PSY6412 - Psychology and Advertising

Objectives:

On successful completion of the module, students will be able to:

(1) Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the function and purpose of advertising.
(2) Critically evaluate how advertising phenomena may be explained within the context of theories and concepts from social and cognitive psychology.
(3) Evaluate the application of cognitive psychological principles to the definition and measurement of advertising effectiveness.
(4) Undertake a systematic analysis of advertising content and interpret it in relation to psychological theory

Content:

This module applies theories and concepts from social and cognitive psychology to aspects of advertising. The content will include:

Background Information
Myths and common misconceptions about advertising and how it works. The history of the psychological study of advertising.

Advertising and Cognition
Memory-based measures of advertising effectiveness: recall and recognition. The role of attention: Divided attention and Levels of Processing (Craik & Lockhart, 1972). Surreptitious advertising: Subliminal advertising, implicit memory and product placement. Serial-position effects in TV advertising. Ad-liking and ad-remembering. Advertising in context: Effects of violence, sex and humour in TV programmes.

Advertising and Society
Gender representations and sexism in advertising. Advertising food to children. Conformity and aspiration: Endorsement by celebrities, experts and ‘DIY celebrities’. Central and peripheral routes of persuasion: Elaboration Likelihood Model (e.g. Petty & Caccioppo, 1981). Direct argument versus emotional appeals. Analysing advertising content using Ethnographic Content Analysis (Altheide, 1996).

Learning and Teaching Information:

The module delivery will be based upon a combination of lecture-based teaching and use of a VLE. The module will be delivered on the basis of 90-minute lecture slots, incorporating activities and discussions. Students will also work in small groups to design and undertake a small-scale piece of research, for which they will apply theory and specific research techniques to an analysis of advertising content. This aspect of the module will be supported through two workshops.

Lectures
Contact Hours:16 x 1.5hr = 24
Number of Groups:1

Workshops
Contact Hours: 2 x 1.5hr = 3
Number of Groups:1

Assessment: