Impact of emotional appeal on non-profit advertising: A neurophysiological analysis

The number of Non-Profit Organisations (NPOs) has increased in the past years, and they rely on advertising to communicate their causes. Although the effectiveness of NPO advertising has been studied previously, there is still no consensus about which appeal (emotionally positive or negative) increases its effectiveness. On the other hand, the most prevalent research approaches to NPO advertising are traditional research methodologies based on declarative techniques. So, the purpose of this study is to identify which appeal (positive or negative) in NPO advertising is more effective at the three levels of effectiveness (perceptual or communicational effectiveness, psychological or attitudinal effectiveness and behavioural effectiveness), providing a new approach based on the analysis of consumers' unconscious responses to advertising. We conducted an experiment with 113 participants whose neurophysiological responses were evaluated through electroencephalogram (EEG) and eye tracking (ET) while they watched NPO advertisements with a randomly assigned emotional appeal (positive or negative). In addition, a survey revealed behavioural responses. The results showed that considering the psychological or attitudinal effectiveness, positively framed ads are more effective, as there is a positive effect on attitudes towards the ad and a higher positive emotional valence. On the other hand, in perceptual effectiveness, where attention is considered an important variable, the negatively framed ads showed more significant time in the area of interest (AOI) of the image area of the ad, and longer time in the AOI text was observed for positively framed ads. Furthermore, regarding behavioural effectiveness, negatively framed ads seem more effective in eliciting actual donations. The results suggest that a positive appeal is more effective in generating a more positive attitude and a positive emotional valence towards the advertisement, which could benefit the NPO in the long term. But a negative appeal is more effective if the goal is to achieve immediate donations.     

Promoting a Brand's Emotion Benefits: The Influence of Emotion Categorization Processes on Consumer Evaluations

Research in psychology has demonstrated that people have a shared knowledge of emotion categories. Building on this research and our understanding of categorization processes, this article proposes a mechanism by which consumers utilize information about a brand's “emotion benefits” in forming attitudes. The results of 2 experimental studies show that (a) consumers’ processing of a brand's emotion benefit information is consistent with categorization processes such that emotion category congruity effects are large in basic—versus subordinate—level conditions, (b) associating a brand with certain emotions can influence brand and ad attitudes without necessarily eliciting emotions during exposure to advertising, (c) emotion category congruity “works” through attitude‐toward‐the‐ad and emotion benefit beliefs in influencing brand attitudes, and (d) subjective product category knowledge moderates the strength of these effects. Taken together, these results explicate the process by which a knowledge‐based consideration of a brand's emotional benefits can influence consumers’ beliefs about the brand and brand attitudes.     

Cognitive and Emotional Processes in Individuals and Commercial Web sites

This research reports how banner ads are responded to in Web sites that emphasize either emotion or cognition. It also looks at the moderating effects of individuals’ own levels of need for cognition and need for emotion on banner responsiveness in the two kinds of Web sites. Recall and attitude toward banners are consistently better when their context is an emotion-based Web site. Need for cognition, but not need for emotion moderates this effect. For ad recall, it is better to be lower in need for cognition in a cognitive Web site, but higher in need for cognition on an emotional Web site. For attitude toward the banner and purchase intention, however, it is better to be higher in need for cognition in a cognitive Web site, but lower in need for cognition on an emotional Web site. The results are discussed in terms of advertising context theory that has been developed in applications to the traditional media like print and broadcast, but here is shown to be applicable to the Web.     

Fishing For Feelings? Hooking Viewers Helps!

To better understand individual variation in emotional responses to advertising, the authors recommend considering 3 general factors: characteristics of the individual who sees the ad, characteristics of the ad itself, and the nature of the ad–individual interface. This article examines 1 aspect of the individual, affect intensity (AI); one aspect of the ad, the degree to which the ad tells a story; and 1 aspect of the ad–individual interface, whether the individual is hooked by the ad. Experimental results reveal that an individual's being hooked by an ad has a positive relation with upbeat and warm feelings, a negative relation with disinterested feelings, and significantly enhances the viewer's attitude toward the ad. We find that AI has a positive relation with upbeat and warm feelings, and AI moderates the effect of being hooked on upbeat and warm feelings. Findings also reveal that narrative ad structure has a positive relation with upbeat and warm feelings, a negative relation with disinterested feelings, and that being hooked moderates the effect of narrative ad structure on upbeat and warm feelings responses.     

