A robust finding is that participants who perform a depleting self-regulatory task are less persistent on a second task than those who perform a non-arduous self-regulatory task. We propose a resource monitoring account, which interprets regulatory depletion as occurring because depleted individuals focus on the resources they have allocated to a second task and prematurely suspend performance rather than on assessing their allocation by comparing it to some standard. Consistent with this view, we demonstrate that the regulatory depletion effect can be eliminated when a standard is made salient against which resource allocation can be judged (Studies 1-2), or when individuals have a proclivity to monitor their resource allocation in relation to their standard (Studies 3 and 4).

We hypothesize that the accessibility of task relevant knowledge determines whether judgments reflect the substance of the information that is brought to mind or the ease of generating and retrieving such information. Our findings indicate that when relevant knowledge is highly accessible or not at all accessible, judgments are based on the content of the information considered. Between these extremes in knowledge accessibility, judgments are based on the perceived ease with which information can be retrieved. This perceived ease is a function of both the number of reasons requested and the wording of the retrieval request.

The persuasive impact of a negation (“not difficult to use”) is shown to depend on the allocation of cognitive resources. When resources are substantial, a brand is evaluated more favorably when a negation is positively valenced (“not difficult to use”) than when it is negatively valenced (“not easy to use”). Under limited resources, a negation has no effect. Between these extremes in resource allocation, the brand is evaluated more favorably when the negation is negatively valenced than when it is positively valenced. Further, this outcome under moderate resources occurs even though respondents represent the negation accurately in memory. These findings provide evidence that the processing of a negation follows a specific sequence such that the affirmation (“difficult to use”) is elaborated first, and then the negator tag (“not”) is incorporated in judgment.

This article examines strategies for sound brand positioning with emphasis on developing an appropriate frame of reference.

Four experiments were conducted to examine the persuasive impact of new product appeals containing an analogy. An analogy highlights the similarity in the benefits offered by a familiar base product and an unfamiliar target product. This device is found to be persuasive when a) message recipients have the ability to map attribute relations from some base category to understand the benefits of a target product, and b) they allocate the substantial resources needed to complete this mapping. In the absence of either of these conditions, the persuasive impact of an analogy is more limited. A variety of devices, including expertise with the base product, training in how to process base information and a positive mood are shown to improve the comprehension of an analogy and to enhance its persuasiveness.

The results of three studies examining the effect of mood on the learning of brand names showed that a positive mood enhanced the learning of brand names in relation to a neutral mood. Evidence of clustering of brand names recalled suggests that a positive mood fosters the classification of brands on the basis of their category membership, which then serves as an effective cue for retrieval. Results also suggest that mood affects the rehearsal of the specific brand names. These findings add to the growing evidence that mood affects the strategies used to process information, and demonstrates for the first time that mood affects stimulus rehearsal and clustering.

Although the persuasive impact of repeated message exposures has been investigated extensively, the effect of varying the spacing of those repetitions on message judgments has not been examined empirically. We use recent theorizing, which suggests that in relation to massed presentations, spaced presentations of a target ad are likely to prompt the allocation of more resources to stimulus processing because spaced exposures are perceived as less familiar. Brand judgments are expected to depend on the resources that are allocated to message processing in relation to those required for this task, and these judgments are expected to be most favorable when the resources allocated to message processing match those required for the task. Our data are consistent with these expectations.

Two experiments examined how consumer expertise moderates message learning and product evaluations. It was found that organizing message information and repeating it enhanced novices' learning of the message content and the favorableness of their evaluations. In contrast, experts' learning was for the most part not influenced by these factors, and their evaluations reflected the type of message they received and the extent to which they evaluated the message content.

The authors examine the effect of type of elaboration on information processing and product judgments. Research participants were shown print advertisements promoting a camera in which the pictorial material depicted either product features mentioned in the copy (attribute-focused condition) or people, objects, or usage occasions captured by the camera (image-focused condition). These advertisements were presented in the context of advertisements for competing brands of cameras or for products in categories unrelated to cameras. When the context was composed of competing cameras, the attribute-focused advertisement resulted in more favorable target camera judgments than did the image-focused advertisement, whereas when products unrelated to cameras served as the context, the image-focused advertisement prompted more favorable judgments. These results are interpreted as evidence that product judgments are more favorable when an advertising message receives two types of elaboration, item-specific and relational, than when only one of these types of elaboration is dominant.

