Exposed! How Ads Trick Your Brain & How to Stop Them

Why Even the Intelligent Get Tricked by Ads & Strategies to Resist Them

Have you ever noticed while scrolling through Medium’s newsfeed, you spot a headline so tantalizing that despite recognizing it as clickbait, you can’t help but dive in and read?

Or in a store, you enter intending to buy just one item, but leave with a basketful, fully aware that those discounts were just marketing gimmicks and the products unnecessary, yet you made the purchase anyway?

Why does this happen? How can we better guard against falling for advertisements in the future? Let’s delve into it and find out!

Advertisers wield hundreds of tricks, leveraging the quirks of our minds to boost sales. We delve into the cognitive biases often exploited in marketing and offer strategies for countering them.

What Makes Us Fall for Advertising

The Mere Exposure Effect

It might seem that constant repetition of the same ads would only annoy us. However, whether we like the ad or not is irrelevant; it still influences us.

This is due to the mere exposure effect, a psychological phenomenon where people develop a preference for things simply because they are familiar. This effect applies to words, pictures, images, and sounds. Even people seem more likable if we know them.

This effect is a staple in marketing. We grow accustomed to products, which then seem better to us without any objective assessment or comparison.

Additionally, the illusion of truth kicks in, leading us not just to unconsciously grab the familiar product off the shelf, but also to believe — and sometimes convince others — that it is indeed superior.

The Illusion of Truth

When deciding whether something is true, people rely on two factors: does it align with their existing beliefs and does it sound familiar?

The brain prefers not to spend time analyzing information, as it consumes significant resources. Familiar stimuli are processed quickly, and information is easily retrieved from memory — a convenience that’s hard to ignore.

If a person hears old false information, forgetting its source, familiarity makes it seem true.

Only 10% of the brain is used? Oh, I’ve heard something about that. Must be true.

You won’t look for research proving the effectiveness of certain painkillers because you’ve heard a hundred times in advertisements that they provide relief. It seems obvious, not just to you but to everyone else, reinforcing your belief.

In-group Bias

During evolution, the human brain developed to adapt to the complex social structure of groups. In ancient times, to unite was to survive; to be alone meant death from hunger, predators, or enemies.

Thus, we love to create communities, categorize people, and feel a sense of belonging to a specific group. This is known as in-group bias.

In marketing, this manifests as creating a cohesive community of users. There are numerous examples: Nike’s Run Club, where people from all over the city gather to run together; Harley Owners Group, with group motorcycle rides and club paraphernalia; CrossFit, with its tight-knit boxes and spectacular games, where all athletes wear Reebok.

Each regional gym tries to create its community, and people not only fall for it but do so gladly. What does it matter how much you spend on expensive sports clothing if it makes you feel like a part of a community?

Loss Aversion

If you lose your wallet, your dopamine levels drop — dopamine is a neurotransmitter that provides a sense of pleasure. You’ll feel sad and frustrated. However, if you find the wallet with the same amount of money, your dopamine levels will rise, but not as sharply as they would have fallen in case of a loss.

Losses upset us much more than gains make us happy.

To exploit this weakness in marketing, manufacturers offer free samples and trial periods. Until you consider an item yours, you can endlessly debate whether it’s worth the money. But once it’s yours, even if just borrowed or for a short period, the fear of loss compels you to spend without hesitation.

The Compromise Effect

In one experiment, people were asked to choose between two cameras priced at $170 and $240. Preferences were evenly split: some chose the cheaper option, others the more expensive one.

When a third camera, priced at $470, was introduced, most people chose the middle option at $240. This tendency is known as the compromise effect — the inclination to choose something average.

This effect appears in any situation where you have to choose between three similarly sounding options, without the time or desire to delve into the details.

Sometimes, manufacturers intentionally add a third, unjustifiably expensive version to push you towards the middle option. As a result, you end up buying a more expensive product, yet feeling glad you didn’t spend too much.

Framing Effect

In another experiment, participants were asked to envision an epidemic and choose a program to save citizens. They were presented with two options:

• Program A will save 200 people (200 will be saved, 400 will die).
• Program B has a one-third chance of saving 600 people, but a two-thirds chance of saving no one (1/3 chance — 600 people saved, 2/3 chance — 600 people die).

