Psychology of the Publicity
by Piert Pietro Brunelli
1. Theories, guidelines and applications
`The psychology of the publicity' is not a discipline that can be considered effectively constituted, although sin from first of `the 900 specific scientific banns appear that aim for `the psychological conquest' of the consumers (Scott, 1904; you see Peduzzi, 1981). And' instead consolidated the theorist-practical search of the psychology in the within of the marketing and the consumptions. It goes endured observed that the psychology is not a monotheistic science `', it has developed multiple fields of surveying, theoretical enorm methodologies, approaches, currents of thought. Moreover all the history of the psychology is characterized from an ignited debate, that sees opposite points of view and diversified much epistemological conceptions, and that road between medical sciences and the humanistic philosophies is placed to half. For an approach to the psychology of the publicity two great theoretic fields must be considered above all: that one of `the general psychology', and that one of the so-called `psychology of the deep one' or, in terms more puts into effect them, `of the personality and of the differences it characterizes them'.
The general psychology regards the study of the human faculties of perceiving and thinking, to prescind from the subjectivity of every individual: feelings, perceptions, memory, learning, emotions, intelligence, and language (for a literary approach Darley is advised; Glucksbérg; Kinchla, 1991). The psychology of the personality and the differences characterizes them (advises Carotenuto, 1991), it investigates the particular characters of every individual, and therefore the subjective experience of the life.
The understanding and the cure of the personality characterize them, reported to the psychical peculiarity of every `life history', constitute the mission of the founded psychoanalysis from Freud, mission that has given to place to one great variety of guidelines having like object prince the investigation of the conscious-unconscious relation. This field of the psychology, saying also dynamics psychology is reported to the members and the forces inborn in `the inner world' of the individuals, and is aimed to explore the fantasies, the dreams, it disturbs psychical and the conditioning and conflict phenomena that are manifested to mind and interpersonal level. The fundamental discovery of Freud consists of observing that the conscience is only the tip of an iceberg, in which manifest a “secondary process” - secondary because consequent to the conditionings of the “primary process” that it resides in the great depths submerged of the iceberg: the unconscious one. Therefore, sin from years twenty, with diffusing themselves of the Freudian thought, the advertising ones have been fascinate to you from the possibility to speed up the aware choices of the consumers making lever on `unconscious mechanisms'.
For a psychoanalytical approach to the publicity of Freudian guideline it goes remembered the work, `by now classic': The hidden precursory, of Vance Packard, which examines the unconscious motivations of the consumers Americans of years' 60-' 70. In Italy the first developments and deepenings on the psychoanalytical dimension in the relation publicity-consumptions must F. Customs (1977 -1993, 7° and).
A factor of innovation in the psychological approach to the marketing and the publicity is given from the application of theories and reasoning of symbolic character and
Archetypical (you see Mark and Pearson, 2001; Wertime, 2002; It broods, 2003). In such perspective the maximum disciplinary reference is `the psychology C.G. analytics' Jung and `the archetypical psychology of J.Hillman (authors on which we will stop ourselves in the final paragraphs).
Therefore, to speak about `psychology of the publicity' implies an epistemological clarification in the first place relatively which psychology and to which guidelines we refer. In this short test we want to above all evidence the developments of `a psychology of the publicity' in a psychodynamic direction and analytics, revolt to explore fantasies, emotions and desires that are animated in the advertising universe.
2. to measure and to plan the aspects interpreted to you and perceptive of the publicity
The effectiveness of the publicity (that one already carried out or in phase of planning) comes according to estimated multiple aspects, and comes found through numerous methodologies and systems of measurement (Brioschi, 1996; Busacca and Castaldo, 1996). The specific contribution of the psychology in the test realization regards relative aspects you to the memory, the gradient, the evocation of emotions and images, to the motivation to the purchase, to the credibility, etc the tests can be carries out to you before the spread of an advertising message (pre-testing), subsequently (post-testing), but also during the spread. The tests can be realize to you through questionnaires, with the supply of reactive to your visual, or also asking to carry out games of role and activity. In many cases the searches on the advertising messages do not serve in order to characterize and to measure variable with precision statistics - given qualitative to you - how much in order to find given qualitative you, as an example to which mental associations they send back sure advertising images, which feelings and interpretations provoke, etc This kind of information comes above all gained for means of focus group and also with various modalities of `observation participant' (to ex. observes agreeable subjects while they watch the TV).
The verification and the psychological planning `' of the perceptive aspects of the publicity are of competence of the psychology of the shape (Gestalttheorie), above all relatively to the visual communication (mark, colors, figurations - you see Marcolli, 1971 and 1978 - see also Arielli, 2003). The human beings see `through' the eyes, but the visual information with the brain elaborate. `The psychology of the shape' studies as the brain has the ability to `giving shape', determining various perceptive phenomenology, to ex.: in a complex image we recognize mainly figures from `the good shape' (tasks to a perfect circle in means to many figures irregular curves); in a same shape we can recognize more figures (tasks to sure pictures of Escher).
