Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Persuasion As A Function Of Celebrity, Argument Complexity, And Need For Cognition, Stratton Stave, Blair T. Johnson Dr., Lisset Martinez-Berman, Matthew B. Jané

Honors Scholar Theses

With advertising commanding so much money as an industry, it is critical to determine what people like or do not with ads. Our focus was on three main factors within advertising, two dimensions within how the advertisement is presented, one based on the person reading the ad. The two dimensions based on presentation were the complexity of the ad, done the first time by omitting letters from the ad and the second time by swapping letters within words, and celebrity endorsement, comparing popstar Taylor Swift’s to Alicia Steele, an AI-generated celebrity. We also measured Need for Cognition (NFC), the level …

Objectification And Meaning Transference: Does Showing More Skin Mean Less Perceived Agency For Brands?, Zachariah Schlichting

CMC Senior Theses

The purpose of this study is to explore the effects of sexual imagery in advertisements on consumers’ perceptions of brand competence and agency. The effect of a brand’s expected agency was also manipulated between two groups, high expected agency (e.g., tech companies) vs low expected agency (e.g., alcohol companies). 167 participants (M=22.48, 54% women) were recruited through Sona Systems and social media to partake in an online survey conducted through Qualtrics. Participants were randomly assigned to one of four experimental groups and shown seven fictional advertisements; four target advertisements and three deception advertisements. They were then asked to rate their …

The Effect Of Visual Alcohol Cues On Risk Taking Behavior Based On Memory Primes And Individual Drinking Habits, Madison Mccue

CMC Senior Theses

Given the strong presence of alcohol cues in the media, this study aimed to investigate whether exposure to a visual alcohol cue versus a neutral cue would elicit memories about alcohol and increase the likelihood to engage in risk taking behavior, particularly for individuals who consume higher levels of alcohol or who report positive memories associated with alcohol. Through an online Qualtrics survey, 110 college student participants watched either two video advertisements for alcohol brands (alcohol cue), or two advertisements for soda brands (neutral cue), and then completed a memory cue task to assess if positive, neutral or negative memories …

The Significance Of Sonic Branding To Strategically Stimulate Consumer Behavior: Content Analysis Of Four Interviews From Jeanna Isham’S “Sound In Marketing” Podcast, Ina Beilina

Student Theses and Dissertations

Purpose:
Sonic branding is not just about composing jingles like McDonald’s “I’m Lovin’ It.” Sonic branding is an industry that strategically designs a cohesive auditory component of a brand’s corporate identity. This paper examines the psychological impact of music and sound on consumer behavior reviewing studies from the past 40 years and investigates the significance of stimulating auditory perception by infusing sound in consumer experience in the modern 2020s.

Design/methodology/approach:
Qualitative content analysis of audio media was used to test two hypotheses. Four archival oral interview recordings from Jeanna Isham’s podcast “Sound in Marketing” featuring the sonic branding experts …

Effects Of Socioeconomic Status On Consumer Behavior And Attitudes Towards A Brand’S Image, Abbey Haymond

Honors Theses

This research seeks to understand more about the effects of socioeconomic background on consumer behavior and its impact on the perception of brand images. Data from people of different SES were compared to understand how they view advertisements intended for different audiences and their corresponding effects. It was conducted by sending out a confidential, voluntary survey to a convenience sample targeting 100 consumers. Consumers were asked to rate statements, on a scale of one to five, for each of the research questions to assess specific aspects of their consumer attitudes and behaviors. The high SES group has a higher average …

Branding Kidfluencers: Regulating Content And Advertising On Youtube, Gavin Feller, Benjamin Burroughs

Hank Greenspun School of Journalism and Media Studies Faculty Research

This paper analyzes emerging shifts in YouTube, advertising, and children’s digital media industries through a case study of Pocket Watch, a digital-first production and distribution studio built exclusively for YouTube child stars. Our analysis reveals the company’s strategic use of legacy media industry power, networks, and expertise to transform YouTube stars into global brands through the creation of toy, clothing, and lifestyle product lines across several industries. We further argue that Pocket Watch’s newly formed advertising division, Clock Work, exploits its child partners through problematic native advertising and host selling practices. The strategies implemented by Pocket Watch and other similar …

How Commercial Advertising Enforces Gender Stereotypes Among Children And The Ways This Affects Them Psychologically, Abigail Frisoli

Sacred Heart University Scholar

Some people believe that children of different sexes are born with completely separate preferences and mindsets which are permanent and predetermined. However, children are very influenced by their surroundings, which is often the main deciding factor which is predetermined by parents and caretakers from birth. Separating children by gender puts them into boxes, stunting their ability to make their own decisions and creating stereotypes. This segregation is painfully apparent in commercial advertising and is proven to have affected children psychologically in ways that can be detrimental.

