Jon D. Morris

The Power of Affect: Predicting Intention

ABSTRACT This robust structural modeling study, with over 23,000 responses to 240 advertising messages, found that affect when measured by a visual measure of emotional response dominates over cognition for predicting conative attitude and action.

Antecedents of True Brand Loyalty

We examine a model of six latent constructs and propose that true brand loyalty can be explained as a result of five distinct antecedents: brand credibility, affective brand conviction, cognitive brand conviction, attitude strength, and brand commitment. Data from experimental conditions with manipulations of eight product classes and two involvement levels lend support for the proposed model, demonstrating that brand loyalty can be considered as truly loyal only when mediated by a high degree of affective and cognitive brand conviction, and attitude strength. Advertising and marketing implications for the relationships among the six constructs under different manipulation conditions are discussed.

Mapping a multidimensional emotion in response to television commercials

Unlike previous emotional studies using functional neuroimaging that have focused on either locating discrete emotions in the brain or linking emotional response to an external behavior, this study investigated brain regions in order to validate a three‐dimensional construct – namely pleasure, arousal, and dominance (PAD) of emotion induced by marketing communication. Emotional responses to five television commercials were measured with Advertisement Self‐Assessment Manikins (AdSAM®) for PAD and with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to identify corresponding patterns of brain activation. We found significant differences in the AdSAM scores on the pleasure and arousal rating scales among the stimuli. Using the AdSAM response as a model for the fMRI image analysis, we showed bilateral activations in the inferior frontal gyri and middle temporal gyri associated with the difference on the pleasure dimension, and activations in the right superior temporal gyrus and right middle frontal gyrus associated with the difference on the arousal dimension. These findings suggest a dimensional approach of constructing emotional changes in the brain and provide a better understanding of human behavior in response to advertising stimuli. Hum Brain Mapp, 2009.

Is Beauty A Joy Forever? Young Women's Emotional Responses to Varying Types of Beautiful Advertising Models

Numerous studies have explored the relationship between female beauty and positive effects for the woman, product, or ad; however, none has explored womens emotional responses to different beauty types. This study investigated college womens emotional responses to Solomon, Ashmore, and Longos six beauty types. The survey results revealed that the original six beauty types were not supported. Instead, they combined into two independent dimensions: Sexual/Sensual (SS) and Classic Beauty/Cute/Girl-Next-Door (CCG). After testing emotional reactions to High CCG/Low SS, High SS/Low CCG, and Equal CCG/SS models, models with higher degrees of CCG produced significantly greater pleasure, arousal, and dominance.

Decoding Neural Responses To Emotion in Television Commercials

ABSTRACT Current practice in the field of neuromarketing either regards physiological measures as superior to self-reporting or uses just one type of measure. The current study proposed an integrative procedure combining a visual self-reporting scale with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to measure emotional response to television commercials. The researchers pinpointed brain responses to emotions in advertising at the gyrus level—the ridge between the two clefts on the cerebral surface of the brain—indicating the importance of the three key dimensions of emotion—appeal, engagement, and empowerment—in measuring feelings about advertising and marketing communications.

The influence of life satisfaction on nostalgic advertising and attitude toward a brand

Nostalgic advertising has become a popular means for advertisers to reach their consumers. A viewers life satisfaction is an important factor that may influence the effect of nostalgic advertising. Positive life satisfaction is an important determinant of nostalgic advertising receptivity. Thus, the present study builds a model for the relationships among life satisfaction, nostalgic advertising, emotional response toward a brand, ad attitude and purchase intention. Life satisfaction was identified as an antecedent variable for evoked nostalgia. In addition, emotional response to the advertised brand was shown to be an important predictor of purchase intent. The findings provide insightful implications for marketers and advertisers by identifying meaningful relationships between life satisfaction and nostalgic advertising.

The Florida Study: Improvement in Student Achievement and Attitudes through Variations in Instructional Television Production Values

Little is known about the effects of television production techniques on learning. This article describes an experiment wherein two different television versions of a course segment were used with different student groups and the evaluation results. Taking full advantage of the extensive technical progress that has been made in television equipment and techniques over the past ten years, the “innovative” version was designed not only to present curriculum material, but also to try to influence favorably the attitudes of the students. Control groups were also used in the rather comprehensive research design. Details of the study are described and the evaluation of results is presented. While some difference in achievement was observed, an interesting consequence was the higher ratings given by the students to the “innovative” version.

