Advertisement Assignment Name Marco Fiorentino Panther ID 3167420

Find a print advertisement and analyze the ad from a psychological point of view. Answer
the following questions. Staple your ad to your answers (or vividly describe the ad).

1. What product does this ad attempt to market and where is the ad from?

The Ad attempts to sell the idea of the Marines as a strong and successful way of life.
The Ad is from Game Informer magazine, Issue 209, September 2010.

2. To which component(s) of attitudes (e.g., affective, behavioral, cognitive) does this ad

appeal? How can you tell? Was this a good strategy for this product/audience?

It appeals to the Affective and Cognitive components of Attitudes, because, this is clearly
propaganda. I will detail each and every phrase the ad describes so I can illustrate better
how the ad appeals to each one of the attitudes.

1) "You will possess a towering sense of honor."

 Honor is an intangible thing to obtain, and is strongly related to emotions in this
particular context. Honor is something that the armies around the world wanted
to portray at all times, and the Marines reflect this notion in its slogan "The few.
The Proud," and appeals to the popular belief that the person who actually made
the Marine Corps should be proud, or honored. This part of the Ad appeals to
the affective component, and also to the Cognitive component.

2) "You will develop a relentless will to succeed."

 This is like promising that you will stand on two legs next morning. Everybody
has a relentless will to succeed, because every human being searches for
happiness. This appeals to the Cognitive component, because citizens in general
tend to think that the Marines are "successful patriots giving their life to defend
the United States and its interests," when in reality are underpaid for the job
they are performing.

3) "You will become a part of our nation's impenetrable shield."

 Nationalism in its best: this phrase shouldn't be used especially after 9/11,
because it could be considered faux advertisement. However, appeals to the
citizen's sentimental heart, which wants to demonstrate the world why they love
this land. The belief of an "impenetrable shield" is part of the Cognitive
component, and the whole message appeals to the Affective component.

4) "If you have what it takes to make it."

 This is clearly defying the reader, who's not yet convinced to 'face the challenge
of joining such a prestigious organization,' and needs a little inverse psychology
in order to realize that he or she need to fill up the form. This appeals directly to
the Affective component of attitudes, promoting a behavior.
3. What route of persuasion do the advertisers seem to use (e.g., central/systematic route
vs. peripheral/heuristic)? Was that a good choice? Specifically, what central or peripheral
cues are used?

They have clearly used the Peripheral Route, because:

 The message contains few lines to read and interpret the reason of the ad.
 The messages written are vague, and need to specify a better reason to become a
strong argument.
 The messages written represent less than the 30% of the content of the ad.
 The ad was placed in a gaming magazine; more than the 60% of the videogames
available on the market today are army or shooting related, which provide
immediate virtual experience recall to the users of these type of games, making
them more accessible to the idea of joining the Marines, because the game
"cannot be that far from reality" and if "you are good on the game, why you
shouldn't in the real world?".
 Most of the readers of such magazines, are in the middle range economical
resources and middle-lower classes. They are also in the range between 15-25
years of age, which is the most prone range to join the forces.
 The image of the marine on the ad, is hard to relate to a specific sector of the
population, because the reader cannot infer if the marine in the picture is
African American, Latino or even Caucasian. This is used to relate with the
readers. You cannot tell the age of the Marine as well, but he looks between the
readers margins.
 The eyes of the marine of the picture are in line with the first line of text. This is
caused to create a shock, and require immediate attention from the reader.

This is an outstanding choice, because the readers of the magazine that the ad is place
on, have no interest whatsoever on reading any ad. The fact that is a peripheral oriented
ad, helps the reader to read it without thinking, which is extremely productive at the
time of getting new pledges for the institution.

4. Does the ad attempt to describe the source of its product information (e.g., "dentists
agree that _____" or "experts suggest ____?" Do these sources come off as credible and/or
attractive?

No. All the words in the text part, all the statements made, are not backed by any source.
They might not be credible for a person who is in the central processing route, but they
could be very attractive to the person who's in the peripheral route.

5. What about the communication itself - are the arguments weak/strong, one-sided/two-
sided, overt/implied, or not present at all? Were these good choices?

The arguments are weak and not backed up with any source. They are not really arguments,
they are just statements that intent to portray an idea which would fail for the person on the
central route, and might succeed for the ones that are on the peripheral route. It appeals to
nationalism, affective reactions and beliefs; yes, the lines were properly crafted to suit the
context of the ad.

6. What about the target of the communication? Who are the advertisers targeting, how
can you tell, and was that a good decision? How might this ad be different if directed
towards an audience from a more collectivist culture?