Associations to a contextual cue were contrasted with those of an advertised object when the cognitive resources devoted to message processing were substantial and when the categories to which the contextual cue and the advertised object belonged displayed low overlap. The absence of either of these factors prompted assimilation. A two-factor theory is offered to explain these outcomes.

We investigated the effect of program involvement on the persuasive impact of an advertising message placed within the program. We found that an increase in program involvement enhanced the persuasive impact of an easy-to-counterargue advertising message and reduced the impact of a difficult-to-counterargue advertising message. These findings suggest that program environments generally have similar effects on the persuasiveness of contiguously presented advertising messages, as have been observed for distractors on concurrent message presentations. The implications of these findings for advertising theory and practice are discussed.

Data from two experiments suggest that the genders differ in how they make judgments. In comparison with men, women appeared to have a lower threshold for elaborating on message cues and thus made greater use of such cues in judging products. These differences were eliminated both when the message cues prompted so little attention that they were below men's and women's thresholds for message elaboration and when they prompted so much attention that both genders' thresholds were exceeded. The origins and implications of these differences are discussed.

A dichotic listening task was used to investigate the affect-without-recognition phenomenon. Subjects performed a distractor task by responding to the information presented in one ear while ignoring the target information presented in the other ear. The subjects' recognition of and affect toward the target information as well as toward foils was measured. The results offer evidence for the affect-without-recognition phenomenon. Furthermore, the data suggest that the subjects' affect toward the stimuli depended primarily on the extent to which the stimuli were perceived as familiar (i.e., subjective familiarity), and this perception was influenced by the ear in which the distractor or the target information was presented. These data are interpreted in terms of current models of recognition memory and hemispheric lateralization.

The study suggests that the effect of repeated advertising exposures on brand evaluations is moderated by the ease with which the advertising message is processed. Increasing exposures enhanced the effectiveness of a difficult appeal, increased then decreased the effectiveness of a moderately difficult appeal, and decreased then increased the effectiveness of an easy appeal. These outcomes support the premise that message effectiveness can be affected by the time available for message processing and the time required for that task.

We examined the effects of knowledge, motivation, and the type of message on ad processing and on product judgments. The data suggest that, regardless of subjects' prior knowledge, they could be motivated to process message information in detail. However, experts and novices differed in the types of information that prompted detailed message processing. Experts are more likely to process a message in detail when given only attribute information, while novices are more likely to do so when given benefit (or benefit and attribute) information. Experts and novices also differed in how they processed messages; experts' detailed message processing was evaluative, while novices' was more literal.

This article examines the widely held view that manipulation checks, measures of process, and repeated operationalizations in different settings are frequently essential for rigorous tests of theory. This Confirmatory Approach to theory testing is contrasted with the Comparative Approach, which asserts that any procedures are adequate if they serve in demonstrating the superiority of one explanation to its rivals. Our analysis favors the Comparative Approach. It is shown that manipulation checks, measures of process, and repeated operationalizations are not necessary nor always sufficient for rigorous tests. They have no special status in relation to other convergence procedures that are accepted by the Comparative Approach for producing rigorous theory tests.

The effect of vividness on attitudinal judgments is a controversial issue. Experimental evidence indicates that vividness often has no effect on attitudinal judgments; however, there is also evidence that vividness can enhance or undermine the favorableness of attitudinal judgments. In this article, the authors introduce the availability-valence hypothesis to predict and explain the effects of vividness and to account for the frequent observation of a null effect.

The sleeper effect occurs when the persuasiveness of a message increases with the passage of time. Although the existence of the sleeper effect has been demonstrated in several recent investigations, the conditions necessary for its observation have not been specified. In the present research, a current view of memory operation is offered to predict the occurrence of the sleeper effect. This view is examined in two experiments. The findings are interpreted as being congenial with the memory explanation. The status of sleeper effect research is assessed in light of these findings.

A common belief among marketing practitioners is that increasing the vividness of a message enhances its persuasiveness. This belief has received support in experimental investigations, but vividness also has been found to undermine persuasion or to have no effect. The authors extend a current view of memory operation to predict when and how vividness will affect persuasion. According to this view, the favorableness of available information determines the persuasive effect of vividness. This assertion is tested and supported in a series of experiments. The findings are discussed in terms of strategies for controlling vividness effects.

