Author: Biz Mech

Ever wonder if humor or fear packs more punch in advertising? This study breaks down the surprising effects of mild humor versus fear appeals.

Exploring the link between consumer attitudes and behavior, this study reveals how attitude measurement can predict shopping habits, especially in the context of trading stamps.

Does humor or fear work better in ads? George W. Brooker explores how these two emotional appeals can shift consumer behavior—and the results may surprise you!

Gender and emotional advertising—how males and females respond differently, and why private vs public contexts matter.

How do you counter conspiracy theories? Banas & Miller explore inoculation strategies—and even inoculating against inoculation itself.

Ultimately, the key is to understand your audience and tailor your message to resonate with them on both a logical and emotional level. By doing so, you’ll be more likely to achieve your desired outcome.

Author(s): Gerd Bohner, Nina Dickel Source: Annual Review Psychology Date: 2011 If you’ve ever found yourself inexplicably drawn to a particular brand or product, you may have experienced the effects of evaluative conditioning.  What is Evaluative Conditioning? Evaluative conditioning is the process by which we form attitudes towards a stimulus based on the pairing of the stimulus with positive or negative experiences. For example, if you have had a positive experience with a particular brand of cereal, you may form a positive attitude towards that brand. Conversely, if you have had a negative experience with a particular product, you may…

Attitude accessibility is the ease with which an attitude can be retrieved from memory. The more accessible an attitude is, the more likely it is to influence behavior.

Laroche, Toffoli, Zhang, and Pons, conducted a survey of 460 Chinese and 510 Canadian respondents to test the persuasive effects of cigarette ads that used fear appeal messages. The study examines the potential impact of these messages on consumers’ attitudes toward smoking and their intention to quit. The authors found that fear appeal messages in cigarette ads were more persuasive in China than in Canada. The Chinese participants were more likely to perceive smoking as a severe threat to their health and were more motivated to quit smoking after seeing these types of ads. In contrast, Canadian participants were less…

Staats, Staats, and K’s (1958) study on “Attitudes Established by Classic Conditioning” explored the extent to which attitudes can be developed through classical conditioning, which is a form of learning in which a neutral stimulus is paired with a response that naturally elicits an emotional or physiological reaction. In this study, the researchers conditioned a group of participants to associate a neutral stimulus (a novel object) with a positive or negative affective response by repeatedly pairing the object with either a pleasant or unpleasant event. The results of the study demonstrated that classical conditioning can indeed be used to establish…