When most people think about psychology, the only word that comes to their mind is therapy. Most TV shows and movies depict ‘shrinks’ and ‘therapists’ dealing with rich, disturbed clients or addicts and criminals, but the truth is, psychology is so much more than that.
Psychology has been defined as “the study of human behaviour and mental processes.” There are many schools of thought in psychology, which approach the study of the human mind in different manners. Similarly, there are a lot of branches and areas of specialisation in psychology apart from counselling and therapy. It is a vast field with many applications in the real world, and you’ll be surprised by how often psychology pops up in our day-to-day life.
For instance, let’s take something we see everyday and everywhere — advertisements. The common eye overlooks all the tactics an advertisement uses which makes it more appealing and encourages us to buy the product being shown.
Ads use mentally engaging images, emotions, colours and even hidden messages to trick your mind into buying products.
A] MENTALLY ENGAGING IMAGES
Here are two images of the same white mug.
It’s the same mug, but for most people the image on the right is more appealing on an ad. This is because the handle is on the right, towards the dominant hand of most people.
Let’s take another example - watches. If you google watches or see any advertisement for watches, you’ll note that most of them are set at 10:10.
This is for a number of reasons - firstly, the hands don’t overlap, and you can see the key details of the watch clearly. Also, this position is symmetrical which further pleases the human mind. Lastly, the 10:10 position makes the hands resemble a smile which gives “happy” vibes.
Initially, Timex used to use the time 8:20 in their product photos, but it looked like a “frown” so they decided to turn it upside-down.
B] EMOTIONS
Often, ads use phrases such as “limited offer for one day only” or tags which say “only a few left!”
Such advertisements induce in us the fear of missing out, and you feel more compelled to buy something when you’re afraid it won’t be available later. Just like this, ads having happy people showcasing their products induce joy in us and compel us to think the product will make us happy. This is how emotions are used by advertisements to increase sales.
C] COLORS
Color psychology is used a lot in advertisements and even generally. Colours impact mood, feelings and behaviour, and different ads and establishments use this to their advantage.
If you’ve noticed, most fast-food restaurants such as McDonalds, KFC, and Pizza Hut use red in their stores, ads and packaging. This is because the color red is also associated with hunger. Red restaurants lure you in because of their catchy, dominant color, and they also stimulate feelings of hunger even if you’ve already eaten. More often than not, red restaurant branding also incorporates a splash of yellow, which represents happiness and friendliness. It also makes you think of ketchup and mustard, which further succeeds in making you hungry.
D] HIDDEN MESSAGES
Observe the Wendy’s logo given below. Do you notice anything unusual?
Now, look again and focus on her collar. Did the word “mom” jump out at you?
It was proposed that this was a hidden message intended to create an association between Wendy's food and Mom's home cooking, noting that a Food Network UK survey found that more than half of men prefer their mom's cooking over their wife’s. Even though Wendy’s debunked this theory and said it was unintentional, there are many examples of hidden messages being used to lure customers everywhere.
These are only a few examples, and you’ll be astonished to see the extent at which advertisements and establishments influence your decisions by using psychological tactics. Once again, these tactics are not limited to advertisements only: Psychology pops up in most aspects of your daily life without you even realising it.
So the next time you’re tempted to get McDonalds, try to resist, because now you know that even it’s appearance is a strategy to make you spend money.
Wowwwww great insights