Kenneth C. Herbst

Finding Pleasure in Solitary Activities: Desire for Aloneness or Disinterest in Social Contact?

Abstract People balance their interpersonal engagements with time spent alone but differ widely in the degree to which they engage in and enjoy solitary activities. This study examined the question of whether these differences are primarily a function of a strong desire to spend time alone (high solitropism) versus a weak desire to spend time with other people (low sociotropism). Two-hundred and four respondents completed multiple measures of solitropic and sociotropic orientations, and answered questions about their participation in and enjoyment of solitary activities. The results suggested that the frequency and enjoyment of solitary activities are more strongly related to a high desire for solitude than to low sociotropism.

My head says yes but my heart says no: Cognitive and affective attraction as a function of similarity to the ideal self

The authors hypothesized that similarity to the ideal self (IS) simultaneously generates attraction and repulsion. Attraction research has suggested that a person likes individuals who are similar to his or her IS. Social comparison research has suggested that upward social comparison threatens self-evaluation. In Experiment 1, attraction to a partner increased and then decreased as the partner became more similar to and then surpassed the participants IS. In Experiment 2, the cognitive and affective components of attraction increased and decreased, respectively, as the partner approached and surpassed the participants IS to the extent that the dimension of comparison was meaningful and participants andicipated meeting their partner. Similarity to the IS generates opposing cognitive and affective reactions when the self-evaluative threat of upward comparison intensifies.

On the Dangers of Pulling a Fast One: Advertisement Disclaimer Speed, Brand Trust, and Purchase Intention

Two experiments demonstrated that fast (vs. normal-paced) end-of-advertisement disclaimers undermine consumers’ purchase intention toward untrusted brands (both trust-unknown and not-trusted brands), but that disclaimer speed has no effect on consumers’ purchase intention toward trusted brands. The differential effects of disclaimer speed for untrusted versus trusted brands were not due to differences in consumers’ familiarity with the brands (experiment 1). Consistent with the hypothesis that fast disclaimers adversely affect purchase intention via heuristic rather than elaborative processes, the disclaimer speed × brand trust interaction effect remained robust even when the disclaimer presented positive information about the advertised product (experiment 2).

Racial Stereotypes in Children's Television Commercials

ABSTRACT In our increasingly diverse society, children are deeply engaged in television viewing and their consumption of television programming varies by ethnicity. Ethnic portrayal in childrens advertising is an important public policy and self-regulatory topic that may influence childrens self-perception and brand perception. This research examines frequency of ethnic representation, as assessed by the proportionality criterion and type of role portrayals by ethnically stereotyped groups in 155 childrens commercials. Results indicate that all diverse ethnicities were underrepresented compared to Caucasians. Ethnic representation is also examined by advertised product category, ethnic interaction, and importance of role portrayed by ethnic characters.

Commodities Must Begin to Act Like Branded Companies: Some Perspectives from the United States

The agricultural commodity industry needs to focus more on profits, less on value, and must change with the consumer. In short, a branded approach is needed. Households today are comprised of time-starved persons working outside of the home who have less experience shopping for and distinguishing between ready-to-eat fruits and vegetables and ones that may be overripe. Consumers want to place their trust in branded companies to give an official endorsement that the product is indeed good and worthy of purchase (e.g., Dole Brands, Sun-Maid Raisins). This change in the mindset of todays food shopper has provided an unprecedented opportunity for marketers of commodities to begin to act like branded companies by stamping the name of a well-known brand onto a commodity thereby guaranteeing its goodness and freshness. A profitable opportunity exists on the horizon for commodity marketers to behave in a manner that is more consistent with branded companies and todays consumer. A case history of Ocean Spray, which has recently faced a decision to protect the brand or sell off and take the risk of being a non-branded commodity in an extremely competitive market, is also discussed.

