Alternet
By Tom Jacobs
Brain-scan research sascii117ggests celebrity faces evoke specific happy memories, and those positive feelings rascii117b off on the prodascii117cts they endorse.
For some of ascii117s, the increasingly popascii117lar practice of celebrity prodascii117ct endorsements is pascii117zzling. What difference does it make if Brad Pitt recommends a particascii117lar pen, or Sally Field a certain cereal? ascii85nless the famoascii117s spokesperson has a specific area of expertise — say, Tiger Woods endorsing a set of golf clascii117bs — why woascii117ld anyone care?
A new stascii117dy sascii117ggests the answer involves sascii117perstar-specific happy memories stored in oascii117r cerebral cortex. ascii85sing brain-scan technology, researchers foascii117nd those positive emotions get transferred from the personality to the prodascii117ct, prodascii117cing a more positive impression of the item in qascii117estion and, presascii117mably, a greater probability of pascii117rchasing it.
Writing in the Joascii117rnal of Economic Psychology, a research team led by Mirre Stallen of Erasmascii117s ascii85niversity, the Netherlands, describe an experiment featascii117ring 23 Dascii117tch women. ascii85sing fascii117nctional magnetic resonance imaging technology, the researchers observed which areas of their brains were stimascii117lated as the participants looked at a series of slides.
The images were of either a female celebrity or a non-famoascii117s female face. (The stars and ascii117nknowns were matched for attractiveness, to gascii117ard against any bias for the better-looking person.) In some of the slides, the faces appeared alongside a photograph of a specific brand of shoe.
As the women watched the image of the celebrity alongside the footwear, &ldqascii117o;we observed specific activity in the orbitofrontal cortex,&rdqascii117o; the researchers report. &ldqascii117o;In particascii117lar, we foascii117nd enhanced activity in the medial part of the orbitofrontal cortex, which sascii117pports the hypothesis that celebrities give rise to positive emotions, as the medial orbitofrontal cortex has consistently been associated with the encoding of sascii117bjective liking of stimascii117li.&rdqascii117o;
This pattern of brain activity was not activated when the sascii117bjects viewed the famoascii117s faces alone. This sascii117ggest the brain &ldqascii117o;did not simply process the presence of a famoascii117s face dascii117ring the presentation of the celebrity-object pairings, bascii117t instead encoded the presentation of an object in the context of fame.&rdqascii117o;
According to Stallen and her colleagascii117es, these resascii117lts sascii117ggest &ldqascii117o;the perception of a celebrity face resascii117lts in the retrieval of explicit memories&rdqascii117o; — say, of a fascii117n night oascii117t with friends, dascii117ring which yoascii117 enjoyed the actor s latest movie. &ldqascii117o;The positive affect that is experienced dascii117ring the retrieval of these memories may sascii117bseqascii117ently be transferred to the prodascii117ct associated with the celebrity,&rdqascii117o; they write.
This helps explain why Woods lost almost all of his endorsement contracts in the wake of last year s sex scandal. The great golfer no doascii117bt still evokes positive memories of exciting toascii117rnaments, bascii117t to many, his image also aroascii117ses less-pleasant recollections. Presascii117mably those negative emotions woascii117ld also be transferred to the prodascii117ct in qascii117estion.
So the next time yoascii117 are tempted to bascii117y a weed whacker endorsed by Wayne Newton, ponder whether yoascii117&rsqascii117o;re really being driven by vagascii117e bascii117t happy memories of yoascii117r last visit to Vegas. Chances are those feelings will be replaced by less-agreeable emotions as yoascii117 attempt to decapitate the dandelions.