As I already mentioned on point 3 of this assignment:

 The ad was placed in a gaming magazine; more than the 60% of the videogames
available on the market today are army or shooting related, which provide
immediate virtual experience recall to the users of these type of games, making
them more accessible to the idea of joining the Marines, because the game
"cannot be that far from reality" and if "you are good on the game, why you
shouldn't in the real world?".
 Most of the readers of such magazines, are in the middle range economical
resources and middle-lower classes. They are also in the range between 15-25
years of age, which is the most prone range to join the forces.
 The image of the marine on the ad, is hard to relate to a specific sector of the
population, because the reader cannot infer if the marine in the picture is
African American, Latino or even Caucasian. This is used to relate with the
readers. You cannot tell the age of the Marine as well, but he looks between the
readers margins.
 The eyes of the marine of the picture are in line with the first line of text. This is
caused to create a shock, and require immediate attention from the reader.

This ad is a good decision on individualistic terms.

However, in more Collectivistic societies, the messages and statements related to this ad,
should demonstrate more social concern, and appeal to a nation more than just what an
individual can achieve by joining the Marines.

7. How are other concepts, like dissonance or emotions, relevant to your analysis?
Emotional reactions are the most relevant pusher for this analysis, because the beliefs and
ideas of the marines are based on emotional attachment. That's why people talk about
"brainwashing" when they see a friend coming back from the Army. Their technique is
based on psychologically tear you down, and then rebuild you the way that they pretend
you to be.
 Practice Assignment

SOP 3004-U01: Social Psychology Fall 2010 Prof. Strubler

Congratulations! You successfully downloaded this Word document. Below, type your
name and panther ID and then save this document as a Word file.

“I hereby acknowledge receipt of the syllabus and understand what is expected of me in

this course.”

Name: Marco Fiorentino (Mark Fiore) Panther ID: 3167420

Date: 27th of August, 2010.

Now, save this document. When you save, label the document with your last name and
the word Practice. In other words, I would save mine as: StrublerPractice.docx.

Next, upload the document back to Blackboard. First, close this word document file, and
then go to Blackboard. In the Assignments tab click on the Practice Assignment link.
This will bring up a page with the following three sections: Instructions, Submission, and
Add Comments. Just below the Submission section is a box that says “Add attachments”.
Click that box, and browse your computer for the file you just saved (e.g.
StrublerPractice.docx). When you find it, click to add the file and upload it to blackboard.
Hit okay, and the document should be on the way!
 Fiorentino 1

SOP3004 – INTRO TO SOCIAL PSY – SECTION U01-1108

The Social Psychology of

False Confessions:
Compliance,
Internalization and
Confabulation.
By Saul M Kassin and Katherine L. Kiechel
An Experimental Paper on Article Summary and Critique, prepared by

Marco Fiorentino – PID# 3167420

11/29/2010

An experiment demonstrated that false incriminating evidence can lead people to accept guilt for a
crime they did not commit. Article summarized and critiqued.
 Fiorentino 2

Overview

The article is about the lab study performed by Kassin and Kiechel, which in 1996, responded

to the following hypothesis: The presentation of false evidence, can lead individuals who are

vulnerable (i.e., in a heightened state of uncertainty) to confess to an act they did not commit

and, more important, to internalize the confession and perhaps confabulate details in memory

consistent with that new belief.

The method used was the following: 79 undergraduates were randomly assigned to one of

four groups; one subject per session and a female confederate. The Independent variables on

the exercise were:

o The typing pace: either fast typing or slow typing paces.

o The witness participation: no witness (who didn't see anything) and witness

(who falsely accuses the subject).

The four groups were divided into: Slow paced typing -No witness, High paced typing - No

witness, Slow paced typing - Witness, High paced typing-Witness. The type of study was

experimental, because the researchers would manipulate the independent variable while

leaving the other variables constant.

The confederate was to read aloud a list of letters and the subject was to type these letters on

the keyboard. The subjects were warned not to press the "ALT" key, because doing so would

cause the program to crash and data to be lost. After 60 seconds, the computer ceased

functioning, and the experimenter acted distressfully, accusing the subjects of pressing the

ALT key. When each of the subjects denied initially pressing the key, the experimenter

pointed at the computer indicating that the data was lost, and asked again "did you pressed

the ALT key?"

After each subject denied having pressed the ALT key again, the experimenter would ask the

confederate if she saw anything.

 Fiorentino 3

 The answer was always no, in the No Witness mode.

 The answer was always yes, in Witness mode.

