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This article was downloaded by: [Simon Fraser University] On: 11 November 2014, At: 15:05 Publisher: Routledge Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK Journal of Marketing Communications Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rjmc20 Communication, cognition and involvement: a theoretical framework for advertising Arjun Chaudhuri & Ross Buck Published online: 09 Dec 2010. To cite this article: Arjun Chaudhuri & Ross Buck (1997) Communication, cognition and involvement: a theoretical framework for advertising, Journal of Marketing Communications, 3:2, 111-125, DOI: 10.1080/135272697345998 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/135272697345998 PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the “Content”) contained in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensors make no representations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinions and views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, and are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arising out of the use of the Content.

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Page 1: Communication, cognition and involvement: a theoretical framework for advertising

This article was downloaded by: [Simon Fraser University]On: 11 November 2014, At: 15:05Publisher: RoutledgeInforma Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH,UK

Journal of MarketingCommunicationsPublication details, including instructions forauthors and subscription information:http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rjmc20

Communication, cognition andinvolvement: a theoreticalframework for advertisingArjun Chaudhuri & Ross BuckPublished online: 09 Dec 2010.

To cite this article: Arjun Chaudhuri & Ross Buck (1997) Communication, cognitionand involvement: a theoretical framework for advertising, Journal of MarketingCommunications, 3:2, 111-125, DOI: 10.1080/135272697345998

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/135272697345998

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE

Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all theinformation (the “Content”) contained in the publications on our platform.However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensors make norepresentations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness,or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinions and viewsexpressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, andare not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of theContent should not be relied upon and should be independently verified withprimary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for anylosses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages,and other liabilities whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly orindirectly in connection with, in relation to or arising out of the use of theContent.

Page 2: Communication, cognition and involvement: a theoretical framework for advertising

This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes.Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan,sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone isexpressly forbidden. Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found athttp://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions

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Communication, cognition and involvement:a theoretical fr amework for adver tising

ARJUN CHAUDHURISchool of Business, Fair® eld University, Fair® eld, CT 06430, USA

ROSS BUCKDepartment of Communication Sciences, University of Connecticut, 850 Bolton Road,

Storrs, CT 06269, USA

It is suggested that there are two different types of involvement outcomes in

advertis ing. The ® rst arises from spontaneous com munication and results in

syncretic cognition (knowledge by acquaintance) and the second arises from

sym bolic comm unication and results in analytic cognition (knowledge by

description). Involvem ent, in the advertising domain, is de® ned as the m otivational

potentia l of an advertisem ent, expressed through spontaneous and sym bolic

communication, that activates both an em otional read out (syncretic cognition)

and an appraisa l of this read out (analytic cognition) in term s of future goal-directed

behaviour. The paper also develops hypotheses about how these involvem ent

outcom es m ay be related to the advertising stim uli that are the antecedents to these

outcom es ± m edia, product category and advertis ing strategy. Suggestions for

testing these hypotheses are provided.

KEYWORDS: advertising; communication; cognition; involvement; emotion

INTRODUCTION

Recent work in marketing communications, advertising and consumer behaviour has grappled

with the concept of involvement. In general, there is agreement that the construct represents

the notion of personal relevance or importance (Zaichkowsky, 1985; Park and Young, 1986;

Ratchford, 1987). Furthermore, Zaichkowsky (1986) identi® ed three different factors that

might be designated as the antecedents of involvement: person, object stimulus and situational

factors. Zaichkowsky (1986) also described three different domains in which these factors

JOURNAL OF MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS 3 111–125 (1997)

1352± 7266 1997 Chapman & Hall

Dr Arjun Chaudhuri is Associate Professor of Marketing at Fair® eld University, USA. Tel: (203) 254

4000; Fax: (203) 254 4105; E-mail: [email protected].

Dr Ross Buck is Professor of Communication Sciences and Psychology at the University of

Connecticut, USA.

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in¯ uence the level of involvement: advertising, product and purchase decision. However, it is

not clear what the nature of involvement (or personal relevance importance) is in each of

these domains. For example, it is uncertain what constitutes high personal relevance in the

advertising domain. What mental outcomes, speci® cally, represent the involvement construct?

