Informational Social Influence

Monkey see. Monkey do, as the saying goes. Turns out that this might not be far from the truth. People tend to conform to what others are doing or saying if they perceive them as a source of accurate information. Humans like to be right, so they look to others who are considered experts in their respective fields to understand something deeper. This typically occurs when someone is unsure of something or lacks knowledge in a particular area. Informational social influence is associated with the internalization of said ideas adopted by the expert. You can see how this can lead to social conformity. There have been experiments done to test this theory, such as the Jenness’ Bean Jar Experiment, where participants were asked to guess the number of beans in a jar separately. Then, they were asked to guess the number of beans while in a social group. It turned out that their guesses varied greatly but when they were put into the groups, their estimates were closer in value. This shows that humans can influence one another’s behaviors and beliefs. This is why “social proof” in the advertising world works. If consumers don’t feel like they have enough information on a topic, product, etc., they will seek out a way to have accurate views and information. Social comparison is the process of comparing our opinions with those of others to gain an accurate appraisal of the validity of an opinion or behavior (Festinger, Schachter, & Back, 1950; Hardin & Higgins, 1996; Turner, 1991). It should be noted that informational influence is different from normative influence. Normative influence is when conformity happens due to one’s desire to “fit in” with the group to gain acceptance and fulfill expectations. The use of informational social influence is used in advertising in the form of social proof to influence the opinions of consumers. A positive view of the brand is the objective to gain new customers. Informative social influence can be a useful tool for widening your brand’s audience.

Psychology of Advertising

An average person can be exposed to over 6,000 advertisements per day! This number is staggering but not surprising it today’s digital world. There are psychological principles that advertisers can use to improve sales.

1.     Reciprocity. This psychological phenomenon is held fast in the fact that we are instinctively hard-wired to automatically feel indebted to someone when we receive a gift from them. in business, this can be giving your audience something for free and in return they may sign up or purchase more. For example, maybe you get a first-class trial for free. You love the class so you end up buying the membership.

2.     Consensus. This is where others put their trust in a brand because others have demonstrated proof of trust in them already. This is where customer reviews come in handy.

3.     Liking. This can be ingrained with physical traits, similarity, association or contact with the brand in a positive experience. You will need to know your audience. What are their wants and their likes? Once you know this you can reflect it back to them in advertising messages. 

4.     Scarcity. This is an effective tool that makes something seem like it won’t be around for long at all. Say a promotion with a deadline, such as, “for limited time only.” This creates a sense of urgency and leads to irrational, emotional decision making.

5.     FOMO. Or fear of missing out. This is a two-part process. First, the user feels like they’re missing out. Two, they follow up with compulsive behavior to maintain the connection.

6.     Authority. Establish authority as an expert in your field. People tend to trust those in charge, such as credible source, thought leaders and experts.

This list is far from extensive and the psychological principles that can be utilized in advertising are vast. The two fields go together like peanut butter and jelly. To read more on what types of techniques your brand can use to benefit from psychology in your advertising and marketing campaigns visit:

·      Crobox (techniques)

·      Relevance (examples)

·      USC (overall information)

Gestalt Principle for Advertising Design

We know, we know. This already sounds like a very fancy, difficult to read article. Well, let us tell you that it’s not. We’re going to explain this design principle in laymen’s terms for those who may not be familiar with it. We don’t have degrees in psychology, so our understanding of it is at the surface level to be used for the ad industry. So, what is the Gestalt Principle? It deals with psychology that is a philosophy dictating that the human mind perceives a whole composition as something different than its individual elements. Basically, it means that the human brain will attempt to simplify and organize complex images/designs that consist of many elements. The brain subconsciously arranges the parts into an organized system that creates a whole rather than a series of elements. It is used in design to improve the aesthetics, functionality and user-friendliness. These are the principles associated with Gestalt: simplicity, similarity, closure, proximity, figure/ground, symmetry and order, synchrony and lastly, continuity. Let’s dive a little deeper into each principle.

1.     Simplicity. The mind will interpret ambiguous and complex images in their simplest form. When we see an object, we first seek to identify the outline to compare it to known shapes and patterns. A simple design that is well-defined will communicate the message more effectively.

2.     Similarity. Objects with similar characteristics will be grouped together as related or similar. This happens regardless of their proximity. This can be used to make certain elements of a design stand out from the rest.

3.     Closure. This one is the idea that your brain fills in the gaps for missing pieces of an illustration or image. The design need not include the entire image in order for the viewer to see the whole. Our brains are amazing!

4.     Proximity. Objects placed closely together are usually perceived as more related. They don’t even have to share the same characteristics. This can help you design by adding groups of items without definite borders.

5.     Figure/ground. Elements of a design will be seen as a focal point or in the background/foreground. This a way to use negative space in design. Our brains can distinguish the difference between objects in the foreground, background and focal point. Larger areas of the design will be seen as the focal point and smaller are the figure. Light and dark colors can also be used to influence what is viewed for each.

6.     Symmetry and order. People see objects as symmetrical shapes when possible. This can be done through harmonic color schemes or similar shapes.

7.     Synchrony. Parts of a design that move in the same direction are perceived as related objects. Therefore, objects that look to be moving in the same direction on a design will be grouped together.

8.     Continuity.  Lines are perceived as a continuous movement along the path. This can be used to guide the viewers eyes to particular parts of the design. It will follow the simplest path on the page.

The psychology behind advertising is quite fascinating. While this article just touches the surface of how it’s applied in the field, one can see how important it is. following these steps in advertising design will help your brand create successful print ads.