Then, the three Dependent variables were used: Compliance, Internalization and

Confabulation.

o Compliance: The experimenter would extend a written confession to the subject,

ordering to sign it, and if the subject did, they would make him talk to the

principal investigator.

o Internalization: after the commotion, the subject and the confederate leave the

lab, and met with a second confederate. This second confederate plays the role of

a "regular subject" participant of the same study. The second confederate asks the

subject "What happened?" The subject was recorded verbatim, and then coded for

whether or not he or she had unambiguously internalized guilt.

o Confabulation: later, after the sessions seemed to be over, the experimenter

reappeared, brought the subjects into the lab again, and reread the letters they

typed. He asked if they could reconstruct how or when they hit the "ALT" key.

The findings were that the control group (Slow pace - No Witness) only had a 35% of

subjects who signed the false confession, but no internalization or confabulation cases were

noted. In the Fast pace - Witness group, 100% signed the confession, 65% believed

afterwards that they were guilty, and 35% experienced confabulation. This allows to see two

different revelations:

o First, that the increase of speed on the typing, exacerbated the subjects reactions

towards the accusation (vulnerability)

o Second, that the presence of a single witness was enough to increase the rates of

compliant and internalized confessions.

 Fiorentino 4

According to the study, the experiment "provides strong initial support for the provocative

notion that the presentation of false incriminating evidence can induce people to internalize

blame for outcomes they did not produce. These findings also demonstrate that memory can

be altered not only for observed events and remote past experiences, but also for one's own

recent actions."

Critique

It is interesting to see, how Kassin and Kiechel arrived to the conclusion that the method used

was the proper one, in order to prove the hypothesis they tried to, but there are several things

that I’ve personally noticed that gives me the impression that the study could’ve had been

conducted on a different field, closer to reality.

I understand that the fact of suggesting a more realistic environment for the study implies that

the police force would be scrutinized by scientists on their modus operandi (a thing that

nobody likes to be part of, especially if you are a law enforcement officer and the study

conducted on you is based on ethical behavior); or that the inclusion of possible real

criminals would turn the “safe and controlled environment” of the experience into a possible

mayhem. However, I do understand that the techniques of interrogation of the police force are

not only applied to real criminals who committed real crimes; the techniques explained on the

article are used all over and all around the police force, from transit to the parking authority.

Therefore, in comparison with a real situation, where a regular person (who’s not a criminal!)

is accused of committing a crime and psychologically induced to declare and sign a false

statement, being punished because you press the ALT key, makes absolutely no connection.

There’s a lack of correspondence, in my point of view.

Another way of conducting the study would have been by soliciting on the police authorities’

offices, a permit that would allow requesting the audio and video recordings of the patrols
 Fiorentino 5

(that is the reason why, when pulled over, the policeman requests the motorist to turn off the

engine: so the conversation can be recorded properly without problems), which document

when a driver gets pulled over and is forced to the same type of interrogation methods that

they mentioned on this study. Personally, I have been pulled over by the police before, and

the techniques that they use are based on psychological bullying. That’s the word: most

American police officers are bullies, and therefore, they will try to prove their point,

justifying pulling you over by any possible mean: anyways, you can fight your ticket in court!

The issue with transit infractions is that it’s the most common foul committed by citizens.

These infractions are punishable with expensive fines, points on your license or jail (if you

exceed the 90 mph.) on the worst case scenario. On the other side of the line, the police is

said to hold meetings on which the “collection” of each officer is discussed on every 15 th of

the month (that’s why most of the infractions committed are after that day), apart from

discussing other issues like monthly goals, demotions, and other internal issues.

This indicates clearly that both subject and interrogator would have a real-tensioned reaction

toward the events that would unfold on every particular case. Policemen who “didn’t

collected enough for the month,” would have to go “hunting” after the 15th of every month,

causing them to try to falsely accuse a citizen to induce him or her to accept that he or she

broke the law, when in reality is innocent.

In order to avoid any factual mistakes, and to really determine who’s telling the truth, there’s

another player who enters on this field: the patrol’s radar gun. This device not only informs at

what speed the infractor is going, but at the same time, it records every second of that

reading. Hence, if the policeman claims that the infractor was driving over the limit, it would

be easily called off by the readings of the machine. After evaluating each case, anonymously

on both sides (the performance of the policeman and the reactions of the motorist), a more

accurate result that is closer to reality could be obtained.

