Do semiotic systems have any effect on human behavior? And if we were exposed to different signs, would our lives be different? I definitely think that signs have a huge effect on human behavior. Signs basically make up society and people perceive them in a way which has an effect on how they behave. For example, in today’s American society, skinny models paint the covers of magazines, symbolizing sex appeal and beauty. This in turn affects people’s behavior in wanting to diet, even going to extremities in order to look like these models to gain what is being symbolized. I believe that my life would be absolutely unlike it is now if the signs I were exposed to were different. Signs are different around the world, and dependent on where they live and their culture, people are exposed to diverse signs, leading completely different lives. Even as society evolves through time, signs change, and people live differently. For instance, not as many people smoke as they did back in the days. Before research proved that smoking causes cancer, cigarette companies symbolized their cigarettes the way the Marlboro ad did, such as “manhood,” but as soon as the connection between cancer and cigarettes occurred, the signs changed, and peoples’ general behavior also changed. That being said, if our signs were, for instance, to change from symbolizing a trait that is socially acceptable, to a trait which is socially unacceptable, our behaviors would definitely be greatly affected. So yes, I think that since it is in human nature that people tend to want to possess traits that are socially desirable, it would be inevitable that our lives would change if we were to be exposed to different signs.
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