Sold on Language (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780470683095)

As citizens of capitalist, free-market societies, we tend to celebrate choice and competition. However, in the 21^st century, as we have gained more and more choices, we have also become greater targets for persuasive messages from advertisers who want to make those choices for us.

In Sold on Language, noted language scientists Julie Sedivy and Greg Carlson examine how rampant competition shapes the ways in which commercial and political advertisers speak to us. In an environment saturated with information, advertising messages attempt to compress as much persuasive power into as small a linguistic space as possible. These messages, the authors reveal, might take the form of a brand name whose sound evokes a certain impression, a turn of phrase that gently applies peer pressure, or a subtle accent that zeroes in on a target audience. As more and more techniques of persuasion are aimed squarely at the corner of our mind which automatically takes in information without conscious thought or deliberation, does 'endless choice' actually mean the end of true choice?

Sold on Language offers thought-provoking insights into the choices we make as consumers and citizens - and the choices that are increasingly being made for us.

Click here for more discussion and debate on the authors' blog:
http: //www.psychologytoday.com/blog/sold-language

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Author: Julie Sedivy, Greg Carlson
ISBN-10: 0470683090
ISBN-13: 9780470683095
Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell
Language: English
Published: 03/15/2011
Pages: 336
Format: Paperback
Weight: 1.07lbs
Size: 8.97h x 6.06w x 0.74d

Review Citation(s):
Choice 10/01/2011
Reference and Research Bk News 04/01/2011 pg. 118