The authors examine the conditions under which children are likely to make attitude-consistent choices in response to a television commercial. Two experiments show that children's age and the demands of the choice task are determinants of attitude-behavior consistency. These findings are discussed in terms of children's decision-making abilities and the more general issue of how attitudes are related to behavior.

Foot-in-the-door and door-in-the-face are multiple request techniques frequently used to increase behavioral compliance. However, results from experimental research indicate that these techniques may enhance, undermine, or have no effect on compliance. In the authors' research, the notion of information availability is introduced to help specify when multiple request techniques are likely to be effective. Four experiments are reported that test and support the information availability predictions.

The research demonstrates the usefulness of information processing in designing marketing strategy. Two strategies based on information processing theory are shown to be effective in combating the impact of an adverse rumor. The traditional theoretical and intuitive strategy of directly refuting a rumor is shown to be ineffective.

Repetition of a pattern of television commercials caused wearout in viewers' evaluation of the commercials and the products being advertised. As predicted by an information processing view, wearout was not forestalled by strategies designed to enhance attention.

The convergent, discriminant, and predictive validity of the tripartite model of attitudes is investigated. On the basis of a structural equation methodology, evidence is obtained for convergent validity. Moreover, a factor analysis of the attitude measures and measures of perceived extraneous events and personal and social normative beliefs provides evidence for discriminant validity. Finally, evidence for predictive validity based on actual and intended behaviors is found to be mixed. The implications of these findings for research pertaining to the prediction of consumer behavior are discussed.

The interactive effects of source credibility and other variables which affect the communication process are reviewed, and the extent to which these data are ordered by cognitive response and attribution theories is examined. On the basis of this review (1) situations where a credible source facilities, inhibits, and has no systematic persuasive effect are identified; (2) the explanatory power of cognitive response and attribution theory is demonstrated; and (3) a common language linking these theoretical formulations is advanced, providing a framework for investigating the persuasive mass communication process.

Analysis of panel data for two consumer packaged goods indicates that media-distributed coupons and cents-off deals induce brand switching and result in less loyalty when retracted than if no deal is offered. In contrast, package coupons stimulate brand loyalty which is maintained when they are retracted. The extent to which economic utility theory and self-perception theory order these findings is evaluated and the implications of the results for managing demand are discussed.

Two experiments are reported identifying the circumstances in which high credibility either facilitates, inhibits, or has no effect on the communicator's persuasiveness in relation to a less credible source. These data provide support for the cognitive response view of information processing and suggest the importance of message recipient's initial opinion as a determinant of persuasion.

Literature pertaining to the effects of age differences indicates that elderly individuals and younger adults process information differently. Age differences result in a complex set of changes in individuals' sources of information, ability to learn, and susceptibility to social influence. The implications of these changes are discussed in terms of marketing practice, theory, and methodology.

A low credibility source induced a more positive attitude toward his advocacy than did a highly credible source when message recipients' own behavior served as a cue for determining their attitudes. In contrast, when the behavioral cue was absent, a highly credible source did not have an adverse effect on individuals' attitudes or behavior. These findings are interpreted in terms of self-perception theory and cognitive response analysis.

Two experiments were conducted to examine the effect of very high levels of print ad repetition on brand name recall. In experiment I, the wearout in recall observed in natural settings was replicated in the laboratory. Experiment II examined whether this wearout was attributable to subjects' inattention to ads and reactance to substantial repetition levels. When these factors were controlled experimentally, no wearout was observed; the highest repetition level yielded greater or as much persistence in brand name recall as lower repetition levels. The implications of these data for marketing practice and theory are discussed.

Describes the evolution of a broadened concept of consumer behavior. Eras of segregation, comparativism and integration; Derivation and application of consumer behavior knowledge in nontraditional settings; Purchase and consumption related activities of consumers engaging in the exchange process.

This article provides a review and analysis of fear appeals, examines their effect on consumer behavior, and discusses methodological considerations in fear research. Emphasis is given to identifying gaps in our knowledge and understanding of how fear appeals work.

