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Philip Morris

Archetype Project Summary

Date: Aug 1991
Length: 15 pages
2075842890-2075842904
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REPT, REPORT, OTHER
BIBL, BIBLIOGRAPHY
Area
RISSMAN,STEVEN/CARLSTADT
Named Person
Feinhandler, S.J.
Kroc, R.
Maisonneuve
Mausner
Muller
Nucci
Platt
Robb
Robbins
Sarbin
Selye, H.
Stepney
Varenne
Vontroschke
Weir
Wetterer
Xxgreg
Document File
2075842846/2075843368/Archetype Project
Alias
LIT2040929698
Site
N972
Litigation
Feda/Produced
Master ID
2075842846a/2904
Related Documents:
Named Organization
Mcdonalds
Characteristic
DRFT, DRAFT
Date Loaded
02 Dec 2002
Brand
Kool
Pall Mall
UCSF Legacy ID
vlx52c00

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ARCHETYPE PROJECT SUMMARY • An archetype is a "mental highway" (neuronal pathway) which has been imprinted at an early age and is used each time we perform an action. The imprinting experience imparts the significant meaning that an object or action will have for an individual. The first imprinting of smoking is that adults do it, and 2'm excluded. Usually these are significant adults, typically a parent or grandparent who is respected and is associated with warmth, strength and/or protection. Adults are seen smoking when they're socializing (especially in the kitchen), having fun, or relaxing. A critical element at this stage is the fact that the individual is on the "outsidelf, excluded. (See Appendix A for examples) The second step is a type of initiation/rite of passage and may occur before or during adolescence. Typically two or more friends steal cigarettes from a parent and sneak away to a private place to smoke. More often than not they either get sick or punished (or both) as a result. Here we see a transition from "excluded" to "included". The newly formed group becomes bound together by their shared risk-taking. (See Appendix B for examples) • . Important elements at this stage include: - an adult activity - a product which is hard to get your hands on - a behavior which is morally ambiguous/an "adult secret" - engaging in the activity as part of a group/to belong to the group - going to a secret place in order to hide your behavior - risk of getting caught/punished - getting "sick" There are numerous references to this aspect of smoking in the literature. Here is one particularly illustrative excerpt: "Law and the mores deny high school students the right to enjoy the pleasures derived from tobacco, gambling and alcohol. However, the mystery with which adults surround these areas of behavior lends them a special value which seems to act as a stimulus to many young people who desire to experience the supposed thrill of pleasures their elders deny them. Transgressing the restrictions imposed by law and taboo is a source of excitement, both individually and within the clique of the initiated. This kind of excitement, of course, does not appeal to all adolescents". (Stepney, p.328) tV.
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• . We believe that the imprinting experiences give smoking a symbolic association with "friend". This association may explain the high brand loyalty found in our industry. _ As an adult, smoking reactivates this mental highway. Unconsciously it reactivates the strong emotion related to the initiation into adulthood. Does it do this each time we smoke? Yes, the same mental highways are used, but not all of the emotion is experienced. Other research confirms only occasional cigarettes are perceived by smokers as particularly rewarding (Stepney, p.340). We hypothesize that cigarettes smoked in situations containing elements from imprinting and/or initiation would be more likely to fully reactivate the mental highway (see Appendix C for examples) The American archetype of smoking is: Smoking is a social ritual which enables us to express and reaffirm our self image. When we smoke, we reactivate the initiation into adulthood which acknowledged our individual- ism and bound us to our peer group. Several concepts need to be discussed more fully before all of the implications of the Archetype are apparent: The American Culture American culture is a young culture which emphasizes improvement, achievement, freedom, self-actualization, second chances, impossible dreams, etc. Inextricably bound to these ideas is the notion of constant growth, never being satisfied. In a sense, Americans are striving to succeed, regardless of how much success they have already achieved. Ray Kroc, the founder of McDonalds put it this way, "When you're green you grow; when you ripen, you rot" (Robbins, p.382). There is anxiety associated with the American culture, since vou are responsible if you don't succeed. This can be contrasted with French culture, for example, where the "system" can be blamed for your inability to succeed. We propose that smoking is an activity that helps people deal with the anxiety inherent in the American culture. tua • People need rituals. If this need is not filled by smoking, it will be filled by some other activity. According to Hans Selye the issue is not "yes" or "no", but "which".