Are Social Marketing and Advertising Communications (SMACs) Meaningful?: A Survey of Facebook User Emotional Responses, Source Credibility, Personal Relevance, and Perceived Intrusiveness

ABSTRACT As users of social networking sites increase, placing ads on social network site (SNS) platforms is necessary for the medium and the advertiser. This placement does not come without significant concerns the impact of diverse social marketing and advertising communications. To provide a deeper understanding of the feelings of SNS users to marketing and advertising communications, this study measured the emotional responses in the three-dimensional form of appeal, engagement, and empowerment. The study also examined the cognitive or rational variables personal relevance, perceived intrusiveness, and source credibility, to determine their effect and relationship to emotional response on social marketing and advertising communications (SMACs) on Facebook. An online survey among college students revealed that more positive emotional and rational responses were generated toward SMACs that Facebook users re-promoted than toward those SMACs that are directly promoted by marketers. The re-promoted marketing communications appeared as less intrusive and more credible than those that are marketer promoted.

Maintaining a Healthy Water Supply While Growing a Healthy Food Supply: Legal Tools For Cleaning Up Agricultural Water Pollution

Although agriculture is one of the most significant and pernicious causes of water pollution in the U.S., federal environmental laws designed to protect water resources exclude or exempt most agricultural activities. State efforts to address water quality impacts from agriculture have met with little success. The challenge of finding a way to reduce agricultural water pollution without causing severe economic harm to farmers is one of the greatest environmental challenges of our time. Large scale industrialized agriculture, with its heavy reliance on fertilizer, pesticide and water inputs, is a major contributor to water pollution. Agricultural practices can cause serious adverse impacts to the quality of both groundwater and surfacewater. Rain or irrigation water that falls on farm fields, picks up water soluble pesticides such as atrazine and nutrients such as nitrites found in fertilizers, causing them to leach into groundwater. Rain and irrigation water that is not absorbed into the soil runs off of agricultural fields carrying with it a variety of pollutants which ultimately end up in surface water bodies. Run-off from farm fields frequently contains high levels of sediments from soil erosion from tilled fields, pesticides and fertilizers. Pesticides that enter waterbodies can adversely impact aquatic life. Nutrients from fertilizers can cause waterbodies to be hypereutrophied, which can severely impact submersed plants and aquatic animals. Run-off of sediments from soil erosion due to tilling can clog streams and fill in shallow areas in water bodies, thereby reducing habitat and light availability to submersed plants. A report by the National Water Quality Inventory identified agricultural nonpoint source (NPS) pollution as “the leading source of water quality impacts on surveyed rivers and lakes, the second largest source of impairments to wetlands, and a major contributor to contamination of surveyed estuaries and ground water.”The federal Clean Water Act (CWA), the primary federal authority for addressing water pollution, has been largely successful at reducing water pollution from point sources such as wastewater treatment plants and industrial discharges through the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES). A major shortcoming of the NPDES program, however is that it does not apply to NPS discharges, including most agricultural runoff. Although most pollutant discharges to waterbodies from agriculture are not subject to NPDES regulation, the federal CWA does require states to establish water quality standards and total maximum daily loads (TMDLs) that can be used by the states to address agricultural water pollution through regulatory or non-regulatory mechanisms. A TMDL tells you how much of a particular pollutant a particular water body can assimilate without a violation of a water quality standard. Thus, the establishment of TMDL’s is an important step in ensuring that state water quality standards are met. The greatest challenge, however, is the allocation of TMDLs among all point and nonpoint source dischargers, and the implementation of the TMDLs. For point source discharges, TMDLs are allocated and implemented through the NPDES permit program and may require pollution reductions beyond what would be required using only technology-based standards. For nonpoint sources such as agricultural, the allocation and implementation of TMDLs is much more daunting. This Article will explore a number of legal mechanisms that could play a role in ensuring that discharges from agricultural activities do not cause or contribute to violations of water quality standards. Specifically, this article will evaluate the relative effectiveness of: 1) narrative nutrient criteria and numeric nutrient criteria, 2) TMDL implementation through regulatory and nonregulatory mechanisms; and 2) Design-based standards such as Best Management Practices (BMPs) and performance-based standards in reducing water pollution form agriculture. The Article will draw on experiences from the State of Florida, including Everglades’s restoration efforts, and efforts to reduce agricultural pollution in the Chesapeake Bay basin to demonstrate the efficacy of a variety of approaches and will suggest a multifaceted, watershed-based approach comprised of a combination of regulatory and nonregulatory federal and state efforts.