Affect Flashcards
Explain Affect
What psychologists call feelings or emotions.
Our emotional associations can have a powerful influence on our subsequent actions / behaviour
Affect
Our emotional associations can powerfully shape our actions
Example of Affect
Charities will often use Affect by presenting graphic and uncomfortable images in their advertisements designed to illicit an emotional response that subsequently influences more people to take action and donate.
Affect - features
4 Features
Attractiveness
Fear
Disgust
Fun
Affect - 1st emotion
Attractiveness - Pleasant emotion elicited by physical attractiveness.
If we feel attracted to a person we are more likely to be influenced by them.
Affect - Attractiveness example
Bank mailing study
Picture of attractive female was printed on letters, demand for loans increased.
Approach was effective regardless of recipients gender
To achieve similar demand without the picture the banks had to reduce the interest rate on offer by 25%
Affect - 2nd emotion
FEAR - too much fear can paralyse or lead to a flight reaction.
BUT a little bit of fear is a good thing.
A fear based influence strategy needs to be combined with a clear, specific action someone can take to avoid that fear.
Affect - Fear example
DH campaign - when stroke strikes act F.A.S.T
Used fire in the brain to dramatise the trauma of stroke.
Fear inducing image.
Quickly followed with a simple mnemonic to grow awareness of symptoms and importance of quickly calling 999.
Awareness of stroke symptoms increased.
7 ambulance trust areas 999 calls increased by 55% in first 4 months.
Affect - 3rd emotion
Disgust is another important emotion.
When we associate undesirable behaviour with disgust we can reduce that behaviour.
Affect - Disgust example
Ghanaian hand washing campaign.
Attempt to promote hand washing using benefits of soap but only 3% of mothers washed their hands with soap after toilet use.
Ad showing handwashing with soap - 4 seconds of 55 second ad.
Rest of ad focused on how toilet use can prompt contamination - designed to ilicit feelings of disgust.
Led to 13% increase in reported soap use after using toilet and 41% before eating.
Affect - 4th emotion
FUN
Making a target behaviour more fun can encourage people to start or continue that behaviour
Affect - Fun example
In Stockholm a normal staircase was turned into a piano keyboard with each step being one key.
As a result 66% more people than usual chose the stairs over the escalator.
Affect - summing up
Feelings or emotions can powerfully shape our subsequent decisions and behaviours.
Therefore helpful to identify which emotions -
fear, disgust, fun or attractiveness - will be likely to motivate the behaviours you are interested in promoting.
Consider activating the emotions early on in change strategies.