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l • • Many authors have acknowledged the ritualistic aspects of smoking; "rites always designate specific behaviors related to precise situations and rules, marked by repetition, whose role is not obvious" (Maisonneuve, p. 5) "The learning and perfecting of ritual acts may also serve to neutralize arousal and reduce strain during the process of conversion. Ritual activity may be required in the performance of new roles". (Sarbin and Nucci, p. 187) "By repeatedly performing a ritualized act, the smoker can structure his world and make it more familiar. (Feinhandler, p. 137) "There is no question that a great deal of smoking, although far from all, is part of a complex social ritual". (Mausner, p.117) "Smoking (is) a ritual to demonstrate solidarity with others of the same age who due to apparent repression by their elders attempt to distance themselves from adults". (Muller in wetterer and von Troschke, p.3a) We believe conceptualizing smoking as a social ritual is appropriate because: Rituals involve taboos Smoking is part of a rite of passage Rituals fulfill roles that have been attributed by others nicotine Rituals are noted for their ability to reduce anxiety Rituals often reinforce social bonds Ritualistic elements can have strong sacred/symbolic significance Self Imaae to Smoking's role in defining self image has been well documented. "There seems to be some evidence that the use of cigarettes is a form of expressive behavior which functions for many smokers as a part of the definition of self-concept". (Mausner, p.117) "The importance of smoking in defining self-images is also great. The majority of adult smokers think that a photograph of themselves without a cigarette would not show 'the real me', whilst a picture of them with a cigarette would"', (Stepney, p.329) 0 A 0 -40 N v 0 cn
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+ • . • "It can therefore be assumed that smoking functions as a means whereby young people can identify themselves with these characteristics (maturity, strength, wisdom and attractiveness). Sn short, it helps them to identify and dcmonstrate their ideal 'self image'^. (Wetterer and von Troschke, p.68) Mausner and Platt (p. 12) describe a study conducted by Weir in which male models photographed with a cigarette were more often described as adventurous, rugged, daring, energetic and individualistic than the same models without a cigarette. Initiation Into Adulthood Robb has described smoking as one of several behaviors that are "anticipatory rites of passage". "Unlike fully established rites of passage these behaviors would seem to be directed not towards superordinate groups but to peers or to even more subordinate groups". "The anticipatory celebration of maturity, I suggest, represents a kind of attempted seizing of status in advance, a claimed achievement, not the acceptance of something bestowed..."(Robb, p.622) Other behaviors that are used in a similar fashion by adolescents may involve sex, alcohol, driving fast, etc.. It is not clear why smoking is chosen by some people and not others. Individualism/Conformitv Central to American culture is the dichotomy between individualism and conformity. According to Varenne (p. 57-59), "The polarity between individualism and conformity gives Americans a double message; 1. Be independent: achieve, be unique! 2. Be well integrated: conform! Because these two dicta are fused in American ideology, they are able to coexist with equal moral weight." "In the United States, having chosen to purchase the same item creates an immediate affinity among Americans if they meet." .^personal recommendation and word of mouth are the best sales techniques of all." "All this shows that in the United States, through exercise of original choice, people not only demonstrate their uniqueness, they also recognize and actualize their integration with others. They do this by making, acknowledging, and perpetuating social ties based solely on the affinity that arises through making the same choices."
