Motivational poster

Motivational poster
A motivational poster in the style of those produced by Successories

A motivational poster (or inspirational poster) is a type of poster commonly designed for use in schools and offices.

Contents

Intent

Poster created in World War II in Britain

The intent of motivational posters is to make people achieve more, or to think differently about the things that they may be learning or doing.[1] This is not how everyone views such posters, however. Art Petty,[2] for example, in discussing innovation writes that it "cannot be mandated or legislated, and it definitely is not inspired by the corporate motivational poster".

Effects

Motivational posters can have behavioral effects. For example, Mutrie and Blamey,[3] of the University of Glasgow and the Greater Glasgow Health Board, found in one study that their placement of a motivational poster that promotes stair use in front of an escalator and a parallel staircase, in an underground station, doubled the amount of stair use. These studies all support the finding that such motivational posters, placed at the point of decision, can have a behavioral effect, with this effect decreasing back to zero gradually over a period of weeks after the removal of the poster.[4]

Parodies and demotivational posters

A demotivational poster concerning Wikipedia

This kind of poster has been repeatedly parodied, and parody motivational posters have become an Internet meme. One famous motivational poster features a kitten hanging from a tree branch along with the phrase "Hang in There, Baby!" This has been the target of various reproductions and parodies, such as an appearance on The Simpsons episode "The Twisted World of Marge Simpson" where Marge Simpson notices the copyright date (1968) and comments, "...determined or not, that cat must be long dead. That's kind of a downer."[5] Another reference to the poster is The Onion's 1999 "In the News" photograph titled "Inspirational Poster Kitten Falls To Death After 17 Years".[6]

Despair, Inc. has made a business out of such parody and cynical posters, with demotivational posters ranging from a picture of a tree bent over by wind with the caption "ADVERSITY: That which does not kill me postpones the inevitable." to a picture of a sinking ship with the caption "MISTAKES: It could be that the purpose of your life is only to serve as a warning to others."[7]

Further reading

References

  1. ^ Sarah Edwards (2003). "School linking: an introduction". Citizenship in Action. Heinemann. ISBN 0435808044. 
  2. ^ Art Petty and Rich Petro (2007). Practical Lessons in Leadership: A Guidebook for Aspiring and Experienced Leaders. Trafford Publishing. p. 191. ISBN 1425122493. 
  3. ^ Nanette Mutrie and Avril Blamey (2000). "Encouraging stair walking". British Journal of Sports Medicine 34 (144): 144. doi:10.1136/bjsm.34.2.144. http://bjsm.bmj.com./cgi/content/extract/34/2/144. 
  4. ^ Stuar J.H. Biddle and Panteleimon Ekkekakis (2005). "Physically active lifestyles and well-being". In Felicia A. Huppert, Nick Baylis, and Barry Keverne. The Science of Well-being. Oxford University Press. p. 161. ISBN 0198567529. 
  5. ^ "The Twisted World of Marge Simpson" episode capsule at The Simpsons Archive
  6. ^ "In the News, June 23, 1999 Issue 35-24". The Onion. Retrieved on March 2007.
  7. ^ Frank Ahrens (2001-07-30). "Frames of mind: the cubicle culture wars". The Washington Post (The Seattle Times). http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com./archive/?date=20010730&slug=attitude30. 

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Poster — A poster is any piece of printed paper designed to be attached to a wall or vertical surface. Typically posters include both textual and graphic elements, although a poster may be either wholly graphical or wholly textual. Posters are designed to …   Wikipedia

  • I Can Has Cheezburger? — Cheezburger redirects here. For the food, see Cheeseburger. I Can Has Cheezburger? URL icanhascheezburger.com Type of site Blog Owner Ben Huh, Pet Hold …   Wikipedia

  • Forumwarz — Developer(s) Crotch Zombie Productions Publisher(s) Crotch Zombie Productions Distributor(s) Cro …   Wikipedia

  • Keep Calm and Carry On — Affiche Keep Calm and Carry On (1939) Keep Calm and Carry On (en français, « Restez calme et continuez ») était une affiche produite par le gouvernement britannique en 1939 au début de la Seconde Guerre mondiale, destinée à relever le… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • 4chan — The 4chan homepage on August 23, 2010 URL …   Wikipedia

  • Hang in there, Baby — was a popular catchphrase made by a motivational poster. The poster featured a picture of a small kitten, hanging on to a tree branch. [cite book |title=The First Days of Class: A Practical Guide for the Beginning Teacher |last=Wilke… …   Wikipedia

  • The Office (U.S. TV series) — The Office Genre Sitcom Mockumentary Created by Ricky Gervais Stephen Merchant …   Wikipedia

  • Keep Calm and Carry On — (рус. Соблюдайте спокойствие и продолжайте в том же д …   Википедия

  • Image macro — An image macro is a term coined for a picture with digitally superimposed text, often for humorous effect. It is actually a misnomer, since modern java applets have quickly replaced the need for macros to be used to add text to images. It is not… …   Wikipedia

  • Motivator — can mean: A source of motivation A motivational poster Motivator (horse), a racehorse that won the 2005 Epsom Derby This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an int …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”