When Social Media Takes Your Money: In-App Shopping And Buyer’S Remorse Study, Catie Jaffe

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Targeted Advertising Can Increase Healthy Food Choices Among College Students, Stephanie Spera

Population Health Research Brief Series

Poor nutrition in young adulthood can increase risk of obesity, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes in mid- and later life. Targeted nutrition programs for young adults are essential to reduce the burden of chronic disease in the U.S. over the next several decades. This research brief describes a successful healthy food marketing strategy that was used at Syracuse University to promote healthy food purchasing among college students.

Using Consumer Personality To Direct The Creation Of More Effective Advertisements, Connor Keith

Selected Honors Theses

Advertising is one of the most pervasive forces in business and culture today. All advertisers are seeking ways to be more effective in order to reach consumers better. One of the ways they can do this is by targeting certain personality types in their advertisements. This thesis seeks to find the differences in responses to advertisements from consumers with different personality types. A survey is used in conjunction with a personality test to study if consumers are most influenced by advertisements targeted toward their personalities. Suggestions are given for how to create and distribute advertisements to be most effective for …

The Real Winner Of The Second World War: Patriotic Consumption And The Formation Of A Society Of Spin, Jordan T. Thomas

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The unique circumstances in the United States during the Second World War allowed for business to continue as usual on the home front. Advertisers, public relations experts, and big business all worked for the government to promote the war effort. For a period of time major companies in the United States were producing advertisements that persuaded citizens to support rationing, buy war bonds, hate the enemy, and keep their brand names in mind in the post-war years. Companies who supported the war effort had their brands connected with ideas of patriotism and enjoyed the success of brand loyal consumers in …

Examining Snapchat: Narcissistic Tendencies Of Core Users, Austin Philpott, Susan Waters

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This study aims to establish current levels of narcissistic tendencies among the major Snapchat demographic, 18 to 34-year-olds in the United States. Like the Raskin and Terry 40-item Narcissistic Personality Inventory, commonly referred to as NPI-40, the present survey utilized a smaller variant with 16 items, known as NPI-16, for participants. This study may provide indications for further research and advertising techniques using social media, specifically Snapchat.

The Influence Exposure Has On Consumer Behavior, Ryan M. Farney

CMC Senior Theses

Advertising has been around for thousands of years and has proven to be a valuable asset to company revenue. The methods used in advertising have been examined closely more recently, specifically from a psychological standpoint. The human brain reacts to advertisements in different ways. Low and high involvement advertisements stimulate the brain in the subconscious and conscious state effectively. While each of these advertising methods are useful, complex messaging techniques seem to stimulate recall more effectively than simple messaging. In the age of digital advertising, sponsors look to put new resources to use to ensure paid advertisements are doing their …

A Change Of Heart : The Effect Of Heartwarming Advertisements On Brand Affinity, Hannah Butman

Honors Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine if evoking heartfelt responses to advertisements would yield greater brand affinity. It was hypothesized that a heartwarming response would yield greater brand affinity because it was a mixed emotional experience that produced both positive and negative emotions simultaneously. Across two studies, participants were shown both control and heartwarming advertisements for five brands. After each video, all participants were prompted to respond to every measure, regardless of condition. Heartwarming perceptions of the advertisements, overlap of self, feelings of love, and a mixed emotional experience were all significant mediators of video condition and brand …

Does Thin Always Sell? The Moderating Role Of Thin Ideal Internalization On Advertising Effectiveness, James A. Roberts, Chloe' A. Roberts

Atlantic Marketing Journal

Much of the current focus on the use of ultra-thin models in fashion magazines can be attributed to Madison Avenue which still operates under a “Thin Sells” ethos. Research to date, however, has provided equivocal evidence of the efficacy of thin models in advertising (Yu 2014). The present study’s two related objectives include: (1) determining whether model size has an impact on advertising effectiveness, and (2) if internalization of the thin ideal moderates this relationship. Study results suggest model size in fashion advertisements has no main effect on advertising effectiveness. Additionally, thin ideal internalization moderates the model size – advertising …

A Psychological Analysis Of Behavioral Consumerism: Advertising, Decision-Making, And Its Implications For Retailers, Grace V. Coburn