Developmental ± interactionist theory (Buck, 1984, 1988) suggests that there are two

different types of involvement outcomes. The ® rst arises from spontaneous communication

and results in syncretic cognition (knowledge by acquaintance) and the second arises from

symbolic communication and results in analytic cognition (knowledge by description). This

paper will attempt to provide a framework for understanding the nature of these involvement

outcomes and how they may be related to the advertising stimuli that are the antecedents to

these outcomes ± media, product category and advertising strategy.

The distinction between syncretic and analytic cognitions allows for a comprehensive

theoretical approach to our understanding of advertising effects. There has been a long-

standing debate (Zajonc, 1980; Lazarus, 1984) concerning the primacy of `emotion’ as

opposed to cognition’ . The perspective used in this paper reconciles the opposing viewpoints

by considering emotion as a kind of cognition as well (syncretic cognition), that is far more

complex than the usually simplistic positive ± negative conceptualizations of the construct. This

is discussed next.

A THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK FOR ADVERTISING

Developmental ± interactionist theory (Buck, 1988) presents a theoretical framework for

understanding the psychological processes that are generated by advertising stimuli. According

to Buck (1988), human motivation is the potential for activation and behavior that is

inherent in a system of behavior control’ (p. 5) and emotion is the process by which

motivational potential is realized or read out when activated by challenging stimuli’ (p. 9).

Thus, emotion is a read-out mechanism that carries information about motivational systems

and is a continuous and ever-present expression of motivational states. This read out serves

three different functions and takes the following forms.

(1) Emotion I, consisting of physiological responses involving the autonomic, immune and

endocrine systems, such as heart rate changes, blood pressure, sweating, etc., which

serve the functions of adaptation and homeostasis.

(2) Emotion II, which is spontaneous expressive behaviour, such as facial expressions,

gestures, postures, etc. which serves the function of social coordination. These

responses, being accessible to others, reveal a person’s motivational ± emotional state.

(3) Emotion III, which is an immediate and direct subjective experience, though it may

also be experienced indirectly as feedback from the other read outs. This last read out is

a kind of cognition in its own right, as described below.

Buck (1988) viewed cognition simply as knowledge and de® ned it as a more or less

complex and organized internal representation of reality, acquired by means of the individual’ s

cognitive skills and through experience with reality’ (p. 6). Two types of cognition are

described of which the ® rst is syncretic cognition or `knowledge by acquaintance’ which

cannot be described, but is `known’ immediately by the person and may consist of sensations,

bodily symptoms, drives and primary affects, such as happiness, sadness, fear, anger, surprise

and disgust (Ekman and Friesen, 1975). This is the process of immediate and subjective

experience which James (1890) wrote about: I know the color blue when I see it, and the

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¯ avor of a pear when I taste it . . . but about the inner nature of these facts or what makes

them what they are I can say nothing at all’ (p. 22).

In contrast to syncretic cognition, which is holistic, synthetic and right brain oriented,

analytic cognition or `knowledge by description’ is sequential, analytic and left brain oriented.

While syncretic cognition is derived from a direct sensory awareness, analytic cognition results

from the interpretation of sensory data and involves judgements about phenomena. As Russell

(1912) observed, `My knowledge of a table as a physical object . . . is not direct knowledge.

Such as it is, it is obtained through acquaintance with the sense-data that make up the

appearance of the table’ (pp. 73 ± 4). Further, the immediate subjective experience of syncretic

cognition precedes analytic cognition and is also at some point transformed into analytic

cognition. To use James’s (1890) terms, syncretic cognition is the `germ and starting point’

(p. 222) of analytic cognition. However, syncretic cognition is capable of being controlled

and guided by analytic cognition. And, ® nally, analytic cognition can be symbolically

communicated, while syncretic cognition is spontaneously communicated.

Thus, communication also has two aspects ± spontaneous and symbolic. Spontaneous

communication is biologically shared, non-intentional or automatic, non-propositional,

requires only knowledge by acquaintance and is expressed through signs which make

emotional states externally accessible. Symbolic communication is socially shared, intentional,

propositional, requires knowledge by description and is based upon learned symbols, which

have only an arbitrary relationship with their referents. Therefore, two simultaneous streams

of communication are envisaged, which interact and modify one another. It must be stressed

that these are not two ends on a single continuum, but instead represent two independent yet

interactive dimensions of behaviour. However, while `pure’ spontaneous communication is

possible, pure’ symbolic communication is not. In other words, symbolic communication is

always accompanied by spontaneous communication (Buck, 1984).

