L. J. Shrum

What Is Interactivity and Is It Always Such a Good Thing? Implications of Definition, Person, and Situation for the Influence of Interactivity on Advertising Effectiveness

Abstract Most perceptions of interactivity are that it is an inherently good thing, that it will change marketing and advertising as we know it. However, though there are obvious and intuitive advantages to interactivity, it may pose a disadvantage for marketing and advertising in some conditions. In this article, we explore the nature of interactivity and its underlying processes to determine the conditions in which interactivity may be both useful and detrimental in an advertising context. We first discuss the multidimensional nature of the interactivity construct as it has appeared in the literature. We then provide a concrete conceptualization and definition of interactivity that encompasses these various dimensions. We argue that inconsistencies between the definitions and operationalizations found in previous studies make it difficult to draw firm conclusions about the role of interactivity but that these inconsistencies can be at least partly explained by a focus on the different dimensions of interactivity. Finally, drawing on theory and research in cognitive, social, and personality psychology, we suggest that the influence of interactivity on advertising effectiveness may be a function of both the person and the situation. We offer a program of research, in the form of testable propositions, to explore these boundary conditions and discuss implications for Internet advertising strategy.

Buyer Characteristics of the Green Consumer and Their Implications for Advertising Strategy

Abstract The authors construct a psychographic profile of the green consumer in terms of variables directly related to purchase behavior, such as price consciousness and general care in shopping, interest in new products, and brand loyalty. Additionally, they address attitudes toward advertising and media preferences. Data from 3264 respondents to the DDB Needham Life Style Study were analyzed. The results show the green consumer to be an opinion leader and a careful shopper who seeks information on products, including information from advertising, but also suggest that the green consumer is rather skeptical of advertising. The implications are that green consumers may be receptive to green marketing and advertising, but marketers should take care not to alienate them by using ambiguous or misleading messages.

The recycling of solid wastes: Personal values, value orientations, and attitudes about recycling as antecedents of recycling behavior

Abstract Using a structural modeling framework, this study investigated the relationships of personal values, value orientations, and attitudes about recycling with the frequency of recycling behaviors. The goals of the study were two-fold: (1) a practical concern of providing further understanding about the antecedents of recycling, and (2) a theoretical interest of testing the value-attitude-behavior hierarchy. Consistent with previous work by Homer and Kahle (1988) on values and health food purchases, it was found that values did not have direct relationships with behaviors. Values did, however, have direct influences on attitudes about the inconvenience of recycling and attitudes about the importance of recycling. As expected, attitudes about the inconvenience of recycling had a negative relationship with recycling behaviors. Discussion centers on the implications of these findings for the design and implementation of persuasive communications aimed at increasing recycling of solid wastes.

The Role of Television in the Construction of Consumer Reality

This article presents the results of a two-study inquiry into a particular type of consumer socialization: the construction of consumer social reality via exposure to television. In study 1, estimates of the prevalence of products and activities associated with an affluent lifestyle were positively related to the total amount of television respondents watched. The amount of television viewing was shown to function as a mediating variable between the demographic variables income and education and the affluence estimates. In study 2, which consisted of student participants who were either very heavy or very light soap opera viewers, heavy viewers again provided higher estimates of the prevalence of the same types of products and behaviors measured in study 1. In addition, heavy soap opera viewers constructed their estimates significantly faster than light viewers, which suggests that relevant information is more accessible in memory for heavy viewers than light viewers. The results are consistent with heuristic processing strategies, particularly the availability heuristic, in which individuals infer prevalence from the ease of retrieval of relevant examples (Tversky and Kahneman 1973).