高善良特质在情绪调节行动控制中的内隐优势

基于善良特质在中国人人格修养中的重要价值, 本研究以情绪调节的行动控制理论为模型参照, 设计了三项行为实验检验善良特质的导向性与内隐情绪调节的关系。研究1采用Stroop任务, 比较高低善良被试判断人际关系词颜色时是否受到色词内容的干扰, 结果发现, 高(vs.低)善良被试对人际关系积极词更敏感; 研究2采用情绪调节内隐联想测验任务比较高低善良被试的情绪调节内隐态度差异, 结果发现高(vs.低)善良被试更倾向于采用控制型情绪调节方式调节情绪; 研究3在诱发被试负性情绪条件下, 采用面孔表情视觉搜索任务间接考察高低善良被试在内隐情绪修复效果上的差异, 结果显示高(vs.低)善良被试搜索愤怒背景下高兴面孔的速度更快。三项实验结果一致地表明, 高善良特质利他重感情的行动目的性在情绪调节的行动控制中具有内隐优势, 对积极的心理健康起促进作用。     

Sexism and the Effectiveness of Femvertising in China: A Corporate Social Responsibility Perspective

The present study draws on theories and prior research on corporate social responsibility (CSR) and gender attitudes (i.e., sexism) to understand young Chinese peoples’ responses toward women-empowering advertising (i.e., femvertising). We conducted two experiments in which male and female Chinese college students (232 in Study 1 and 231 in Study 2) were exposed to either women-empowering or control advertisements (traditional ad in Study 1 and gender-irrelevant ad in Study 2) and reported their attitudes about the ads as well as their purchase intentions toward the advertised products (shampoo and smartphone, respectively). In line with our predictions, both experiments showed that messaging about women’s empowerment in advertising can induce perceptions of CSR, thereby increasing favorable responses such as enhanced positive ad attitudes and increased purchase intentions toward the advertised products. Moreover, hostile sexism was negatively associated with consumer responses toward femvertising such that the lower participants’ hostile sexism, the more positive ad attitudes and stronger purchase intent participants they reported. However, benevolent sexism was not predictive of consumer responses toward femvertising. These results offer insights into people’s responses toward women-empowering advertisements and also have practical implications for advertisers and marketers who are interested in using such an advertising tactic to promote products and services.

     

广告干预对消费者品牌态度和信任的影响

为了探讨广告干预对危机品牌的消费者品牌态度和信任的影响,采用实验组与控制组对照的前测后测设计,其中实验组采用2×2因素型被试间实验设计。结果表明:广告干预对被试的内隐品牌态度发生了一定程度的影响,对被试的外显品牌态度和品牌信任则发生了很大程度的影响;高渗透广告相较于低渗透广告能驱使消费者对危机品牌产生更为正向的外显品牌态度;理性诉求广告相较于感性诉求广告能驱使消费者对危机品牌产生更为正向的外显品牌态度;广告的渗透程度和诉求方式对内隐品牌态度的影响存在交互作用;品牌信任受双重态度驱动。     

When Does Gender Count? Further Insights into Gender Schematic Processing of Female Candidates' Political Advertisements

In this study we explored viewers' responses to advertising by female political candidates. Gender schema theory provided the basis for developing a better understanding of the circumstances when voters evaluate female candidates and how cognitive representations of what women are like influence viewer responses. Results showed general support for the predictions derived from gender schema theory. That is, participants did seem to rely on gender schema in making judgments, a form of inference making known as “default processing,” when information was absent. Results also indicated that participants relied more on gender schematic processing when the advertisement elicited positive emotions and less on gender schematic processing when exposed to an attack ad. For comparison, viewers' responses to male candidates' political advertising were also examined. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of these findings for political campaigns.     