It is suggested here that there are two different types of involvement outcomes. The ® rst

arises from spontaneous communication and results in syncretic cognition (knowledge by

acquaintance), while the second arises from symbolic communication and results in analytic

cognitions (knowledge by description). In terms of developmental ± interactionist theory,

involvement, in the advertising domain, can thus be viewed as the motivational potential of

an advertisement, mediated by spontaneous and symbolic communication, that activates both

an emotional read out (syncretic cognition) and an appraisal of this read out (analytic

cognition) in terms of future goal-directed behaviour.

Thus, a low-involvement’ advertisement is one that is low in both analytic and syncretic

cognitions and a `high-involvement’ advertisement is one that is high in either or both

syncretic and analytic cognitions. Park and Young (1986) corroborated this in their

delineation of three types of involvement ± analytic cognitive, affective and low involvement.

In addition, it is suggested here that involvement may result from the combination of both

analytic and syncretic responses.

The next three sections develop hypotheses about the relationship of analytic and syncretic

cognition to the various antecedents of advertising involvement which have been suggested

by Zaichkowsky (1986): the choice of media, the nature of the product category advertised

and the advertising strategy that the advertisement adopts. These three elements, arising from

the nature of the advertisement itself, are considered as the sources of explained variance in

syncretic and analytic cognitions. The personal and situational antecedents of involvement are

not depicted as independent variables, since the attempt here is to isolate the elements that

can be manipulated within advertisements.

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MEDIA

It is postulated that print media generate a higher relative level of analytic cognition than

broadcast media, whereas broadcast media elicit higher relative levels of affective response

such as happiness, fear, etc. This is in accordance with the uses and grati® cation approach to

mass media (Katz et al., 1973) in which people are seen to use mass media to gratify different

emotional and rational needs. Thus, in general, broadcast media may be used more for

`diversion’ and entertainment, while print media may be used more for surveillance’ and

knowledge functions.

Buck (1989) argued that spontaneous cues are capable of being directly apprehended by

viewers in the electronic media, just as the emotional displays (facial expressions, gestures,

etc.) of persons are known directly by acquaintance in face to face communication.

Moreover, this process of the transfer of affective meaning does not require the intervention

of analytic cognitions. Zajonc (1980) also observed that a stimulus did not have to be

consciously noted for it to in¯ uence emotion or behaviour. Haley et al. (1984) identi® ed 510

non-verbal variables in television commercials in the areas of vocalics, proxemics, facial cues,

music, etc. and successfully related these to persuasion variables such as brand salience. Some

of these spontaneous cues, such as music, are available only in the broadcast media and this is

one reason for suggesting that, relative to print media, broadcast media emphasize syncretic

cognition.

On the other hand, Park and Young (1986) found that music in television commercials had

a distracting effect during analytic cognitive situations. The lack of such cues as music in print

media may thus encourage analytic cognitive responses, at least in comparison to broadcast

media. Further, according to Batra (1986), consumers are more active and willing to process

information in print than in broadcast, which is considered to be more intrusive’ . In keeping

with this, Jacoby and Hoyer (1990) found less miscomprehension for print advertisement than

for television advertisement. Wright (1974) showed that print media mediate analytic

cognitive responses to advertising, such as source derogation and counter-arguing. He

suggested that this is so, because print allows more opportunity to process information, since

it is spatial, while electronic media are ¯ eeting and not in the control of the viewer.

Media research on the left and right brain hemispheres also shows different effects of

broadcast and print media. Weinstein et al. (1980) found that print generates more left brain

activity than television. Krugman (1971) showed that the nature of brain wave activity was

very different in print as compared to television and he attributed this to the fact that we act

on print, while television acts on us. It is further suggested here that, in general, spontaneous

communication via broadcast media results in syncretic cognitive right brain activity, while

symbolic communication through print media results in analytic cognitive left brain activity.

Buck (1988) cited considerable evidence that the left and right hemispheres are associated

with the two different kinds of cognition. Thus, in general, an advertisement in print media

requiring linguistic ± analytic processing particularly involves the left hemisphere, while an

advertisement in broadcast media requiring a direct form of empathy with emotional

expression and an integration of sensory information involves the right hemisphere in

particular (The caveat must be provided that we are discussing the relative importance of the

systems of syncretic and analytic cognition. The left and right brain hemispheres also balance,

modify and interact with each other.)

