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The present investigation provided a projective assessment of the effects of Freudian symbolism in advertising. 48 male and 48 female undergraduates served as subjects. Liquor advertisements containing phallic and vaginal symbols and advertisements lacking such symbols were presented to the experimental and control groups, respectively. Subjects were then administered a standard Thematic Apperception Test (TAT). All subjects believed that they were participating in a study of memory and retrieval. Clark's scoring system for TAT sexuality content was used to assess the effects of both sets of advertisements. Analyses of variance indicated group differences for two of the three dependent TAT sexuality variables. Results supported the psychoanalytic assumption that genital symbols promote sexual arousal without an observer's conscious awareness. Specifically, the effects of the utilization of Freudian symbolism as a manipulative variable in advertising were demonstrated.

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Freudian sexual symbolism theory and research are discussed and an empirical test of that theory is presented. Following up the 1985 findings of Ruth and Mosatche, an experimental investigation measured the effects of sexual symbolism in advertising on self-reported purchasing tendencies. A within-subjects design exposed 42 male and 57 female undergraduates to liquor advertisements containing genital symbolism and to liquor advertisements lacking such symbolism. Liquors presented in advertisements were matched on purchasing desirability prior to the experimental manipulation with a separate undergraduate sample to balance for actual preference for liquor. Dependent t tests consistently indicated stronger purchasing tendencies for symbolic than for nonsymbolic advertisements. Data from these undergraduates supported the psychoanalytic postulate that sexual symbolism unconsciously motivates an observer toward goal-directed behavior. Specifically, psychoanalytic theory would suggest that genital symbolism motivates consumers' behavior via the sexual arousal based on an unconscious recognition of the male and female genitalia and the act of sexual intercourse.

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