Sex Guilt and Receptivity to Condom Advertising

The personal and social costs of unintended pregnancy and HIV infection point to the need for ongoing research designed to enhance the effectiveness of preventive advertising, particularly to those segments at greatest risk. One segment that appears to be at significant risk is comprised of individuals who experience high levels of guilt about sex. This study seeks to determine whether high sex-guilt (SG) individuals are unique in their processing, recall, and evaluative responses to advertising for condoms. Two hundred fifty-two college-aged men and women were randomly assigned to two versions of a condom advertisement that differed in terms of self- referencing vs. other-referencing in the message copy. A 2 × 2 × 3 (Gender × Self- Versus Other-Referencing Message Copy × High, Moderate, and Low Sex Guilt), between subjects ANOVA design was used to test hypothesized relationships. For female, but not male, participants, high SG was inversely related to depth of processing, recall, positive thoughts about the ad, and perceived credibility of the ad. For both genders, high SG was inversely related to perceived ad informativeness, attitude toward the ad, and attitude toward the brand. Message design interacted with SG and gender on an important outcome measure—purchase intention. Study implications are discussed, and avenues for future research are suggested.     

The influence of negative advertising frames on political cynicism and politician accountability

This research examined the influence of negative political advertising frames on the thoughts and feelings people generate in response to campaign advertising. Preparing and conducting this investigation involved the use of a multiple‐method strategy. Content analysis identified two advertising frames (i.e., candidate theme and ad hoc issue advertisements) and two experiments separately induced political cynicism and politician accountability. Three hundred and sixty people participated in the experimental studies, in which they read and responded, using a thought‐listing technique, to candidate theme or ad hoc issue negative advertisements. Results demonstrated that participants were more likely to generate cynical comments and hold politicians accountable for the country's ills when reading candidate theme advertisements than ad hoc issue advertisements. The results indicate that this contributes to a political climate of cynicism and may function to erode the electorate's overall trust in government.     

产品卷入度与网络语言态度对网络语言广告说服效果的影响

以在校大学生为被试,探讨网络语言嵌入对广告效果的影响,分别测量产品卷入度和语言态度的调节作用。结果表明：(1)对于高卷入度产品,广告中嵌入网络语言与否对广告的说服效果并无显著影响;对于低卷入度产品,广告中嵌入网络语言的广告态度和产品态度均值均高于标准汉语广告,但对购买意愿无显著影响;(2)对于低卷入度产品,在积极的网络语言态度下,嵌入网络语言组被试的广告态度、产品态度和购买意愿的均值均高于标准汉语广告;而在消极的网络语言态度下,广告中嵌入网络语言的广告态度和产品态度均值均低于标准汉语广告,但对购买意愿无显著影响。     

Emotion regulation and emotional information processing: The moderating effect of emotional awareness

The aim of this study was to examine the moderating role of emotional awareness in the relationship between emotion regulation strategies and emotional information processing. A total of 120 female students regulated emotions while watching an unpleasant film. Before and after emotion induction, participants completed a set of tasks that required matching facial expressions. The results demonstrated that participants who were high in emotional awareness showed a significantly smaller increase in error responses (i.e., incorrect matches) than participants who were low in emotional awareness. However, this effect was observed only in suppression (i.e., inhibition of an emotionally expressive behavior), masking (i.e., emotion experienced with a happy expression) and control (i.e., no regulation) conditions. Among reappraisers, who were instructed to adopt a neutral attitude toward the film, regardless of whether they were high or low in emotional awareness, there was not a significant increase in error responses. This study shows that the potentially damaging impact of negative emotions on the processing of emotional information can be prevented by a high emotional awareness or with the implementation of reappraisal as an emotion regulation strategy.     