The Influence of Individualism, Collectivism, and Locus of Control on Environmental Beliefs and Behavior

This study investigates the influence of value orientations measured at the individual level (individualism, collectivism, and locus of control) and of economic status on environmental beliefs and behavior. Structural equation modeling reveals that the preferred model is one in which the value orientations and economic status influence beliefs about recycling, which in turn influence recycling behavior, but the influence of the value orientations and economic status differs as a function of the type of environmental belief. Individualism and economic status are related to beliefs about the inconvenience of recycling; collectivism and locus of control are related to beliefs about the importance of recycling. Moreover, specific beliefs about the importance of recycling have both a direct influence on recycling behavior and an effect that is mediated by beliefs about the inconvenience of recycling. The authors present the implications of the study for public policy and marketing communication efforts.

Toward an understanding of consumer ambivalence

A case study of wedding planning is used to explore the concept of consumer ambivalence. Focus groups, in-depth interviews, and shopping trips were employed to generate text. A formal definition of consumer ambivalence is provided. Our analysis revealed four antecedents of consumer ambivalence: expectation versus reality, overload, role conflict with purchase influences, and custom and value conflict. These antecedents were then linked to particular coping strategies that informants employed to manage the ambivalence that was generated. Suggestions of how future research might explore consumer ambivalence are offered. Copyright 1997 by the University of Chicago.

The Effects of Television Consumption on Social Perceptions: The Use of Priming Procedures to Investigate Psychological Processes

Two studies investigated the extent to which heavy television viewing affects consumers perceptions of social reality and the cognitive processes that underlie these effects. Both studies found evidence heavy viewers beliefs about social reality are more consistent with the content of television programming than are those of light viewers. The use of a priming methodology provided support for the notion that television is a causal factor in the formation of these beliefs and that a failure to discount television-based exemplars in forming these beliefs accounts for its influence. Implications of these results for a heuristic processing model of television effects are discussed. Copyright 1998 by the University of Chicago.

Processes and Effects in the Construction of Social Reality Construct Accessibility as an Explanatory Variable

This study conceptualizes the cultivation effect in terms of the accessibility of information in memory. Contemporary social cognition research indicates that individuals consistenly use the most accessible information in memory as a basis for a variety of judgments. Consistent with this body of literature, the current study demonstrates that, based on a reaction time task, those subjects who watch comparatively more television not only overestimate frequency or probability but also give faster responses to various types of cultivation questions. These results support the notion that relevant information, presumably “cultivated” from television viewing, is more accessible in memory for heavier viewers, and, consistent with predictions made by the availability heuristic literature, overestimations of frequency or probability are associated with this enhanced accessibility. Moreover, when controlling for speed of response in the correlation between television viewing and social reality estimates, the relationship is diminished or disappears entirely, suggesting that enhanced accessibility of relevant information for heavier viewers can at least partially account for the cultivation effect.

A Dual-Process Model of Interactivity Effects

Although interactivity is often considered to have a positive influence on persuasion, research on interactivity effects is actually very mixed. This paper argues that under certain circumstances, interactivity may either enhance or inhibit persuasion. A dual-process model of interactivity effects is proposed and tested that posits differential effects of interactivity on persuasion depending on person and situation factors. Results of an experiment that manipulated level of Web site interactivity and task involvement, and measured user ability (Internet usage experience), show that under low-involvement conditions, the mere presence of interactivity served as a peripheral cue that led to more positive attitudes regardless of ability (experience). Under high-involvement conditions, however, interactivity elicited more positive attitudes for experienced users but less positive attitudes for inexperienced users. Implications for the use of interactivity in advertising and promotions are discussed.

Television's Cultivation of Material Values

Prior research has shown that television viewing cultivates perceptions of the prevalence of societal affluence through a memory-based process that relies on the application of judgmental heuristics. This article extends this research by examining (1) whether cultivation effects generalize to consumer values such as materialism and (2) whether these values judgments are also processed in a heuristic manner. Data from both a survey and an experiment suggest that television cultivates materialism through an online process in which televisions influence is enhanced by active (rather than heuristic) processing during viewing. This finding stands in contrast to the cultivation of prevalence judgments, which are attenuated by active processing during judgment elicitation. (c) 2005 by JOURNAL OF CONSUMER RESEARCH, Inc..