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• Recommendations Based on The Archetvne• o Strasc that smoking is for adults only o Make it difficult for minors to obtain cigarettes a Continue to have smoking perceived as a legitimate, albeit morally ambiguous, adult activity. Smoking should occupy the middle ground between activities that everyone can partake in vs. activities that only the fringe of society embraces. o Stress that smoking is dangerous - Smoking is for people who like to take risks, who are not afraid of taboos, who take life as an adventure to prove themselves • o Emphasize the ritualistic elements of smoking, particularly fire and smoke o Emphasize the individualism/conformity dichotomy - Stress the popularity of a brand, that choosing it will reinforce your identity and your integration into the group. o Because of the American culture, rest or reward should always be in anticipation of the next action, not a final reward o American identity should be the core. . . growing, searching, striving N 0 a 0 ~ `O O V
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Anvendix A* Father rarely smoked, and often was irritable temperament and upset, but I remember an early time when he and his father-in-Law . were smoking together, very amicably and continued after a nice meal (usually they didn't get along well). The mixed aroma of pipe tobacco and cigarette were very pleasant and today I still like such aromas. I remember my Dad and his Pall Mall straights. I remember him looking young and tan with that cigarette always in his mouth. I picture him in white tee-shirt, dark tan and cigarette mowing the lawn and playing cards. I was 3 years old. My grandfather was gutting and cleaning a deer, lit a cigarette. I asked what it was, he told me and gave me one; it made me sick. I guess it was his way of teaching me a lesson. I remember being in the lunch room sitting on the floor. I was probably five. There were several adults in the room, maybe five mostly male. They were talking and watching TV, possibly sports. At least several of them were smoking. The smoking seemed to be, at least to a five year old, what was really the most important • event in the room. Several times after that I remember copying their behavior, using crayons (crayolas) as my cigarattes. I don't really remember my first experience with smoking. My parents have always smoked. I guess what I remember most is my father who every morning, would go to the kitchen table, get a cup of coffee and light a cigarette. He always smiled and was very happy on most mornings. I don't ever remember him being in a bad mood. I remember my father in his orange chair relaxing talking to me and smoking. I would only change myself to be sitting on his lap while we talked. * Participants were asked to describe their first experience N with smoking. If they wanted to change anything about the o experience, they were asked to note that also. o ~ N V O m
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B Appendix A -- (Continued) S was about 3-4 years old in the evening. My father and I were • in the living room. He was seated at the end of the couch, ashtray (glass) on the end table. There was a white china lamp on the table. I believe we were watching television. My father would puff on his cigarette and take the pack, slide the cellophane back on the pack, not all the way, then he took a litt cigarette, burned a small round hole in the cellophane. Eie then would hold the pack up and blow smoke into the cellophane chamber and tap the bottom to make the pack puff. This would blow smoke rings in the air. I thought that was neat and got a big kick out of it. 1 was about 4 or 5, my mom was in the kitchen cooking. I saw her smiling - it seemed to be like a friend she had with her. Her ash tray lighter and cigarette all together very neat. At my grandmother and grandfather's house in Brooklyn, NY. My paternal grandfather was visiting them and I was there. We were all sitting at a metal kitchen table in the center of the kitchen. My grandpas were talking over a shot of whiskey and a loaf of rye bread. My paternal grandfather was smoking Pall Mall cigarettes. I remember from the red pack. His fingertips were • stained from the nicotine. I remember him laughing and teasing me a little to take a little whiskey and bread. I think I was about seven years old. N O A 0 N 10 V 0 10
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Aooend'x B* On or around 1969 - 6 years old - Greg and I took a pack of Kools of my Dad's and Went down to the barn - smoked everyone of them. 3 days later my dad seen the cigarette butts and we got a • whipping. I was 8 years old when my baby-sitter started me and my sisters smoking. I was scared they would damage my health but people kept telling me they wouldn't hurt me if I didn't inhale. When I was 12 or 13 everyone said "you had to inhale or people would make fun o£ you." That's when I learned to inhale the smoke and I've been doing it ever since. If I could change anything it would be the day I gave into peer pressure and began to inhale the smoke and I've been doing it ever since. My first experience was smoking behind a sweet shop in Ohio. It wasn't cold but not warm. My best friend and I wanted to learn to smoke. A girl we admired showed us how to inhale--we thought she was so mature and wise we wanted to be just like her. We thought we had really grown up that day. It was a secret between my friend and I--a special bond for along time. At this time I - '.ras not a very popular girl--but I felt important when she took time to teach us that. I would only change my needy personality that made me want to smoke to make friends. I was 7--my 9 year old sister and 15 year old sister and myself were in my mother's and father's bedroom. My older sister shuts the door and lights a cigarette she has stolen from my mother. She pressures my other sister and myself to take a puff so we • can't tell on her. I felt a little guilt and a lot of adventure. I didn't like it but I wanted to do it again anyway. Now I wished I would have said "That's awful" and never touched another--but I would have had to have been someone else