In summary, electronic media, for example television, is a form of communication that is

inherently different from print and this is not so simply because of the additional advantage of

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the auditory channel. It is the dynamic combination of movement, colour, sound, video,

iteration, drama and the general emotional impact, expressed through spontaneous non-verbal

cues, that makes television such an effective purveyor of emotional communication. Based

upon such considerations, the following hypotheses are suggested.

H1: Broadcast advertisements will produce more syncretic cognitive response than print

advertisements.

H2: Print advertisements will produce more analytic cognitive response than broadcast

advertisements.

PRODUCT CATEGORY

Recall that Buck (1988) discussed two separate systems of knowledge. Knowledge by

acquaintance is an immediate and subjective emotional experience known directly by the

individual and it cannot be described. This is the process that Bertrand Russell described as

`direct sensory awareness without the intermediary of any process of inference or any

knowledge of truths’ (in Buck 1988, p. 398). In contrast, knowledge by description is indirect

and involves the interpretation of sense data resulting in cognitive judgements about

phenomena.

On the level of product categories, we can, therefore, also conceive of two types of

consumer knowledge ± one that is acquired by direct sensory experience with the product

and another that is ratiocinative and involves analysis and judgement. The ® rst may be

described here as the syncretic value of a product which cannot be described but is known

directly through immediate and subjective experience with the product and that results in a

sensation of affect. The second, is the analytic value of the product which can be described in

terms of judgements concerning the functional attributes of the product.

Thus, certain products may be viewed by consumers to be high in syncretic value,

irrespective of the brand that is purchased. In general, this would apply to parity products

such as beer, chocolate, liquor, sodas, etc., where brand differences are imperceptible to most

consumers but where the affective component is high. On the other hand, certain products

may be viewed as high in analytic value since they are risky, in the sense that consumers

realize that signi® cant differences exist between brands and that the wrong brand could bring

about deleterious consequences. Such perceived risk is a function of the perceived quality

differences between brands (Bettman, 1973) and leads to active information search and

evaluation. In addition, for certain product classes consumers may process information in both

highly analytic and syncretic ways and for other categories the evaluation may be low in both

as well.

The choice of syncretic and analytic values as the two substantive dimensions of product

involvement is well vindicated by past research. Preston (1970) demonstrated that the

perceived differences in the products advertised in magazines and television could account for

high and low involvement effects. Robertson (1976) viewed commitment’ to be a function

of `perceived distinguishing attributes among brands and the salience of these attributes’

(p. 23). Bowen and Chaffee (1974) considered the involvement with a product to increase

with the `number of pertinent distinctions’ (p. 615) between brands. Zaichkowsky (1985)

found a positive relationship between the perceived differences between brands and the level

of product involvement. She also argued that product involvement is largely a function of

analytic criteria such as brand differentiation (Zaichkowsky, 1986).

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On the other hand, Holbrook and Hirschman (1982) argued that consumers may use

`hedonistic’ criteria in their choice and evaluation of products which improve self-concept,

provide entertainment, gratify the senses and provide relief from pain and anxiety. In

presenting an alternative to the usual information-based perspective on consumer behaviour,

Holbrook and Hirschman (1982) advocated research on the experiential aspect of human

consumption in which the emotions and feelings of enjoyment and pleasure are the outcomes.

Laurent and Kapferer (1985) found that the hedonic value of a product had a signi® cant effect

on communication variables such as exposure to advertising. In the same study, brand

differentiation was seen to be related to the extensiveness of the decision process, which was

treated as a consequence of product involvement. However, the hedonic value was not

related to the extensiveness of the decision process, thereby suggesting that the syncretic and

analytic components of product involvement have different effects and represent orthogonal

dimensions.

In sum, it is suggested that certain products are high in product involvement because they

are high in analytic value and or high in syncretic value. Consequently, the depiction of such

products in an advertisement may evoke both analytic and syncretic cognitions.

H3: Advertisements with products high in analytic value will produce greater analytic

cognition than advertisements with products low in analytic value.

H4: Advertisements with products high in syncretic value will produce greater syncretic

cognition than advertisements with products low in syncretic value.

ADVERTISING STRATEGY

Aspects of advertising strategy (the content and form elements within the advertisement itself)

may account for syncretic and analytic responses. For example, Preston (1968) differ-

entiated between sign-relevant’ advertisements, which rely on tangible, inherent aspects of

the product and arbitrary’ advertisements, which depend on other factors such as the aspects

of the celebrity used in the advertisement. Such arbitrary advertisements were found to be

rated lower in rational appeal than sign-relevant advertisements, but higher in emotional

appeal.

