Contributions to Advertising

Walter Dill Scott held many a position in his lifetime, from professor to university president to colonel in the U.S. Army. While he is probably best remembered for his career in educational administration and psychology, his contributions to the field of advertising cannot be ignored.

Scott's main academic focus was psychology and his later efforts were geared towards his duties as president of Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.

Where does advertising fit into the scheme of Walter Dill Scott's career and interests?

One must first consider that around the turn of the 20th century, the field of psychology was relatively new.

• Scott obtained his degree in Germany - many European psychologists were geared towards the study of psychological theory, rather than how that theory could be applied to other disciplines.
• Starting around 1901, Scott started to lecture to business groups about the psychology of advertising
• Although Scott was not the first psychologist to study advertising, he was one of the first to apply psychology to advertising.

Scott sought to examine the "scientific" side of advertising.

• To study human behavoir would make for better appeals to customers, but advertisers at the time were often more concerned with the physical techniques of producing the actual advertisements.
• Scott did not stand alone in this "scientific" approach to advertising. Other "scientific" admen were John Lee Martin, Thomas Balmer, and Harlow Gale.

While Scott studtied advertising for a period of time, he also related psychological principles to the realms of personnel management and salesmanship, efficiency in business, and public speaking.