Do semiotic systems have an effects on human behavior?

Do semiotic systems have an effects on human behavior ?

Semiotics is important because it can help us not take 'reality' for granted as something having a purely objective existence which is independent of human interpretation. Studying semiotics can assist us in becoming more aware of reality as a construction and of the roles played by ourselves and others in constructing it. It can help us to realize that information or meaning is not 'contained' in the world or in books, computers or audio and visual media. Meaning is not 'transmitted' to us, we actively create it according to a complex interplay of codes or conventions of which we are normally unaware.

Semiotics does have an effect on human behavior, and the manner in which people make decisions. (Chandler) Individuals, both consciously and unconsciously, are greatly impacted by advertising and propaganda, made available to them from countless forums and avenues. (Leeuwen) A precise example would be the Marlboro Man.  Advertising has illustrated this man as a strong, rugged, smoker.  In an attempt to cast smoking in a positive light, and in an attempt to cast the smoker as a favorable individual, advertisers have linked the two together.  The resulting effect in the observer is that smokers are tough, strong, all-American individuals.  Advertising can manipulate a mind, and using different methods of semiotics can easily attract individuals towards a specific product or even make individuals remember what the products represent. (Streeter)

A single image can conjure up thoughts of a number of varying situations or events.  In fact, viewing a single image can invoke memories of an entire event or story in the mind of the viewer. (Danesi)  Likewise, an individual image can represent a goal, ideal, or end point for the viewer.  An illustration of this type of situation is observable in the case of girls and woman viewing magazines.  Magazines, with images of thin super models on the covers showing off their beauty and clothes, can easily be viewed by girls that will eventually think that being skinny and eating less will make them reach that glamorous career as a model or actress. Likewise, women viewing these images may change their own opinions of themselves and their perceptions of their bodies, ultimately impacting their food and exercise choices.  All these signs, in their varying forms, have meanings that can be interpreted in differing ways.  The model on the cover of a magazine may simply be a pretty woman for one viewer while others may have thoughts related to wealth, luxury, body image, status, and internal feelings about oneself.