CMC Senior Theses

Advertising is a ubiquitous and substantial influence in consumerism, prompting psychological decision-making processes and behavioral consumerism. Selective marketing, advertising, and merchandising can only be successful when the processes within populations are identified and modified to fit the consumer. This paper examines psychological concepts surrounding the complex variables of decision-making. It will discuss relevant literature and empirical evidence that are imperative to further studies of behavioral consumerism. Such concepts that will be examined include: the elaboration likelihood model, regulatory focus theory, paradox of choice, as well as consumer variables such as influences of personality and maximizers versus satisficers. It then addresses …

The Basis Of Self And Other In Gender Constructed Identity, Julie L. Lemley

Journal of Undergraduate Research at Minnesota State University, Mankato

This paper is an extension of previous research projects wherein I applied theories of identity and labeling (Garfinkle), power (French and Raven) and gender (Pearson, West and Turner) to adolescent girls’ identity construction. Using methods of textual criticism, I argued then that the advertising targeting adolescent girls at the crucial transitional period between child identity and adult identity was dominated by patriarchal imagery, the implications of which are sexual violence, low-self esteem and self-objectification by young women. This paper applies the same methodology but to identity formation of adolescent boys, arguing on the basis of Hegel’s master-slave dialectic that adolescent …

Traditional Masculinity & Advertising Image Approval, Danielle W. Kailing, Peggy Cantrell Phd

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This project investigates the relationship between adherence to traditional masculinity and approval of selected advertising images. Because traditional masculinity includes characteristics supportive of aggression and dominance; I hypothesize that an increase in adherence to traditional masculinity will correlate with approval of the violence found in some print advertisements. Participants include 259 men who completed an anonymous, online, survey. Adherence to masculinity is measured using the Male Role Norm Inventory-Revised (MRNI-R) (Levant, et. al, 2007). Each picture is scored on a 5-point Likert Scale. As hypothesized, an increase in total MRNI-R score, is significantly correlated with an increase in the approval …

How And When Advertising Can Influence Memory For Consumer Experience, Kathryn A. Braun-Latour, Michael S. Latour, Jacqueline E. Pickrell, Elizabeth F. Loftus

Kathryn A. LaTour

Recent "paradigm shifting" research in consumer behavior dealing with reconstructive memory processes suggests that advertising can exert a powerful retroactive effect on how consumers remember their past experiences with a product. Building on this stream of research, we have executed three studies that incorporate the use of false cues with the aim of shedding new light on how post-experience advertising exerts influence on recollection. Our first experiment investigates an important but yet unexplored issue to advertisers who are perhaps reticent about embracing this paradigm: Does the false cue fundamentally change how consumers process information? After finding that when the false …

Postexperience Advertising Effects On Consumer Memory, Kathryn A. Braun

Kathryn A. LaTour

Past research suggests that marketing communications create expectations that influence the way consumers subsequently learn from their product experiences. Since postexperience information can also be important and is widespread for established goods and services, it is appropriate to ask about the cognitive effects of these efforts. The postexperience advertising situation is conceptualized here as an instant source-forgetting problem where the language and imagery from the recently presented advertising become confused with consumers’ own experiential memories. It is suggested that, through a reconstructive memory process, this advertising information affects how and what consumers remember. Consumers may come to believe that their …

The Combination Of Organization And Emotion: An Immediate Free Recall Task, Christopher O. Hunt

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

Both organization (e.g., semantic-relatedness) and emotional valence have been found to lead to better memory as seen through the superior recall of semantically-related and emotionally-valenced lists. However, research suggests that these two factors may not only lack an additive effect when combined, but may result in worse recall. Based on this research, we hypothesized emotion would hinder recall of a semantically-related list by impairing the relational processing that usually benefits recall of semantically-related material. This hypothesis was supported, as it was found that emotional valence resulted in reduced recall in a semantically-related list. This finding may have important implications for …

Genre, Birth Cohort, And Product Perception: Responses To Background Music In Commercial Advertising, Cassidy R. Cavanah

Scripps Senior Theses

Research shows that music transmits both embodied (universally perceptible) and referential (culturally specific) meanings. The present study sought to explore the persuasive power of music in commercial advertising, and the complex ties that exist between music, life experience and perception. The study looked at how the perception of a product could be altered in accordance with specific embodied and referential meanings. With a focus on the effects of music genre and birth cohort on product perception, embodied meanings were expected to produce similar results across birth cohorts, and referential meanings were expected to produce significantly different results. A total of …

Effects Of Construal Level On The Reliance On Affect Versus Substance, Ellen O'Malley