In all, three broad classes of theories of advertising strategy have been identi® ed: systematic,

heuristic and affective (Pechmann and Stewart, 1989). Affective theories can be further

divided into theories of classical conditioning, vicarious learning and product-induced affect.

These ® ve theories of advertising strategy will be discussed next in this paper and their

relationships to analytic and syncretic cognitions will be examined. The research expectations

for these relationships, along with the theoretical justi® cations, are outlined below.

System atic learning

Systematic learning theories, under the traditional information-processing paradigm in

consumer behaviour (Bettman, 1979), view the consumer as an active processor of

information. This is also consistent with the central route to attitude change, described by

Petty and Cacioppo (1986). The recipient of a persuasive message goes through the process of

attention, comprehension of the message, then rehearsal of the message which produces a

suitable conclusion (yielding) and, ® nally, retention of the message in the memory. In order

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for an attitude change to take place, a reward or incentive must be contained in the message

which outweighs the rewards of holding onto the old attitude. Thus, it is the verbal content

of the message or symbolic communication, as described earlier, which is the primary

determinant of an attitude change. Thus, the generation of analytic cognition is particularly

relevant to message elements in advertisements, which present product information in a

favourable way. Lavidge and Steiner (1961) proposed a hierarchy of advertising effects in

which the attitude formation for a brand starts with beliefs, leads to overall evaluation and,

® nally, leads to behaviour. In addition, according to Fishbein and Ajzen (1975), a person’s

attitude is a function of his or her salient beliefs. This process of the creation of beliefs and

judgements about brands on the basis of symbolic advertising communication is also the

process of knowledge by description, which produces analytic cognition. Thus, we posit the

following hypothesis.

H5: Advertisements high in systematic learning strategies will produce greater analytic

cognitive response than advertisements low in systematic learning strategies.

Heuristic learning

According to Chaiken (1980), people process information in both systematic and heuristic

ways. While systematic processing involves thoughtful, `mindful’ analysis of the content of the

advertisement, heuristic processing involves the use of simple heuristic cues (buying the most

popular brand, buying the brand advertised by a celebrity, etc.) in order to arrive at a

conclusion (brand preferences, etc.).

Spontaneous affective cues may elicit heuristic processing and generate syncretic cognition.

Ray and Batra (1983) stated that emotion-laden stimuli in advertisements may create better

message acceptance, since in a positive affective state, people tend to make speedier, less

complex judgements. The use of visual, sensory, non-verbal imagery may discourage counter-

argument and analytic cognitions and facilitate persuasion via affective heuristic cues which

generate syncretic cognitions. Further, Pechmann and Stewart (1989) treated heuristic

processing as the antithesis of analytic processing, since this process is used when consumers

wish to avoid detailed consideration of the merits of a brand. Consistent with this, the

following hypothesis is suggested.

H6: Advertisements high in heuristic learning strategies will produce greater syncretic

cognitive response than advertisements high in systematic learning strategies.

Classica l conditioning

Pavlov (1927) and others (Watson and Rayner, 1920) in their classic experiments

demonstrated that if two dissimilar objects are repetitively associated together in close

contiguity to each other, the emotional response originally elicited by the unconditioned

stimulus can, over time, be elicited by the conditioned stimulus alone. Thus, in classical

conditioning strategies, a common device is the subtle use of symbols and iconic imagery. Yet

this is different from symbolic communication, as discussed earlier, since it is not a linguistic

process and there are no formal rules involved. The consumer knows without `knowing’ .

This is the process of spontaneous communication, which results in syncretic cognition

through the use of spontaneous cues in the advertisement. Persuasion here is almost on a

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subliminal level and the attempt is to create involvement with the advertisement by using

affect-laden symbols such as trade characters. When asked, consumers are likely to say that

they purchase items such as fabric softeners for reasons of familiarity, a sale, etc. or that they

buy the ® rst brand they can ® nd. The real reason may well be a powerful symbol such as the

teddy bear used to advertise the Snuggle brand of fabric softener in the US. Repeated pairings

of a brand with a favourable affective symbol, over time, transfers the affect to the brand

itself.