The effects of brand experience and an advertisement’s disclaimer speed on purchase: speak slowly or carry a big brand

Research on disclaimers (messages intended to fully disclose all information that could affect decision making and elucidate possibly misunderstood statements) in radio advertisements has drawn little attention. Using the same words in the disclaimer, the speed with which the disclaimer was read at the end of a food advertisement, and whether the product had a well-known or unknown (established via a pilot study) brand was manipulated and the resulting effects on purchase were assessed. Though the speed with which a disclaimer is read does not have an effect on purchases of well-known branded products, when the product is unknown to consumers, the speed with which the disclaimer is read is very important. Specifically, a slow disclaimer (read in six seconds) engenders significantly more purchasing than a fast disclaimer (read in three seconds). In other words, if people are not familiar with a product, and thus have little experience consuming it, it is best to read a disclaimer slowly. If, on the other hand, the product is well known and experienced by the consumer, disclaimer speed matters less as people already have firsthand experience using the product and thus rely less on the content of the disclaimer to affect purchase.

Slotting allowances: short‐term gains and long‐term negative effects on retailers and consumers

Purpose – The food industry is the largest industry in the world, and when considering all of the other non‐food products (e.g. cleaning products, paper, etc.) that are sold through the food channel, it becomes even larger. There is one practice in the food channel that has a questionable impact on the efficiency and effectiveness of marketing of food and related products. The practice is called “slotting”. Slotting allowances are fees charged by food retailers to manufacturers for the right to have products in the store. While the practice is not new, it has reached a level that has everyone questioning its appropriateness. The purpose and approach of this research is to review the arguments in the literature both for and against the practice and then to estimate the most likely amounts currently spent on slotting.Design/methodology/approach – Estimates based on a variety of reputable sources such as AC Nielsen and government estimates were used to model current levels. Ranges as well as estimates under ...

Changes in family dynamics predict purchase and consumption

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the changes that have taken place in the family and relate these changes to where and how people eat.Design/methodology/approach – Female heads of household were surveyed via telephone interviews to identify the characteristics of how the modern family dines. The telephone interview was conducted by a commercial research organization and used random digit dialing methods to identify potential respondents. The personal telephone interview was conducted by trained interviewers provided by the research supplier. The respondents were screened to insure that the respondent was a head of household.Findings – Data revealed that families are reacting to time pressures in a way that changes the way they prepare foods while not affecting the end result. Overall, 75 percent of families eat as a family in the home five or more nights per week. In addition, 85 percent of those who eat together four nights a week or fewer, claim they would like to eat at home more often...

The Effects Of Current Market Forces On The Impact Of A TV Commercial In Creating Persuasion: Advertising Agencies Cannot Do It All Alone!

Abstract The present study investigates the extent to which extenuating factors (excluding those produced by the commercial) affect the extent to which an advertisement is both persuasive and eventually engenders persuasion. The authors collected data from over 5,000 television commercials in the United States, and identified the existing market structure (e.g., brand share, number of competing brands, brand loyalty) surrounding each item at the time the product was advertised, in an effort to separate the effects of the advertisement from the effects of pre-existing market forces on persuasiveness. The results demonstrate that the combined pre-existing market forces have a greater impact on a commercials ability to persuade than does the message or creativity in the advertisement itself. However, when pre-existing market forces between two products were similar, a creative advertising campaign was still identified as important in producing persuasion. Marketing strategy implications are discussed.

Social-evaluative influences moderate the relationship between price and perceived quality

People often perceive products that cost more as having higher quality. Two experiments tested the hypothesis that the effect of price on perceived quality is attenuated when people believe that their judgments of product quality will be shared with other people. Shoppers rated wines that they thought sold for a low or high price, believing that they might have to explain their ratings or that their ratings were private. The prospect of making public ratings eliminated the tendency to rate higher-price wines more positively, but this effect occurred only when participants were told that their judgments would be public before tasting the wines. The findings show that social-evaluative concerns moderate the effects of price on perceived quality.