and I don't want to be someone else. 0 My first experience was when I was 10 years old. My girl friend's mother smoked. My girl friend stole a cigarette from her mother and we went to her garage in her back yard to smoke it. We went in the garage, and in there was an old green (225) car. We would take turns on pretending to drive and smoke our (her mothers) cigarettes. we never inhaled. We used to see how long we could get the ashes before they fell. My first experience with smoking was with a group of my high school buddies. We had skipped classes, and went down to the river where we sat on the rocks. We shared stories about family, school, playing ball while we drank beer and smoked cigarettes. Both the beer and smoke were very difficult to swallow, yet I felt the pressure to participate. It could have tasted better. This was my powerful experience since it is the one I most vividly remember. Again, although the taste could have been better it was a great feeling of sharing this daredevil , experience with my friends. * Participants were asked to describe their most powerful experience associated with smoking. If they wanted to change anything about the experience, they were asked to note that also. <o
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a Annendix C* Two weeks ago - hung out late at my non-smoking office with my smoker boss. Everyone went home and she and I got a Pepsi can • out of trash and smoked in the office. It was fun! I was verbally abused by a non-smoker, I hit him. Felt real good. On my new job, after working about 5 hours, all the employees went out to smoke since we work where smoking isn't allowed. This is when I actually got to meet co-workers. I was smoking a cigarette with a co-worker and we were chatting, gossiping, etc. It was very pleasant and congenial and I felt a sense of camaraderie. My mother and I stayed up late last night after my husband went to bed just so we could have a"peaceful" cigarette together without my husband bothering me about smoking. Recently, I attended a party where there were only a handful of smokers--we smoked in the corner by an open door. It seemed the most intelligent and interesting of the group were in the smoking • area and pretty soon the non-smokers decided it was OK to smoke anywhere. The latest experience I have had with smoking is with all the anti-smoking campaigns going on now. It's a joke before all this started I was ready to quit. But now? Not a chance. While having a cigarette at work 2 months ago someone said that I shouldn't do that there-acting like her rights have been invaded (also it was a designated smoking area) and I told her to #$*!)!!! I bought a house a few weeks ago and after we closed I smoked a cigarette and felt good when it was all over and the house was mine. * Participants were asked to describe a recent experience with smoking. If they wanted to change anything about the experience, they were asked to note that also. •
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gFFErzx'NCES Feinhandler, S. J. 1986. The Social Role of Smoking. In R. D. Tollison (ed.), Smoking and societv. Lexington: D.C. Heath and Company. Feinhandler, S. J. 1981. Social Function As A Component Of Market Value. Presented At Analysis Of Consumer Policy. Wharton Applied Research center, University of Pennsylvania. Maisonneuve, J. 1988. Rituals. Paris: Presses Univesitaires de France. Mausner, B. 1973. An Ecological View of Cigarette Smoking. Journal of Abnormal Psycholoav 81, 115-126. Mausner, B. and Platt, E. S. 1971 Smoking: A Behavioral Analvsis. New York: Pergamon Press. Robb, J. H. 1986. smoking As an Anticipatory Rite of Passage: Some Sociological Hypotheses on Health - Related Behavior. • Social Science and Medicine 23, 621-627. Robbins, A. 1986. Unlimited Power, New York: Fawcett Columbine. Sarbin, T. R. and Nucci, L. P. 1973. Self-Reconstitution Processes: A Proposal For Reorganizing The Conduct Of Confirmed Smokers. Journal Of Abnormal Psychology 81, 182-195. Stepney, R. 1980. Smoking Behaviour: A Psychology of the cigarette Habit. British Journal of Diseases of the Chest 74, 325-344. Varenne, H. 1986. Svmbolizincr America. Omaha; University of Nebraska Press. Wetterer, A, and von Troschke, J. 1986. Smoker Motivation. New York: Springer-Verlag. .
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20a0929b98 2Q768429®0
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EXECUTIVE SUL4MARY • Beginning in the Fall of 1990, a project was undertaken to determine the American archetype of smoking. An archetype is a "mental highway" (neuronal pathway) which has been imprinted at an early age. The imprinting experience imparts the significant meaning that an object or action will have for an individual. The American archetype of smoking is as follows: Smoking is a social ritual which enables us to express and reaffirm our self image. When we smoke, we reactivate the initiation into adulthood which acknowledged cur individualism and bound us to our peer group. Recommendations based on the archetype follow from several key themes: smoking is an adult activity that is dangerousr smoking has ritualistic components; American culture values both individuality and conformity as well as growth and change. o Stress that smoking is for adults only o Make it difficult for minors to obtain cigarettes o. Continue to have smoking perceived as a legitimate, albeit morally ambiguous, adult activity. Smoking should occupy the middle ground between activities that everyone can partake in vs. activities that only the fringe of society embraces. o Stress that smoking is dangerous - Smoking is for people who like to take risks, who are not afraid of taboos, who take life as an adventure to prove themselves o Emphasize the ritualistic elements of smoking, particularly fire and smoke o Emphasize the individualism/con£ormity dichotomy - Stress the popularity of a brand, that choosing it will reinforce your identity and your integration into the group. o Because of the American culture, rest or reward should always be in anticipation of the next action, not a final reward o American identity should be the core. .. growing, searching, striving !
