An Introduction to Psychology:
The Science of Mind and Behavior

Why would an underwear manufacturer pay large sums of money to a famous sports figure to appear on television commercials gushing about the unbridled joy he feels when wearing their product? Whenever we see a celebrity (or anyone else) we admire, we typically respond involuntarily with positive feelings. If the celebrity is linked repeatedly to a product for which we (initially at least) have neither positive nor negative feelings, eventually we will develop an involuntary positive emotional response to the product as the association between it and the celebrity strengthens. The advertising technique of celebrity endorsements was pioneered by John Watson after he left academic psychology in the early 1920s and went into advertising. In fact, many modern advertising techniques were first developed by Watson in this role:

Watson exerted a major impact on advertising in the United States through his application of behaviorist principles, an effect that is easily seen and heard in today’s commercials and ads. Watson believed that people were machinelike. Therefore, their buying behavior could be predicted and controlled just like the behavior of other machines.... Watson proposed that consumer behavior be studied scientifically, under laboratory conditions, with careful attention given to surveys. He emphasized that advertising messages should focus on style rather than substance and should convey the impression of new designs and images.... He pioneered the use of celebrity endorsements of products; the manipulation of human motives, emotions, and needs; and the appeal to basic fears to sell products from automobiles to underarm deodorants. (Schultz & Schultz, 1987, p. 199)

Behaviorism — an approach that assumed that people are similar to mindless machines determined by environmental events — had a major impact on the evolution of one of the dominant cultural forces of modern life. This is the sort of broadly felt and practical influence that Watson had in mind when he first proposed in 1913 that the discipline of psychology transform itself from the science of the conscious mind into the science of behavior.

Advertisers attempt to guard against extinction by trying always to pair their product with UCSs that involuntarily elicit positive feelings. For example, have you ever wondered why certain fast-food restaurants have large American flags flying out front? It seems to me very likely that they are trying to get people to associate their restaurant (the CS) with the American flag (the UCS) so that the positive feelings for the flag (the UCR) that many people already have will be elicited by the restaurant (the positive feelings for the restaurant would be the CR). In fact, I have noticed that some of these restaurants have their very own flag, with their own “logo” (such as the “golden arches”) displayed prominently on it, flying right below the American flag. I didn’t understand why until I thought about classical conditioning: perhaps you are more likely to develop an association between the restaurant and the American flag if the logo appears right next to the flag. The constant showing of commercials of fast-food restaurant chains, especially on Saturday mornings during children’s programming, not only strengthens the acquisition of a CR of positive feelings for the restaurant, it also prevents the extinction that might occur during the day.