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The influence of construal level on judgment and decision-making is often seen in consumer research. However, the effect of construal level on preferences for evaluative inputs rather than final products is less explored. Two experiments were conducted to examine whether construal level affects the degree to which individuals rely on either affective or substantive information when making evaluative judgments; specifically, that abstract construals increase reliance on affective information, whereas concrete construals increase reliance on substantive information. Experiment 1 provided evidence for a relative preference for affective versus substantive information when engaged in abstract and concrete construals, respectively. Experiment 2 replicated …

The Applied Psychology Of Harry Hollingworth: Roots In The Great Plains, Volume 1, Harry Hollingworth, Ludy T. Benjamin, Lizette Royer-Barton

University of Akron Press Publications

Harry Levi Hollingworth was one of the pioneers in the field known today as industrial-organizational psychology. He was the author of more than twenty books and a hundred scientific and theoretical articles. His honors were many, including serving as President of the American Psychological Association in 1927. In 1940, at the age of 60 and partly initiated by the sudden death of his wife, Hollingworth took stock of his life in an autobiography that focused on his origins and development in rural Nebraska and his subsequent career as a psychologist at Columbia University. For the first time, this autobiography is …

Turbulent Tables: The Effect Of Perception Intabular Advertisements, Michael P. Lee

Kaleidoscope

No abstract provided.

Advertising Preferences Among College Students, Bianca A. Vasvani

Psychology and Child Development

The purpose of this study was to examine if there is a difference in advertising preferences among college students. Three different types of advertisements were presented for five different products for the participants to review in this study. These three types of advertisements were sex, computer generated imagery and sustainability. The five different products were Orbit Gum, Pepsi, Absolut Vodka, Nike and Aveeno. The participants were asked to rate which one of the three advertisements was most compelling. The variables of gender, ethnicity and year in college were examined. The study also wanted to find out which advertisement overall was …

Mood And Advertising: A Follow-Up Study To “The Power Of Emotion”, Lisa Wiese

Undergraduate Psychology Research Methods Journal

Advertisements affect our lives even when we least expect it. We hear ads on the radio, read ads in magazines, and are even exposed to advertisements through billboards as we drive down the road. The effects on mood and advertisements began to be popularly researched in the early 1980s. This study conducting on mood and advertising was a follow up study to “The Power of Emotion” conducted by Wiese (2012). It was important to conduct more research into this topic to find statistical significance in support of the hypothesis. The present study used a positive group, a negative group, and …

Overcoming Cognitive And Motivational Barriers To Media Literacy: A Dual-Process Approach, Erica Lynn Rosenthal

CGU Theses & Dissertations

In today's fast-paced, hyper-mediated society, the ability to balance accuracy and efficiency is essential. Media literacy educational programs have arisen to meet this need and proliferated in recent years. Although the practice of media literacy is thriving, its underlying mechanisms are poorly understood and evidence of effectiveness is mixed (e.g., Bergsma & Carney, 2008). A social psychological perspective has the potential to illuminate previously overlooked variables and inform research and practice in this growing field. In particular, whereas media literacy efforts typically emphasize thorough processing of media messages, dual-process theories of persuasion (e.g., Eagly & Chaiken, 1993; Petty & Cacioppo, …

Exploring And Explaining Consumer Competition: A Mixed-Methods Approach To Understanding The Phenomenon, Bridget M Satinover Nichols

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation is to examine the phenomenon of “consumer competition.” The overarching objective is to help researchers and marketing practitioners understand how the phenomenon is created, how consumers experience competition, and to begin to inspect its effects. Consumer competition is defined as the active processes of striving against others for the acquisition of a consumption object. To date, this phenomenon has been under-researched, despite its prevalence in many marketing and consumer-related domains.

An extensive literature synthesis provides the foundation for understanding competition and competitiveness in general from a multi-disciplinary perspective. Based on the synthesis of literature and …

How Does Advertising Articulate The Tropes Of The Posthuman That Exist In Contemporary Culture?, Norah Campbell

Doctoral

The posthuman is a concept that has accrued much currency in disciplines as diverse as legal theory, artificial life science and philosophy. This thesis explores the meaning of the concept by initially examining what it means to be human, finding that art and science have so far failed to provide a long-lasting definition of humanness. Instead of a temporal “coming-after” stage of humanity, posthumanism might be more usefully seen as a concept that draws attention to the cracks that have always existed in the apparently water-tight description of the human- how the “human” has changed radically and continues to change …