Final answer:
Advertising influences consumer behavior and can lead to unnecessary purchases due to psychological triggers; yet, it also informs about new beneficial products. Recognizing advertising strategies and exercising critical analysis is vital for consumers in our advertisement-saturated society.
Step-by-step explanation:
Advertising plays a complex role in our society, influencing behaviors and shaping demands for products and services. While it is true that advertising can encourage consumers to buy things they may not need, it also serves to inform them about new products that could potentially enhance their lives. Looking at the laws of human behavior, it is evident that advertisements are effective because they appeal to certain psychological triggers, such as the desire to belong or the aspiration to appear affluent, which may result in purchases of unneeded items.
However, juxtaposed with this is the notion of advertisements as a source of information about innovations and beneficial products. In the context of monopolistic competition, advertising can make a firm's perceived demand curve more inelastic or shift it to the right, thereby increasing both quantity sold and prices, ultimately leading to higher profits. This suggests that there is a beneficial role for advertising in informing consumers and helping firms distinguish their products.
The key is for individuals to approach advertisements with critical thinking and analysis, recognizing tactics like the bandwagon fallacy and being wary of claims loosely based on 'scientific evidence'. In a society bombarded with up to 5,000 advertisements a day, fostering a thoughtful and inquisitive outlook towards advertising is crucial.