In this very interesting ad designed to get people to stop smoking they use a tactic where they have innocent little children holding a cigarette go up to smokers and ask for a light. The smokers are taken aback to say the least and they (at least the ones in the video) talk to the kids about how bad smoking is. It looks like a very good idea - get people to convince others that smoking is bad and thereby induce cognitive dissonance between their actions (smoking) and what they say.
http://www.wimp.com/smokingads/ But: I think they ruin the potential of the attempt by having the children then give the smokers a small piece of paper that essentially explains that they were trying to get them to change their habit (and the note gives them a stop smoking hotline number). The note reveals that the whole thing was a set-up. Doesn't this allow the smoker to dismiss the whole thing entirely? I think the idea would have been more effective if the kids had not revealed the manipulation attempt. Thoughts? Michael Michael A. Britt, Ph.D. [email protected] http://www.ThePsychFiles.com Twitter: mbritt --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=18537 or send a blank email to leave-18537-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