情绪、态度与行为的关系：基于APE模型

以Gawronski & Bodenhausen（2006）提出的联结性-推理性评价模型（associative-propositional evaluation model, APE）为基础,分析情绪在内隐态度向外显态度转化过程中的作用,以及情绪、态度与行为的关系。研究通过操纵被试的情绪状态（积极或消极）,分析了不同情绪下个体对薯片的外显态度、内隐态度对其在五分钟内食用薯片数量的预测作用。研究发现,外显态度可以预测行为结果;而内隐态度对行为结果的预测受到情绪的调节,积极情绪下内隐态度能够预测行为结果,消极情绪下内隐态度不预测行为结果。因此,与消极情绪相比,积极情绪降低了个体对内隐态度进行修正的可能性,促使个体基于内隐态度直接构建外显态度,从而使得内隐态度能够预测行为结果。研究最后分析了情绪影响内隐态与行为之间关系的心理机制、本研究的理论价值及未来的研究方向。     

The Impact of Negative Campaign Ads

We compared negative and positive ads in the context of a fictitious election. Participants read a strong or weak message supporting one candidate (positive ad) or derogating the opposition candidate (negative ad). The strong positive message had a greater impact on attitudes toward the candidates than the weak positive message, but message strength had no significant effect for negative messages, suggesting that positive messages are centrally processed, and negative messages serve mainly as peripheral cues. Accordingly, a strong positive message was more effective than a weak positive message, but a weak positive message was less effective than a weak negative message. We conclude that negative political ads are advisable only when candidates cannot provide strong arguments to support their candidacy.     

Political attitudes: Interactions of cognition and affect

Commonly held political opinions provide an ecologically relevant focus for studying the interactions of environmental context, affect or emotion, and cognition. To explore this approach to information processing, John T. Lanzetta helped initiate a series of experiments examining how emotional responses to politicians' nonverbal displays influence changes in attitude toward these leaders. Although this line of research has revealed how a number of variables interact when humans respond to known individuals in meaningful situations, the precise relationship between mood state or affect prior to a stimulus and subsequent emotions and cognitions remains unclear. Based on recent theories of modular brain function, an experimental paradigm was designed to test the hypothesis that the effects of a mood state on information processing depend on the subject's awareness of the affect as well as on its valence. Preliminary data from such a study, in which preconscious images of emotionally evocative stimuli were used to induce positive or negative affect prior to viewing the leader, suggests that the induction of negative affective states can lead to more positive attitudes. Reflected in such public opinion phenomena as the rally-round-the-flag effect, this mood-incongruent attitude change challenges many traditional theories of emotion and cognition.This research was supported by the Nelson A. Rockefeller Center for the Social Sciences and the William H. Spoor Grant for Leadership Issues. We would like to extend a note of special appreciation to William N. Morris, Ph.D.     

Créativité verbale et valence émotionnelle : « Je deviens plus créatif quand je vois un mot positif ! »

IntroductionThe modulating effect of emotion on creativity is one of the most current topics in cognitive research. Emotion, and particularly positive emotion, is supposed to be conducive of creativity and to enhance the processes of creative thinking.ObjectiveThis work aimed to study the modulating effect of emotional valence of the task material (words-stimuli) as well as the emotional valence of the task instructions on verbal creativity performance.MethodAn experiment was conducted on a set of 27 stimuli-words and six instructions-phrases selected on the basis of pretest valence ratings. The valence of the stimuli-words (negative, neutral and positive) was crossed with the valence of the instructions-phrases (negative, neutral and positive) in a 3 × 3 factorial design. However, only five experimental conditions were considered relevant and used in the Experiment. Three components of verbal creativity identified in the literature were measured: fluidity, flexibility and originality.ResultsResults showed that positive instructions and words increased verbal creativity, especially the originality of the responses, which is considered as a basic component of creativity. Conversely, negative valence had an inhibitory and obstructive effect on verbal creativity.ConclusionThis study supports previous research showing the existence of a significant influence of emotional valence of words on cognitive functioning, and adds to the very little (or absent) research on the modulating effect of the valence of instructions and on the relationship between verbal creativity and emotional valence, a relationship that can be fostered in education.     

