Symbolic Interaction and Consumer products by mass media

미디어매체에 의한 제품과 상징의 상호작용에 관한 분석

According to Mead's (1934) symbolic interaction theory, social roles are learned through interaction and experiences in everyday life. Over time, these rules of behavior become internalized and serve to structure one's actions accordingly. Ultimately, these rules provide us with a powerful means of controlling our actions, and in time, they define our identity. Transforming the socialization process is one's conscious interpretation of stimuli through the use of symbols. Furthermore, society's perceptual processes can be shaped by the symbols we learn. The meaning of symbols can be learned from a variety of social influences, one of which may be mediated messages and advertising. This paper attempts to establish a link between media exposure and one's perception of social reality regarding character judgments made of unknown others based on the target's product or brand usage. Using magazine advertisements for fictitious products, the experiment herein seeks to establish two fundamental goals: 1) to determine if perceptions can be manipulated via association with companion symbolic elements: and 2) to detect whether television exposure is a moderating factor. Respondents were asked their perceptions of both product quality and of product users.