TITLE

The F.D.A.’s New Cigarette Warnings Are Disturbing. See for Yourself

DESCRIPTION

This article should be read in context of Social Psychology topics of attitude, persuasion, and advertising.  The class should first be asked to read the textbook material in these Social Psychology topics and then discuss the article.

The article details efforts to curb cigarette smoking using very explicit graphic images, and these can be disturbing to the observer. (Give your students a warning.) Questions arise as to the effectiveness of warnings that are either graphic, text, or a combination.   Do these types of campaigns actually deter people or are the ignored and backfire?  (One of the references in the article can be found at https://news.illinois.edu/view/6367/330814 and details some of the issues with this type of graphic advertising.)

Though this is not a Psychology article per se, it can be used as an illustration and application of Psychology to everyday issues.

SOURCE

New York Times, August 15, 2019, by Sheila Kaplan

LINK TO RESOURCE

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/15/health/cigarette-warnings.html

(Tiny URL)  https://tinyurl.com/y366q2l5

CLASS DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

•How does Social Psychology study attitudes, persuasion, and advertising?  In light of this understanding, will these graphic campaigns be effective?

•What are the specific goals of the new campaign regarding cigarette warnings?

•Do the students understand the connection of Social Psychology to these types of campaigns?

•Ask the students if they can generalized this type of warning about cigarettes to the newly found evidence about nicotine vaping?