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PREFACE • . During the numerous lengthy discussions of smoking and its role in American culture, various functions of smoking were elucidated. Unbeknownst to us at the time, many of these same functions had been highlighted by a sociologist named Sherwin J. Feinhandler. Since these functions have been confirmed by independent investigations, we believe they are central to smoking's role in America. - In order to acknowledge these functions and to set the stage for the Archetype discussion, an excerpt from Feinhandler's chapter "The Social Role of Smoking" is given below: "There seems to be great agreement on the meanings underlying smoking for smokers and non-smokers alike. Smoking in this society is informal, sociable, and a marker of time and space. Even the most virulent anti-smoker 'understands' the meaning of smoking regardless of his or her attitude toward it." "Through observational studies of smoking we have been able to categorize smoking behavior as having personal, social, and ordering functions. The personal uses are related to the notion of habit in that an individual learns to accomplish certain ends and repeats behavior for that purpose. The social functions are primarily interpersonal in nature. The ordering functions relate to customary ideas of segmenting time and events and otherwise imposing order on situations. Personal functions include the management or enhancement of negative and positive affect, the presentation of self and the preparation of self for possibly stressful situations. Social functions include the definition of social space by mediating and maintaining boundaries, the building of social cohesiveness by defining groups and sharing and exchanging within groups. Ordering functions deal with marking events, focusing attention, measuring time, marking time out, and filling time. Personal Functions Presentation of Self. individuals may use tobacco with its related paraphernalia and smoking styles to express a specific self-image. Positive Affect Enhancement. smokers often smoke to enhance positive emotional states such as relaxation, gratification and stimulation. Negative Affect Management. smoking and its attendant behavior can function to reduce negative feelings such as fear, anxiety, stress, or anger.
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Social LnctionG • • ' Boundary Mediation. The circles of personal space or group space are formidable social barriers. No one steps up to a stranger or a group and begins a conversation without some sort of ice-breaker, an event or object external to the participants. A smoker has a ready-made ticket into a circle of other smokers. Smoking can aid in breaking down the social barrier around a group of people. Group Definition. Smoking as a common activity tends to reinforce and affirm the relationship among members of a group and aids in defining the participants as a group. Exchange. The offering or accepting of a cigarette or light serves to cement and bond social relationships. Social relationships are most often established by performing acts or giving objects of minor, but appreciated value. To accept an object or a service rendered is to incur an obligation or a debt, which when repaid, establishes a pattern of exchange. Boundary Maintenance. People tend to evaluate their personal association with others according to whether the others are on the inside or outside of various social boundaries. Rituals of hospitality are essentially mechanisms for transforming a stranger into a friend, or temporarily making a member of a rival group into a member of one's own group. Tobacco has served to exclude people from, or to distinguish, groups--to maintain boundaries. Interactional Transition. when wishing to change the topic of conversation or proceed to another mode of communication, a Kikuyu speaker may say 'Let us now take a pinch of snuff.' Smoking behavior is often used to facilitate or mark a shift in the primary interpersonal activity. Ordering Functions Pacing. Smokers often use the amount of time it takes to smoke a cigarette to measure the duration of such external events as, for example, co-occurring activities. Focusing Attention. Smoking can add structure to tasks. it has been noted that smoking is an aid to concentration Time Filling. To occupy oneself before the start of an event over which one has no control, one may smoke a cigarette. Time Out. Time out is a break or relaxation period from other activities. smokers may commence these other activities at leisure, with the act of smoking to mark time out. Because smokers can almost always carry thoir cigarettes with them, they have a portable symbol of this 'break time.' They can mark a situation as their own by lighting up.
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Orderina Functions (Contldj Event Marking. Smoking often occurs before or after an event, acting to mark a beginning or ending. Smoking thus serves to frame the events and reflect the human.propensity to categorize and organize events so that they are both bounded and sensible." While we acknowledge these roles played by smoking, the Archetype approach seeks to go beyond the superficial rational/cognitive functions of an activity and uncover its emotional underpinnings which are unique to a particular culture. The results of this exercise follow. • •

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