Did you know there is something called" inner speech"? Apparently, anytime people run into names of other people, ideas, products, or things they want to remember, the person's lips and tongue actually form the word and prepare to speak it. However, we don't realize we are actually doing this, and we don't make noise while we are doing so. When things are repeated to us, we become more and more acquainted with the word, and then it becomes more familiar to us. This is how words like "google" and "facebook" become so easily a part of our normal, everyday language. The brain acclimates to new information quickly and easily, and the more we hear things, the faster and easier they stick in our memory.
This idea holds true for advertising. When we see an ad for something, the brand name sticks with us somewhere in our subconscious/ conscious memory. Our mouths "form" the words, and the more we see the same ad, the more it is cemented in our heads. Now, here comes the cool bit: when our inner speech is blocked for any reason, this "cementing" doesn't get through, and so the advertising doesn't stick with us. How could this process be blocked? Well, if the mouth is moving or has other things in it so that it can't form the information that it is processing and subsequently store it. I.e, whispering, chewing, or eating. NEWSFLASH- the foolproof way to not be affected by advertising is to always eat during commercial breaks. Bring on the popcorn and snacks at the movies and while watching TV; it's a trusty brainwashing blocker.
Emma, I really liked the connection you made with what we learned to how to not be brainwashed into buying the newest Swiffer. Inner speech sounds really interesting and it does explain why advertisement jingles and mottoes can get stuck in our heads (I think I've been humming the Red Robin jingle since 7th grade). Even though I probably don't need to be eating any more junk food than I already am, now I know how to get advertisements out of my head. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThat's so interesting! I always wondered why I would want to do something, or what caused my brain to think that it wants something. I never even thought it might have been from an advertisement i saw for it or something else that trigger it. It amazing how things we look at are processed without us even realizing and then be used at a later time. Which I guess is are inner thought.
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