A motivational poster, or inspirational poster, is a type of

poster A poster is a large sheet that is placed either on a public space to promote something or on a wall as decoration. Typically, posters include both typography, textual and graphic elements, although a poster may be either wholly graphical or w ...

commonly designed for use in

school A school is the educational institution (and, in the case of in-person learning, the Educational architecture, building) designed to provide learning environments for the teaching of students, usually under the direction of teachers. Most co ...

s and

office An office is a space where the employees of an organization perform Business administration, administrative Work (human activity), work in order to support and realize the various goals of the organization. The word "office" may also denote a po ...

Intent

The intent of motivational posters is to make people achieve more, or to think differently about the things that they may be learning or doing. This is not how everyone views such posters, however. Art Petty, for example, in discussing innovation writes that it "''cannot be mandated or legislated, and it definitely is not inspired by the corporate motivational poster''".

CBS News CBS News is the news division of the American television and radio broadcaster CBS. It is headquartered in New York City. CBS News television programs include ''CBS Evening News'', ''CBS Mornings'', news magazine programs ''CBS News Sunday Morn ...

concludes that modern motivational posters "are geared more toward things that need to be done than things that are good to believe"."The Zeitgeist of Motivational Posters"

. Published Sept. 27, 2013.

Effects

Motivational posters can have behavioral effects. For example, Mutrie and Blamey, of the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

and the Greater Glasgow Health Board, found in one study that their placement of a motivational poster that promotes stair use in front of an

escalator An escalator is a moving staircase which carries people between floors of a building or structure. It consists of a Electric motor, motor-driven chain of individually linked steps on a track which cycle on a pair of tracks which keep the st ...

and a parallel staircase, in an underground station, doubled the amount of stair use. These studies all support the finding that such motivational posters, placed at the point of decision, can have a behavioral effect, with this effect decreasing back to zero gradually over a period of weeks after the removal of the poster.

Parodies and demotivational posters

Parodies of motivational posters, generally known as demotivational posters or demotivators have become an

Internet meme An Internet meme, or meme (, Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''MEEM''), is a cultural item (such as an idea, behavior, or style) that spreads across the Internet, primarily through Social media, social media platforms. Internet memes manif ...

.Dorky motivational posters invented internet memes and changed the way we make fun of work — Quartz at Work
/ref> One famous motivational poster features a kitten hanging from a tree branch along with the phrase "'' Hang in There, Baby!''" This has been the target of various reproductions and parodies, such as an appearance on ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a Satire (film and television), satirical depiction of American life ...

'' episode " The Twisted World of Marge Simpson" where

Marge Simpson Marjorie Jacqueline "Marge" Simpson () is a character in the American animated sitcom ''The Simpsons'' and part of the eponymous family (The Simpsons). Voiced by Julie Kavner, she first appeared on television in '' The Tracey Ullman Show'' s ...

notices the copyright date (1968) and comments, "...determined or not, that cat must be long dead. That's kind of a downer.""The Twisted World of Marge Simpson"
episode capsule at The Simpsons Archive Another reference to the poster is ''

The Onion ''The Onion'' is an American digital media company and newspaper organization that publishes satirical articles on international, national, and local news. The company is currently based in Chicago, but originated as a weekly print publication ...

s 1999 "In the News" photograph titled "Inspirational Poster Kitten Falls To Death After 17 Years"."In the News, June 23, 1999 Issue 35-24"
.

. Retrieved on March 2007.

Intent

Effects

Parodies and demotivational posters

References

Further reading