The Effects of Personalized Product Recommendations on Advertisement Response Rates: The “Try This. It Works!” Technique

Three field experiments examined an information processing explanation for the effectiveness of a direct mail persuasion technique. Respondents received an ad in the mail accompanied by a hand‐written note of the form, “John, Try this. It works!” and signed using a common initial. In the first experiment, the technique increased (decreased) free sample requests when strong (weak) brand attributes were used. In a second experiment, the attribute quality interaction effect was found only for respondents who could not identify who sent them the ad. Those who knew the sender requested more free samples regardless of the attribute strength of the brand. A third experiment revealed that both the personalization and content of the note contribute to its effectiveness. Theoretical implications are discussed.     

Isolation rearing effects on probabilistic learning and cognitive flexibility in rats

Isolation rearing is a neurodevelopmental manipulation that produces neurochemical, structural, and behavioral alterations in rodents that in many ways are consistent with schizophrenia. Symptoms induced by isolation rearing that mirror clinically relevant aspects of schizophrenia, such as cognitive deficits, open up the possibility of testing putative therapeutics in isolation-reared animals prior to clinical development. We investigated what effect isolation rearing would have on cognitive flexibility, a cognitive function characteristically disrupted in schizophrenia. For this purpose, we assessed cognitive flexibility using between- and within-session probabilistic reversal-learning tasks based on clinical tests. Isolation-reared rats required more sessions, though not more task trials, to acquire criterion performance in the reversal phase of the task, and were slower to adjust their task strategy after reward contingencies were switched. Isolation-reared rats also completed fewer trials and exhibited lower levels of overall activity in the probabilistic reversal-learning task than did the socially reared rats. This finding contrasted with the elevated levels of unconditioned investigatory activity and reduced levels of locomotor habituation that isolation-reared rats displayed in the behavioral pattern monitor. Finally, isolation-reared rats also exhibited sensorimotor gating deficits, reflected by decreased prepulse inhibition of the startle response, consistent with previous studies. We concluded that isolation rearing constitutes a valuable, noninvasive manipulation for modeling schizophrenia-like cognitive deficits and assessing putative therapeutics.     

The effects of name similarity on message processing and persuasion

Prior studies have found that name similarity can serve as a cue that favorably affects evaluations without conscious deliberation. In a series of four experiments, we show that name similarity can increase the conscious processing of information with which it is associated. When exposed to student resumes or advertised brands with names similar (versus dissimilar) to theirs, respondents were more likely to relate the information to themselves (self-reference, Experiments 2-4) and thoughtfully examine it. Evidence of thoughtful processing included slower reaction times when reviewing resumes and greater information recall (Experiment 1), spending more time in resume review (Experiment 2), greater evaluative differentiation between resumes and product brands of different quality (Experiments 2 and 3), and developing stronger brand attitudes (Experiment 4). An expanded view of how and why name similarity can affect persuasion is offered and discussed.