February 2015]

Corcoran, K. & Mussweller, T. (2009) The Efficiency of Social Comparisons With Routine Standards. Social Recognition Journal 27. 939-948. Available from: http://web.a.ebscohost.com.proxy.worc.ac.uk/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=626badde-d9c3-4c2c-9d20-2b2c1bc8d40c%40sessionmgr4002&vid=1&hid=4106 [Accessed 18 February 2015]

Gilbert, D. Schacter, D. & Wegner, D. (2012) Psychology. Pg 20-24, 227. St Martin Press, New York, Palgrave Macmillan. 

Medlin, B. & Green , K. (2014) Impact of Employment basics on Employee Engagement. Journal of Marketing 19. 3rd edition. Emerald Group Publishing Limited. 21-25. Available from: http://web.a.ebscohost.com.proxy.worc.ac.uk/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=5cad171c-aa40-4bfd-b976-134ddd811488%40sessionmgr4003&vid=1&hid=4106 [Accessed: 17 February 2015]

Petty , R. & Cacioppo, J. (1986) Elaboration Likelihood Model of Persuasion. [Online] 123-162. Available from: https://www.uni-muenster.de/imperia/md/content/psyifp/aeechterhoff/wintersemester2011-12/vorlesungkommperskonflikt/petty_cacioppo_elm_advaexpsocpsy_buchkapitel1986.pdf [Accessed: 17 February 2015]

Till, B. & Priluck, R. (2000) Stimulus Generalization in Classical Conditioning: An Initial Investigation and Extension. Psychology and Marketing. [Online] 17 (1) Available from: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com.proxy.worc.ac.uk/doi/10.1002/(SICI)1520-6793(200001)17:1%3C55::AID-MAR4%3E3.0.CO;2-C/epdf [Accessed: 17 February 2015]