Inconscient économique et influences non conscientes de la publicité. Des effets délétères pour la liberté, le bonheur et la santé ?

Context

If there is one emblematic field of research involving the economic unconscious, it is that of the non-conscious influences of advertising and commercial communication: using the media, companies seek to act on people's thoughts, affects and behaviours to improve their brand image, reputation and sales. Given the abundance of advertising linked to the multiplication of digital media (Internet, video games, etc.), it is important to better understand the effects and non-conscious processes involved, as well as some of the deleterious consequences for individuals and society.

Objectives

Firstly, to show how advertising and commercial communication influence people without their being aware of it. What kinds of non-conscious processes are involved? Secondly, the aim is to show that these non-conscious influences pose a number of humanistic and societal problems, (a) on public health, notably the obesity epidemic with ads for “junk food”, (b) on social representations of happiness, (c) on individual freedom.

Method

The demonstration is based, firstly, on a literature review of scientific research, essentially using experimentation in order to guarantee a high level of scientific evidence, in the following disciplines: cognitive psychology, positive psychology, social psychology, marketing research, communication sciences and public health. Secondly, the demonstration is based on a critical study in the light of the philosophies of action and freedom.

Results

Scientific research has highlighted four main types of non-conscious processes and effects, the validity of which, assured in particular by the experimental method, is now well established: the effects of non-conscious brand perception; the influences of low-attention exposures: simple brand exposure and simple forgotten exposure; the non-conscious effects of attitude conditioning; the non-conscious effects of the emotional contexts in which brands are inserted. Commercial communication actions have deleterious non-conscious effects (1) for public health, with advertisements for foods of poor nutritional quality targeted at children, (2) for social representations of “happiness” by giving it the face of materialism. Philosophically, these influences limit individual freedom by “automatically” directing consumers’ beliefs and desires.

Interpretations

The non-conscious influences of advertising, well established, raise ethical and societal questions. They can have deleterious effects on public health, notably by encouraging the obesity epidemic. They also contribute to misleading representations of happiness, associating it with materialism, which in turn can diminish long-term well-being. On a moral level, commercial communication aimed at non-conscious influences, considered as manipulation, is an attack on people's individual freedom of action. The article calls for the regulation of certain commercial communication practices to protect consumers and preserve their autonomy.