Seungwoo Chun

The Moderating Effects of Self-Esteem and Self-Efficacy on Responses to Graphic Health Warnings on Cigarette Packages: A Comparison of Smokers and Nonsmokers

ABSTRACT Do graphic pictorial health warnings (GPHWs) on cigarette packaging work better for some people than others? According to the Extended Parallel Process Model (EPPM), fear appeals should heighten positive change only if a person believes he or she is capable of change (i.e., self-efficacy). We exposed 242 smokers and 241 nonsmokers (aged 18–29) in the Republic of Korea to either a GPHW or a text-only warning in a between-subjects experiment. Results indicated that the GPHW increased intentions and motivations to quit smoking (for smokers) and intentions and motivations to not start smoking (for nonsmokers). However, these effects were moderated by self-efficacy related to quitting or not starting smoking. For smokers, a GPHW was especially effective in increasing desires and intentions to quit for people high in self-efficacy and high in self-esteem. However, for nonsmokers, a GPHW was effective only when self-efficacy was high, regardless of self-esteem level. For smokers and nonsmokers, results were mediated by heightened perceived health estimation. Implications for understanding the effectiveness of warning labels on cigarettes, for the introduction of GPHWs in the Republic of Korea, and for the Extended Parallel Process Model, are discussed.

Perceived control and scarcity appeals

We examined how individuals would respond to scarcity appeals when they felt low (vs. high) in personal control. We proposed that scarcity would be an effective way to compensate for loss of control because it symbolizes distinctiveness, stimulates urgency, and offers an opportunity to obtain resources. Results from 2 experiments confirmed our prediction. In Study 1, participants (64 Korean college students) indicated a greater intention to purchase a limited-edition product when they perceived low (vs. high) control. In Study 2, participants (228 Korean college students) who perceived low (vs. high) control chose a larger-sized product more often when the product used an only-time frame than when it did an any-time frame. Our findings contribute to the literature by introducing a compensatory paradigm to scarcity effects and identifying its promotional use as a new mechanism for compensatory control.

How liberals and conservatives respond to feasibility and desirability appeals in anti-tobacco campaigns

ABSTRACT Using two experiments, this study aims to investigate how politically liberal or conservative message recipients respond to anti-tobacco appeals. The results show that in Study 1, respondents were exposed to a message about price policy. In Study 2, they were exposed to a message about a warning policy. In both studies, liberal participants more favorably evaluated anti-tobacco messages emphasizing feasibility rather than desirability, whereas conservative participants more positively evaluated messages emphasizing desirability rather than feasibility. Implications for policymakers and marketers are discussed.

When sex doesn’t sell to men: mortality salience, disgust and the appeal of products and advertisements featuring sexualized women

Although men typically hold favorable views of advertisements featuring female sexuality, from a Terror Management Theory perspective, this should be less the case when thoughts of human mortality are salient. Two experiments conducted in South Korea supported this hypothesis across a variety of products (e.g., perfume and vodka). Men became more negative towards advertisements featuring female sexuality, and had reduced purchase intentions for those products, after thinking about their own mortality. Study 2 found that these effects were mediated by heightened disgust. Mortality thoughts did not impact women in either study. These findings uniquely demonstrate that thoughts of death interact with female sex-appeal to influence men’s consumer choices, and that disgust mediates these processes. Implications for the role of emotion, and cultural differences, in terror management, for attitudes toward female sexuality, and for marketing strategies are discussed.

The Role of Nostalgia in Self-congruence Consumption

본 연구의 목적은 노스탤지어가 자아일치 소비에 미치는 영향에 대해 검토하는 것이다. 본 연구에서는 40-50대 성인 남녀 283명을 대상으로 2(노스탤지어 자극 vs. 비 노스탤지어 자극물) X 2(이상적 자아 일치 정도 높음 vs. 이상적 자아 일치 정도 낮음) 피험자간 설계의 실험 연구를 실시하였다. 실험 결과, 노스탤지 어 자극 조건에서 이상적 자아와 관련이 깊은 리츠칼튼 브랜드에 대해 자아일치 정도가 높을 경우 더 호의 적인 브랜드 태도와 더 높은 구매의도를 보였으나 노스탤지어를 자극하지 않은 경우에는 브랜드 태도나 구매의도가 향상되지 않았다. 한편 실제적 자아와 연관된 이디야 커피 브랜드에서는 노스탤지어와 브랜드 의 이상적 자아일치 사이에 이와 같은 상호작용 효과가 나타나지 않았다. 이 결과를 바탕으로 이론적, 실무 적 함의점을 토론하였다.