Boffins studying health campaigns aimed at keeping teens and others from drinking and driving, smoking and other risky actions have found that these will actually encourage bad behaviour.
The advertisers use shame and guilt to get their messages across but a study shows that it is a complete waste of cash.
Researcher Adam Duhachek, a marketing professor at Indiana University said that the ads do more harm than good, because they have the potential to spur more of the behaviour they're trying to prevent.
Duhachek and his colleague Nidhi Agrawal of Northwestern University showed that people acting badly already knew it was wrong and the ads were triggering a defensive mindset.
The mind switches to a defence which claims that bad things only happen to other people and allows them to underestimate how vulnerable they are to the consequences
Adverts that scare people aren't effective, but they cause a backlash where people actually drink more than if they hadn't been exposed to the ads, Agrawal said.
The study was based on several experiments involving more than 1,200 undergraduate students who looked at anti-drinking ads meant to elicit shame or guilt.
Duhachek's advice is that if people want to positively influence drinking, campaigns need to convey both the dire consequences and a message of empowerment.
He said that if you're going to communicate a frightening scenario, temper it with the idea that it's avoidable.
Anti-drinking adverts drive you to drink
Boffins find it is better to keep silent
Boffins studying health campaigns aimed at keeping teens and others from drinking and driving, smoking and other risky have found that these will actually encourage bad behaviour.
The advertisers use shame and guilt to get their messages across but a study shows that it is a complete waste of cash.
Researcher Adam Duhachek, a marketing professor at Indiana University said that the ads do more harm than good, because they have the potential to spur more of the behaviour they're trying to prevent.
Duhachek and his colleague Nidhi Agrawal of Northwestern University showed that people acting badly already knew it was wrong and the ads were triggering a defensive mindset.
The mind switches to a defence which claims that bad things only happen to other people and allows them to underestimate how vulnerable they are to the consequences
Adverts that scare people aren't effective, but they cause a backlash where people actually drink more than if they hadn't been exposed to the ads, Agrawal said.
The study was based on several experiments involving more than 1,200 undergraduate students who looked at anti-drinking ads meant to elicit shame or guilt.
Duhachek's advice is that if people want to positively influence drinking, campaigns convey both the dire consequences and a message of empowerment.
He said that if you're going to communicate a frightening scenario, temper it with the idea that it's avoidable.
Alcohol drinking men are the body of the nanny/police state, “Shame on you! Now go drop those bombs on Iraq like I told you!”.
I saw we make alcohol 100% free of charge as it seems to me that 99% of the conflict and violence coming out of the nanny state culture is due to the frustrations of such men. If you're so miserable that all what you want to do is slowly kill yourself with alcohol, well, help yourself. And who's the crazy one, the person who can't be reasoned with or the person who won't stop demanding it? Let it be. I figure if you give men enough time and space, something that our modern human culture denies such men today, they learn. They don't need to be told by a snot nosed kid like myself. If you look at the sacrifices such men are willing to make for their cup of denial, it begs the question of just what part of the planet's resources are born into? Apparently nothing. Can't figure out why anyone would be miserable in such a world.
WSmart