Harlow Gale and the Origins of the Psychology of Advertising

Abstract

Harlow Gale taught psychology at the University of Minnesota from 1895 to 1903 and supervised one of the first laboratories in experimental psychology in the United States. The Gale archival files at the University of Minnesota and the citations of scholars who followed reveal the depth of Gale's innovativeness and influence as the founder of the psychology of advertising. He was the first to undertake experimental studies on the effects of advertising and established concepts and methods that are still followed today. Gale's accomplishments in theory and methods are numerous. They precede associational learning models of brand equity, rank order measurement, advertising involvement, attitude toward the ad, and low-involvement learning.