Aspects interpreted to you and conceptual of the publicity can be relatively inquiring you to the relation between perception and sociocultural context (see Asch, 1952). As an example one marks typically national will turn out very more obvious and attractive if we notice it abroad, since unusual `the sociocultural background' ago to jump over. Other much meaningful perceptive phenomenon for the publicity and the consumptions is relative to the distribute processes, which determine the cognitive assumption of objects, brand and advertising messages within reconstituted categorical pictures (you see Hoyer and Maclins, 1997). As an example: the colors of the packaging of I cleansed to you for plates `are categorized' within a range that generally goes from the green to the blue, that involves difficulty in accepting a color like the black one or as viola, in spite of these colors they can very differ on the shelf of the supermarket.
Hidden perceptive phenomena `' in publicity, that is not recordable aware, are famous as `subliminal messages', which beyond to be illegal (Decree Legislative 25 January 1992, n. 74 - art. 4), insufficient are meant to you in terms of real effectiveness (although there are much evocative examples, you see: Key, 1973).
3. to characterize the target: personality, psicocultural styles of life and factors
And' much frequent in publicity the employment of models and psychological theories that aim to classify typology of personality, or features of common personalities to various persons, to the aim to find behavioral pictures and styles of life of specific target.
As an example the model of Mitchell, The nine American lifestyles, (New York: Mac Millan, 1983) sight to relatively characterize nine psychological types of consumers to `the styles of life' (Belongers, Emulators, Achievers, The-Am-me, Experiential, Societal conscious, Survirs, Sustainers, Integrated). Instead, the model of R.B Cattel, often used in the marketing studies, characterizes 16 features of personality - you see Cattel, 1966 and Williams, 1981:201 - 204), which to second of as they are arranged in a single person gives place to a sure profile of personality.
However models of this kind, although their formal validity, cannot explain, as an example, the phenomenon more and more put into effect them of the so-called `multiple and occasional personalities' (see Girard, 1990; Piro, 1997). Recently the psychology of the personality has developed to models and theories in order to verify as the variable ones of personality can change in every individual to second of the situations, and as the performance of sure behaviors can be relatively independent from the personality and the styles of life (you see Krahé, 1992).
Today one assists to one substantial fragmentation and changeability of the styles of life according to the situations and of transitory humors. Such phenomenon - derivable the typical one to weaken of the identities (the so-called “subject weak person”) to the comparison of the hyperbolic and mythical images of identity proposed from the society of the average and the consumptions - puts in crisis the slight knowledge of target and the various models of classification of the consumers in categories, types, groups.
Recently the psychology in publicity comes employed above all in order to characterize `psicocultural areas' to which determines groups of consumers can make reference to you, although they have styles of life, professions, ideas and deferred income. G. Fabris speaks in such sense of “situated valorously”, (2003: 337-341) that they influence independently determines behaviors to you of consumption from the life styles. Practically the publicity contributes to define the valorously areas of personal I and that one of the others in the social space.
The fact that the identical value of the persons is more and more relative to the images of marks (sees Ferraresi, 2003) is a by now obvious phenomenon above all in infancy and the adolescence, like they demonstrate to various searches on the use of the publicity between the young people and the young.
In a recent study-inquiry on the publicity turned to children J.B. Schor writes:
“To 18 months the children are in a position to recognizing the places trade them and before catching up according to age year they ask the products name some marks it. According to the experts, within the three years or the three years and means the children begin as an example to believe that he marks it is in a position to conferring only characteristic they, the intelligent being in leg, forts and” (2005: 21).
Of great interest for surveyings on the adresses of the publicity they are various ambles you of the social psychology, above all those relations you to the formation of the stereotypes, the prejudgments, the attributions of value and
Therefore in last request, of the mode and the tendencies of the taste (for a manual approach you see, to ex. Doise, Deschmps, Mugny, 1988).
The psychosocial searches `' of K. Lewin (1951), celebrity inventor one of `the theory of the field', have been particularly employed in the study and the planning of the publicity (see Forlay, 1981:334 - 345). According to Lewin the relationship between motivation and action depends on `the psychological field' or “space of life” of the person, and such field is given from an integration of cognitive factors you, emotional and acclimatizes them that they are between interdependent they. Practically an advertising message, independently from the personality of an individual, can change its `psychological field' orienting it towards determines consumption behaviors to you. The theories of K. Lewin have collected a sure reputation in publicity also because, during the Second World War, it has been one of the greater advisers of public communication of the American government.