Walter Dill Scott - Role in Applied Psychology

Role in Applied Psychology

The nature of Applied psychology was too demanding for Walter Dill Scott to continue his research on human behavior, which lead his focus to establishing his own theories. Scott developed laws of suggestibility as a critical mechanism of advertising. He argued that consumers don't act rationally, and therefore can be easily influenced. According to Scott, consumer suggestibility was based on three factors: emotion, sympathy, and sentimentality. He believed that advertising was primarily a persuasive tool, rather than an informational device, and that advertising had its effect on consumers in a nearly hypnotic manner. People were thought to be highly susceptible to suggestion, as long as suggestion was available to them under a variety of conditions. Using his three parts of suggestibility, Scott advised companies to take on the "direct command" approach for advertising to consumers by using phrases such as "Use Apple Computers." Scott also recommended that companies use return coupons because they required consumers to take direct action. A 1903 article published in The New York Times suggested that Walter Dill Scott also advocated for the use of illustrations in advertisements. Illustrations attract reader attention, and must self-explanatory and relevant. This would then allow the reader to study the explanatory text of the advertisement. Scott said companies should also consider the circulation used and the tone the advertisement portrays to the audience. According to Scott, advertisements are utilized most effectively when large numbers of the right kind of people see them in a publication which adds confidence and recommends it favorably to prospective customers. Successful writers of advertisements had to possess technical knowledge, a creative imagination, and the ability to give precise descriptions of things.

This proved to be the most successful and effective advertising strategy at the time; Scott's techniques were used widely used all over the country by 1910. The concept of suggestibility inevitably got phased out among scientific psychologists; however, the notion that underlying human behavior influences consumer decisions is still preserved. The AIDA contemporary model of marketing has roots in Scott's writings, which describes what usually occurs when a consumer engages with an advertisement.

In 1913, Scott proposed another technique of advertising that consisted of three stages: attention, comprehension, and understanding. According to this model, advertisements (or promotions) have three stages. They must first garner the attention of consumers and help them develop beliefs about the product or service. Second, advertising should create interest or positive feelings about the service or product. Third, advertising or promotions should instill in consumers a desire for the produce or service. Finally, consumers must be convinced and feel a need to take action, that is, buy the product.

Scott wanted to make the marketplace and workplace more efficient through the rationalization of consumer and worker activities, especially by appealing to the self-interest of shoppers and laborers.

Walter Dill Scott's role in Applied psychology eventually lead him to be considered one of the founders of Industrial/Organizational Psychology which is the application of psychological theories and principles to organizations