Posted on 05/08/2011 6:19:28 AM PDT by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
No smoking signs may be driving more people to light up, a psychological study suggests.
Scientists say the messages have an 'ironic effect' on smokers that increases their craving for tobacco.
Without being aware of it, they react to the signs by thinking of and wanting cigarettes.
'You get ironic effects when you couple information that people perceive with negation,' said researcher Brian Earp, from Oxford University.
'When I say "don't think of a pink elephant", I've just put the thought of a pink elephant in your head.
'A lot of public health messages are framed in a negative way - say no to drugs, don't drink and drive, no smoking.
'No smoking signs in particular are everywhere. If you're a smoker walking down a street you're likely to pass five or six of these signs in windows or on doors. If you have a chronically positive attitude to smoking this could boost your craving.'
To test the theory, Mr Earp's team first primed a group of smoking volunteers from a town in New England, U.S., by showing them a number of photographs.
Some included a no smoking sign in the background or at the edge of the picture, while others had the signs edited out.
Next, the same volunteers took part in a 'joystick test' looking at their reactions to a series of screen images.
The technique is widely used to assess instinctive tendencies to embrace or avoid certain stimuli.
Moving the joystick away is associated with avoidance, while drawing it towards the body indicates a desire to bring the stimulus closer.
In a series of experiments, the researchers showed that participants who had earlier been shown no smoking signs were more drawn to smoking-related images such as ashtrays and cigarettes.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Nanny State PING!
What probably happens is that smokers are reminded on the nanny state, nanny corporation, whatever, and are reminded why they are rebelling against the slimebags.
The urge to smoke becomes the urge to rebel.
If they want to convince people to stop smoking they should have Henry Waxman on TV 24-7 telling everyone smoking is good for you and everyone should smoke at least two packs a day.
(On second thought that might only reduce television viewing—maybe not such a bad thing. :-) )
Seeing “No Smoking” signs makes ME want to smoke, and I dropped the habit years ago.
I get especially agitated when some holier-than-thou anti-tobacco nut goes on a rant about how eeeevil tobacco is and he/she/it is soooo glad “I” don’t smoke...
For me, it’s a reaction to being told what to do, think, be, I think.
Shhhh, food business has gone up 50% since the new policy. (A pub/restaurant can hide the facts easily)
Thanks for the ping!
The human mind doesnt seem to hear negation. A golfer who thinks to himself “don’t hit it into the lake” is more likely to do just that, because the subconscious hears “into the lake”.
Simple. The more you warn people, it becomes white noise.
Like stupid TV commercials that used to make me want to have a cigarette (because I knew my tax money had gone to pay for that crap?)
Without being aware of it, they react to the signs by thinking of and wanting cigarettes.
I know I smoked when aggravated. It gave me something to do with my hands.
God only knows how many lives have been saved because someone had a cigarette instead of just choking some jackass.
I don’t believe this, at least not in my case. I am careful to respect the signs where ever they are posted. However, I do notice often that many non-smokers passing a designated smoking area, even distantly, will invariably invoke the automatic asshole response of coughing to voice their displeasure of others doing something they don’t approve of.
Everytime I saw one of these ads in the 80's
......I wanted
......Breakfast
This is from the UK and I haven’t been there in a number of years. When I was there smoking was rampant. I never saw a no smoking sign in Spain, no restrictions anywhere.
The mere presense of water anywhere within sight is enough for my ball to find it. Don’t need to actually hear or think anything although that of course does not help.
Well, I went to school in France and can recall that in the lecture halls you could not read the Defense de Fumer signs through the cloud of cigarette smoke.
I think that “No Smoking” signs would get the message across better in the original language:
“Rauchen Verboten”
Perhaps preceded by an “Achtung!”
This is a cigarette...
This is a cigarette with a red line...
Now I want a cigarette...
This is an Ice Cold Soda...
This is an Ice Cold soda with a red line...
Now I want an Ice Cold Soda
Actually, the only addict I have seen on this thread with narcissistic tendencies is the one calling others names.
Of course another reason might be that it pisses off the smokers and they just want to defy the Nanny State.
Nawww, that couldn’t be it. No grant money needed for that.
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