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. What need does the product fill? Is the need real, or created by the advertisement?
Finally, advertising is not all bad. If it was, it might not be allowed. Ask your class why
advertisements are legal, although their only purpose is to influence people to do things that they
might not do without advertisements. One positive aspect of advertisements is their informational
value. They alert consumers to the presence of new products, and to legitimate differences among
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exiting products. Are there others? In closing, remember what the Romans said, “Caveat emptor!”
(Let the buyer beware).
Psychological Factors and Obesity
While genetic and metabolic factors clearly influence many cases of obesity, personal, social,
cultural, and environmental factors also play a distinct role. As the text states, the number of people
you are with can affect how much you eat. Also, we may eat more in certain social situations where
eating is expected. Low self-esteem, having been sexually abused, and high levels of depressive
anxiety are correlated with obesity. Family and cultural norms may also play a part. Some cultures
perceive what we consider obesity to be attractive. In our culture, we idolize health and thinness,
but we have slipped into lifestyles in which so many Americans have access to fat-rich foods and
are physically inactive, that large numbers of Americans are obese and dieting has become the
norm for a majority of American women. Many younger women also develop eating disorders such
as bulimia and anorexia, largely in response to trying to achieve unrealistic standards of thinness.
This can be a useful topic to discuss with the class, because many college students are in the
highest-risk group for developing these disorders. They are also at an age where they are beginning
to develop lifestyle norms that can have long-term implications for their risk for obesity.
Extrinsic Rewards May Spoil Pleasure
The following tale is useful as a lead-in to a discussion of extrinsic and intrinsic rewards:
An Italian shoemaker in New York became the target of epithets shouted gleefully by boys in
the neighborhood. “Dirty wop!” “Greaseball, go back to Sicily!” And other obscenities not fit
for print. The boys were a general nuisance and disrupted business. The shoemaker ignored the
boys in vain. He tried to reason with them, and he tried to chase them away, all to no avail. One
day when he saw them approaching, the shoemaker tried a new approach. “Don’t ask me
why,” said the shoemaker to the boys, “but I will give each one of you 50 cents if you will shout,
“Dirty wop! No greaseballs in our neighborhood!” as loud as you can.” The boys were
delighted and enthusiastically shouted the phrases at the top of their lungs.
The next day, right after school, the boys reappeared, expecting more of the same. The
shoemaker met them with a smile and said, “You did such a wonderful job yesterday, I will
gladly pay 50 cents to each of you that shouts the same things that you did yesterday, and
makes up one new one.” Again, the boys complied, screaming at the top of their lungs until
they were hoarse.
The boys appeared the third day, and again the shoemaker met them with a smile.
Nevertheless, today he was apologetic. “I am sorry,” he said, “but business has been slow. You
put on a marvelous show yesterday, but all that I can afford today is a nickel.” The boys obliged
by shouting the epithets with somewhat less enthusiasm than they had the day before.
On the fourth day, the boys appeared right on schedule. Again, the shoemaker met them
apologetically. “The show that you put on yesterday was indeed worth it, but business is so
bad that I can not afford to pay you today.” At this point, so the story goes, the boys grumbled
that they had better things to do than entertain a dumb Italian, and wandered off, never to be
seen again. Why did this approach at changing the boys’ behavior work when none other had?