 Fiorentino 6

Another thing that I’ve noticed is that the study is conducted only using the technique of

maximization. In order to be closer to reality, a previous study should statistically evaluate,

which type of approach did the officer had at the moment of interrogating and correlate these

findings to the idea of the study suggested. I know that I’ve mentioned before that most

American police officers are bullies, but at the same time I acknowledge that there might be

good officers also. Then, to make it fair on their behalf, the statistical correlational study on

how many cops use the minimization approach will make things even on both sides, and

unbiased.

To my taste: a good hypothesis, with a poor idea to demonstrate real facts.

Summary

In 1996, Kassin and Kiechel, responded to the following hypothesis: The presentation of false

evidence, can lead individuals who are vulnerable to confess to an act they did not commit,

and to internalize the confession and perhaps confabulate details in memory consistent with

that new belief. They conducted a study with 79 students, separated in four groups that were

produced by a 2 (fast typing, slow typing) x 2(presence of a witness, absence of a witness),

on which one subject was paired with one female confederate.

The confederate was to read aloud a list of letters and the subject was to type these letters on

the keyboard. The subjects were warned not to press the "ALT" key, because it will cause the

computer to shut down. When it did, the examiner in front of them accused the subject of

pressing the ALT key. After the subject denies it, the examiner would ask the confederate if

she saw anything (Witness: accuses the subject; No Witness: didn’t see anything).

Afterwards, the examiner would give the subject a confession letter and asking the subject to

sign it. Then, the pair leaves the lab and meets at the reception with another confederate, who

asks semi-privately to the subject “What happened?” in order to see if the subject internalized
 Fiorentino 7

the guilt. After meeting with the second confederate, the examiner calls the pair back into the

lab. Reads aloud the letters the subject wrote, and asks if the subject recalls how or when did

he or she pressed the ALT key. None of the subject participants pressed the ALT key.

According to the study, the experiment "provides strong initial support for the provocative

notion that the presentation of false incriminating evidence can induce people to internalize

blame for outcomes they did not produce. These findings also demonstrate that memory can

be altered not only for observed events and remote past experiences, but also for one's own

recent actions."
Marco Fiorentino
PID: 3167420

Helping Assignment: Turn in on Blackboard (Turn in online, not this actual paper)

Instructions: Write down a story about a time when you faced an emergency. Did you help
(or were you helped) in this situation? Try to remember if there were any people around with
special skills or training. More specifically, try to think about this emergency in terms of the
Five Steps.

Write down a description of the emergency and the five steps. You may use the space below,
or type it on another paper.

The emergency. I was studying on the Fourth Floor Lounge and a girl came running to
inform me that there was smoke in the hallway.

Step One: noticing. I was distracted towards the event, because I was studying for an
important test of my Social Psychology class. However, when this female approached me
desperately, I realized immediately that something was going on, and if her tale was accurate,
we might be in great danger.

Step Two: interpret. I usually have a skepticism that won't allow me to jump into
conclusions immediately, and therefore, I told her to calm down, to explain me what was
going on, and that we will see the way to solve this. Leaving my ambiguity feeling behind, I
walked with her to that wing of the hallway to corroborate that her tale was accurate. The
hallway was filled by a thick haze., and we barely could interpret what was really going on, if
it was smoke, vapor or another thing in the air.

Step Three: responsibility. As a resident I have to notify any anomalies (emergencies or

vandalism) that occur within the hallway, and beyond what might say in the residents
manual, it's my moral duty to take action. Plus, if it was something in the air, it is justified to
pull up the alarm.

Step Four: decide if you have the skills. It was 5 a.m. and nobody was in the hallway
except for the girl and myself. I saw something in the hallway that resembled smoke, and
debated briefly what was it, so the alarm wasn't in vain. Even though I am not trained as a
fireman, I can pull a fire alarm.

Step Five: final decision. I decided that even if it wasn't smoke what was in the hallway, at
that precise moment I couldn't distinguish if it was or not. Hence there was a 50/50 chance
that the whole residence hall would burn to ashes. I was prepared to affront the consequences
of having pulled the alarm, and I was ready to reply to each and every single person who
comes to question my actions, in order to justify my position and my decision.

Additional comments. Even though I was annoyed as everybody else about the fire alarm,
and the fact that we had to evacuate the building at 5 a.m., I was congratulated by the whole
building for my action, and appointed "Resident of the Month" on my floor. Finally, after the
investigation, we discovered that there was someone who was playing with the fire
extinguishers. The use of the fire extinguishers if there's no fire is illegal, and it could be
minor felony or misdemeanor. Thanks to my declarations towards the local authority, they
were able to identify the person who committed that infraction, and he will be penalized for
it.