简化的联合再认范式中情绪对错误记忆影响的年龄差异

以康奈尔情绪DRM词表为主要实验材料, 使用简化的联合再认范式(DRM范式的变式), 结合多项式加工树建模的统计手段, 对34名年轻人(23 ± 2岁)和28名老年人(68 ± 5岁)的再认记忆进行比较, 以考察不同年龄组中情绪效价对错误记忆的作用机制。结果发现材料的情绪效价对错误记忆的影响存在显著年龄差异：(1) 积极情绪能够有效降低老年人的错误记忆, 其作用机制为积极情绪增强了老年人的字面痕迹而减弱了要点痕迹提取; (2) 消极情绪能够有效地降低年轻人的错误记忆, 其作用机制为消极情绪使年轻人反应偏向降低, 但不影响其记忆痕迹的提取。结果表明, 简化的联合再认范式下, 情绪效价对错误记忆的效应存在明显的年龄差异：老年人表现出积极情绪降低错误记忆的积极偏向; 年轻人表现出消极情绪降低错误记忆的消极偏向; 情绪效应对错误记忆的认知机制存在年龄差异。     

Transforming or restraining rumination: The impact of compassionate reappraisal versus emotion suppression on empathy,forgiveness, and affective psychophysiology

We tested the effects of practicing compassionate reappraisal vs. emotional suppression as direct coping responses to victims’ ruminations about a past interpersonal offense. Participants (32 females, 32 males) were randomly assigned to learn one coping strategy which immediately followed three of six offense rumination trials (counterbalanced). For both strategy types, coping (vs. offense ruminating) reduced ratings of negative emotion, decreased the use of negative emotion language, and reduced tension at the brow muscle (corrugator EMG). Only compassionate reappraisal coping (vs. offense rumination) immediately prompted greater empathy and emotional forgiveness toward the offender. Empathy ratings for the first coping trial mediated the relationship between strategy type and empathy ratings for the final rumination trial. Compassionate reappraisal strategy participants increased their empathy toward the offender while ruminating at the end of the study. Compassionate reappraisal participants (vs. emotional suppression) described coping (vs. rumination) with more positive language, and also had calmer cardiac pre-ejection period responses.     

The importance of identifying underlying process abnormalities in alexithymia: Implications of the three-process model and a single case study illustration

We present an in-depth case study of a rare individual (whom we will refer to as “Jane”) who reported an inability to experience emotion. Jane completed a range of assessments measuring alexithymia, emotional awareness, and emotion recognition ability. She, along with 22 control participants, also underwent skin conductance (SC) measurement and facial electromyography (EMG) during exposure to affective images, and self reported the valence/arousal of their responses to those images. Jane scored high on alexithymia and low on emotional awareness; yet she performed well on emotion recognition measures and showed a typical pattern of valence ratings. Her SC responses and subjective arousal ratings were atypically low, and some of her EMG responses were also atypical. Jane’s deficit profile highlights the dissociability of self-focused emotional awareness and other-focused emotion recognition ability, as well as the dissociability between the generation and representation of valence and arousal (with both subjective and objective measures).     

Control of impulsive emotional behaviour through implementation intentions

Past research has established that people can strategically enhance or override impulsive emotional behaviour with implementation intentions (Eder, Rothermund, & Proctor, 2010). However, it is unclear whether emotional action tendencies change by intentional processes or by habit formation processes due to repeated enactment of the intention (or both). The present study shows that forming implementation intentions is sufficient to modulate emotional action tendencies. Participants received instructions about how to respond to positive and negative stimuli on evaluation trials but no such trials were actually presented. Results showed that merely intending to approach and avoid affective stimuli influenced emotional action tendencies in a modified affective Simon task in which affective valence was irrelevant. An affective Simon effect (i.e., faster reactions when the valence of the stimulus corresponded with the valence of the movement) was observed when participants intended evaluations with affectively congruent responses (i.e., positive–approach, negative–avoid); in contrast, the effect was reversed in direction when participants planned evaluations with incongruent responses (i.e., positive–avoid, negative–approach). Thus, implementation intentions can regulate implicit emotional responses even in the absence of possible habit formation processes. Implications for dual-system accounts of emotion regulation are discussed.