A laboratory paradigm was developed for examining interorganizational conflict and its management. Sixty-two three-person groups (drawn randomly from 282 business administration students) participated two groups at a time. One group acted as manufacturer and the other as wholesaler, their goal being agreement on the price and quantity of microscalpels. Conflict was induced by presenting a profit-loss matrix, a bogus distribution of past groups' earnings, and contrived information on complementary skills of group members. Semantic differential responses differed significantly (F(44, 198) = 1.46, p < .05) for conflict-management (superordinate goal, exchange of persons) and no-conflict- management groups, indicating lessening conflict in the former groups. There were no specific differences on in-group/out-group items. Expressive-Mal-integrative Behavior Indexes, derived from Bales's Interaction Process Analysis, provided further support for the exchange-of-persons strategy.

Although advertisers have employed humor extensively as the motivational basis for their appeals, relatively little is known about the persuasive effect of humor. This article assesses the role of humor in persuasion and suggests an approach to future humor research.

This article examines a laboratory methodology for studying interorganizational conflict between members of a distribution channel. A parasimulation approach was used to investigate the effectiveness of a superordinate goal and an exchange-of-persons program in managing conflict.

This article talks about the usefulness of pupil dilation in studying advertising effectiveness in the U.S. A popular and allegedly valid non-verbal measure of psychological response to visual stimuli is the pupillometer. Developed as an academic research tool to monitor and measure the linkage of pupil dilation and constriction to ongoing mental activity, it was later adopted for commercial use. Typical application has been to problems of evaluating advertising materials, packages, and products, which has led to a growing conviction that in many areas of consumer research one might make better predictions of behavior from pupil responses than from verbal or opinion data. Unfortunately, in the field of consumer research in general and advertising research in particular, the need for objective measures of psychological responses to various stimuli materials often leads to the practice of adopting a technique as a useful predictor of human behavior without first thoroughly investigating the technique. The utilization of the pupil dilation technique as a measure of the effectiveness of advertisements is a prime example of this fallacious strategy on the part of advertising researchers.

Four studies support the conclusion that the evaluation of a target brand is influenced by its presentation in the context of advertising for brands from a different category. The specific effect of context depends on the decision makes expertise in the target category and the accessibility of contextual information. In a base condition, experts exhibited an assimilation effect and novices a comparison contrast. Increasing the accessibility of the contextual information prompted a correction contrast effect among experts and an assimilation effect among novices. A reduction in the resources available for processing the highly accessible contextual information resulted in experts engaging in assimilation and in novices exhibiting a comparison contrast. These findings are explained in terms of an interpretation and a comparison judgment process.

Four studies examine how the manner in which information is presented influences experts’ and novices’ judgments of a persuasive message. Experts’ message evaluations were more favorable when brand benefits were framed as a gain rather than a nonloss (Study 1), introduced in a manner that prompted a sense of locomotion rather than assessment (Study 2), presented benefits at a high rather than low level of construal (Study 3), and were expected to materialize in the distant rather than near future (Study 4). Novices exhibited the opposite pattern of outcomes. Mediation analysis suggested that these results occurred because presenting information in a manner that fit with message recipients’ expertise created a positive subjective experience that enhanced evaluation.

Three studies are conducted to examine the moderating effect of expertise on the processing of information that is formatted either to convey a perception of movement from state to state (locomotion) or to allow comparisons and comprehensive evaluation (assessment). In Study 1, we find that experts are more favorable toward a target object when the presentation involves a locomotion (sequential presentation of information) rather than an assessment means of goal pursuit (same information presented all at once), whereas the opposite is observed for novices. This finding is robust across different manipulations of locomotion and assessment. These outcomes offer evidence that a fit between an individual’s orientation and a means of goal pursuit prompts a subjective experience of feeling right that is transferred to the message advocacy.

Three studies examine the influence of positive affect on the regulatory depletion effect, which refers to the reduction in the performance on a persistence task after completing an initially depleting task. This effect was eliminated when participants experienced positive affect prior to engaging in the persistence task (Study 1) and when they experienced positive affect in the presence of a co-actor (Study 2). The presence of positive affect concurrent with the performance of a persistence task also eliminated the regulatory depletion effect (Study 3). And positive affect participants exposed to a non-depleting initial task exhibited less persistence on a subsequent task than did those in a neutral affect control condition (Studies 1-2). These outcomes are explained in terms of a resource monitoring process.

This chapter discusses key concepts related to brand positioning.