Online ad campaigns created by academics in Britain and the US have targeted millions of people based on psychological traits perceived from a single “like” on Facebook – demonstrating, they say, the effect of “mass psychological persuasion”. More than 3.5 million people, mostly women in the UK aged 18-40, were shown online adverts tailored to their personality type after researchers found that specific Facebook likes reflected different psychological characteristics. The work, carried out for unnamed companies, was designed to reveal how even the smallest expressions of preference online can be used to influence people’s behaviour. The researchers then used graphics designers to create adverts aimed at either extroverts or introverts. The first field experiment targeted more than 3 million UK women aged 18-40 with adverts for an online beauty retailer.

Source: The Guardian November 13, 2017 19:52 UTC