72% of participants chose Program A. Then, the same question was rephrased:

• With Program C, 400 people will definitely die (again, 200 saved, 400 dead).
• Program D has a one-third chance of saving everyone, but a two-thirds chance of killing 600 people (again 1/3 chance — 600 saved, 2/3 chance — 600 die).

Now, 78% chose Program D, even though the essence was the same, only the phrasing changed. This perception phenomenon is called the “framing effect,” and it’s widely used in marketing.

For instance, if a manufacturer wants to market their cookies as a healthy product, they might label the packaging with “whole grains” or “non-GMO.” Meanwhile, the cookies could contain 500 calories per 100g, along with high levels of sugar and fat.

Moreover, the presentation not only influences your product choice but also your perception of it.

In another experiment, participants tasted beef labeled as “75% lean” versus “25% fat.” It was the same meat, described in two ways, but the first option was preferred by people and perceived as less fatty.

Serial Position Effect

This effect is related to the peculiarities of human memory. When listing any data, people remember the information presented first (primacy effect) and last (recency effect) better.

Advertisers use this trait to highlight certain product qualities. The most significant advantages are named first or last. What’s in the middle, you might not recall.

This effect also causes us to prefer the first products in a list. A 2007 study showed that users are 2.5 times more likely to buy the first product in a list, even if all options have different features.

The primacy effect often combines with the anchoring effect. This is when you receive a piece of information, and all subsequent data are assessed based on those initial details. On a website’s product list or even in a restaurant menu, the most expensive items are placed first. Even if you don’t buy them, the rest of the products seem reasonably priced in comparison.

Sunk Cost Fallacy

The sunk cost fallacy keeps people supporting failing projects for years. Admitting the project is a failure means acknowledging all the effort has been in vain, leading to significant emotional pain from the loss of time and resources. So, the decision is to continue, regardless.

This is a particularly harmful trap, but marketers have found ways to use it to benefit sales.

First, to securely attach a customer, they periodically show how much the customer has already spent on the company’s products or services.

Second, they offer cards with a free 10th or 20th visit, cup of coffee, or some other bonus. Chances are, you won’t switch coffee shops if you’re a few stamps away from a free cup, even if you find another place where the coffee is cheaper and tastier. After all, those five cups weren’t purchased for nothing!

Hyperbolic Discounting

This concept explains why you’d prefer receiving $10 now rather than $20 a week from now. This isn’t about lack of self-control or immaturity. Our brains are wired for such immediate gratification.

This tendency can be understood from a survival perspective. When ancient humans spotted an antelope, they would immediately hunt and consume it rather than waiting for a larger prey. In survival terms, waiting often meant a hungry death, a trait that has become ingrained in our nature.

The primary goal of the human brain is to maximize rewards, and it prefers doing so immediately rather than later. This process happens automatically, leading us to desire immediate gratification without pondering the reasons behind it.

The phrase “improve your life right now” or “buy and receive a gift instantly” frequently appears in advertisements, tapping into this impulse.

For expensive purchases, sellers might offer a “buy now, pay later” scheme. For example, credit or installment plans without an initial payment, providing immediate pleasure from the purchase without the immediate pain of financial loss.

Psychologically, it’s much easier to agree to such terms than to part with your money upfront. Hence, decisions are often made less thoughtfully.

How to Avoid Falling for Advertising Traps

Cognitive traps work best when you don’t have the time or inclination to analyze the seller’s offer. Here are a few simple tips to overcome this:

• Don’t make impulsive purchases. Before buying something, especially if it’s expensive, do some research. Convert the price of a product to cost per gram or the price of a service to cost per day, compare smartphone features and fabric materials, read the ingredients of food products and cosmetics.
• Don’t trust your intuition; question everything. Intuition is part of your subconscious, filled with advertising slogans and opinions like Aunt Mary’s from next door. Ask yourself, how do you know this product is better?
• Remember the effort it took to earn the money. Calculate how many hours you worked to earn the money for this item. Then decide whether it’s truly worth it.
• Consider what you’re actually buying: an item, status, a sense of belonging, or the feeling that you’re free, affluent, and deserving? Remember, most purchases won’t change your life, even if the advertisement convinces you otherwise.

Understanding the tricks behind advertising and our own psychological biases is crucial. By recognizing these tactics, we can make more informed choices. Let’s use this knowledge to be smarter consumers, making decisions that truly benefit us. With this article, we’re one step closer to not falling for unnecessary purchases and advertisements. Let’s take control of our decisions and spend wisely.

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