Effects of Self-affirmation and Individualistic-collectivistic Appeals on Open-Mindedness and Advertising Effectiveness

Consumers often resist information that conflicts with their preexisting attitudes or beliefs.Resistance to advertising messages is common, even when the advertiser attempts to communicate important and novel messages.This research focuses on a new advertising technique called self-affirmation, which attempts to enhance consumers' self-perceptions to reduce resistance to persuasion.Two advertising experiments focusing on high-involvement product categories, including an on-line job search portal and hybrid/alternative fuel vehicles, explored the impact of self-affirmation on consumers' open-mindedness to advertising messages and overall advertising effectiveness.This research offers the first demonstration of embedded self-affirmation working in the context of an advertising message.Subjects were assigned to provide reactions to an advertisement containing either an affirmation treatment or control condition; effects of this advertising content on consumer elaboration, cognitions, and intentions were then studied.Study 1 tested the impact of positive self-affirmation (ego inflation) on consumers' responses to advertising about a hypothetical on-line job search portal.Study 1 involved the use of a 2 x 2 between-subjects experiment of (1) Self-affirmation treatment versus a neutral control condition, by ( 2) High/low Need for Cognitive Closure.Study 2 examined the impact of self-affirmation in conjunction with type of appeal (individualistic versus collectivistic).In a 3 x 2 x 2 between-subjects experiment, subjects were randomly assigned to one of the three treatment conditions (individualistic affirmation, collectivistic affirmation, or the control) where they viewed a prototype of a public service announcement promoting new types of energy-efficient vehicles and then provided reactions and attitudinal ratings.Results were analyzed by 3 treatment conditions (individualistic affirmation versus collectivistic affirmation versus control) X 2 (high versus low need for cognitive closure) X 2 (high versus low individualism/collectivism).Results supported the hypotheses that affirmation affects open-mindedness and persuasion among certain groups of consumers.Individual difference variables of Need for Cognitive Closure and Individualism/Collectivism moderated the effects of self-affirmation on consumer reactions.Affirmation in advertising resulted in more open-mindedness only among individuals most likely to ordinarily rush to judgment (those high in Need for Cognitive Closure).It also influenced higher persuasion among individuals who a priori would be expected to be most resistant to advertising's persuasive appeals-those high in Need for Cognitive Closure and who held low attitudes (high skepticism) about advertising in general.High individualists responded better to affirmations with an Individualistic appeal, while High Collectivists responded better to any type of affirmation (individualistic or collectivistic).Results support the usefulness of self-affirmation as a technique to reach consumers who are ordinarily highly resistant to advertising persuasion appeals, and the possibility of selfaffirmation as a means to debias consumers' processing of threatening information.This research contributes to theoretical understanding in several ways.First, it expands what little is currently known about how self-affirmation works to influence consumer behavior.Second, it adds to both the persuasion literature and literature focusing on information processing in high involvement product categories.Finally, this research contributes to the understanding of the circumstances in which there is an opportunity for more unbiased consideration of products by considering the cognitive processing of the open-minded consumer.From a practical standpoint, this research will help advertisers understand how affirmation may be useful to communicate new and complex information for more unbiased consideration of benefits.