Music is a spontaneous cue in classical conditioning strategies and Gorn (1982) found that

positive attitudes towards a product could develop as a result of the association of the product

with music that had a positive effect on the listener. Hearing liked or disliked music directly

affected product choice in his experiment. Gorn (1982) argued that the positive emotions

generated by music become associated with the advertised product through classical

conditioning. The liking for the advertisement becomes conditioned to the brand itself and

becomes part of the brand. This can take place in the total absence of analytic cognitions or

beliefs, since product information was kept at a minimal level in the experiment.

Mitchell and Olsen (1981) also found that the same conditioning effect appears to

determine attitudes when non-verbal (visual) information, other than music, is presented.

They exposed subjects to facial tissue advertisements that contained either a verbal claim or

visual information. Individuals were seen to develop perceptions of the brands based solely on

visual, non-verbal information. Mitchell and Olsen (1981) interpreted this as the classical

conditioning effect of pairing an unknown brand with a visual stimulus.

Classical conditioning strategies may include verbal appeals as well as non-verbal ones.

Chaudhuri and Watt (1995) showed that family appeals generate affective responses. Similarly,

the judicious, functional use of sex appeals has been advocated by Richmond and Hartman

(1982) and humorous appeals have been related directly to behaviour and choice by Nelson

(1987). Appeals to nostalgia, adventure and patriotism are common in advertising, even

though such appeals do not always adhere logically to the product advertised. However, the

affect evoked by the appeal, over time, comes to be associated with the brand.

In consonance with the above, the following hypothesis is postulated.

H7: Advertisements high in classical conditioning strategies will produce greater syncretic

cognitive response than advertisements high in systematic learning strategies.

Vicarious learning

Pechmann and Stewart (1989) described the process of vicarious learning through advertising.

Advertisements that portray a reward or punishment for an actor due to use or non-use of a

particular brand arouse identi® cation and emotion. The point is that consumers construct

beliefs, rules about which brands products to use, based on emotional communication. The

rewards punishments meted out to the model in the advertisement are exempli® ed in the

model’s expressive behaviour such as facial expressions, etc. The process of observing

(decoding) such emotional expression results in arousal and a vicarious sharing of the same

subjective experience as undergone by the model in the advertisement. The consumer comes

to associate the brand with the emotion generated (for example, happiness) and sees the brand

as the social instrument that obtains rewards and stops punishment.

Buck (1989) also argued that spontaneous emotional communication is responsible for the

emotional education of people in that it provides an understanding of the internal

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environment of feelings and desires. Such communication is suf® cient in itself (i.e., it does

not require analytic cognitions) to in¯ uence behaviour, since the expressive displays of social

models are directly accessible to the audience via the process of knowledge by acquaintance.

It is suggested that humans are biologically constructed to receive certain emotional displays

and to understand their meanings directly and without the need for analytic cognitive

processing. Buck (1989) cited considerable evidence to demonstrate that expressive displays

have direct effects that are independent of more cognitive attitudinal preferences.

Accordingly, it is suggested that spontaneous non-verbal cues, such as the facial expressions

of advertising models, represent vicarious learning strategies that result in syncretic cognitions

concerning the emotional bene® ts of advertised brands.

H8: Advertisements high in vicarious learning strategies will produce greater syncretic

cognitive response than advertisements high in systematic learning strategies.

Product-induced affect

Strategies of product-induced affect are different from classical conditioning strategies that

derive an advertisement-induced affect. The effect in the latter strategy comprises affect

derived from the presentational elements of the advertisement itself, instead of affect

depicted in the advertisement as derived from the product itself. Certain products such as

cigarettes, alcoholic beverages and sodas are low in analytic value but can still be considered

to be high in involvement since they are high in syncretic value. The advertising of such

products elicits a product-induced affect by delineating the pleasure that can be derived from

or the displeasure that can be removed by the advertised product (Chaudhuri, 1993; MacInnis

and Stayman, 1993). Involvement here is increased by the use of emotional treatments, which

enhance the perceived value of the product. For instance, advertisements today for certain

types of products, such as pharmaceuticals, gain their effect by depicting pain and then

suggesting relief from the pain through the use of the advertised brand. It has also been

suggested earlier that certain products such as motor vehicles, airlines and personal computers,

are high in analytic value and high in affective value. The advertising of such products

emphasizes systematic learning and also elicits syncretic cognition by delineating, for example,

the enjoyment that can be derived from the advertised product. In addition, advertisements

for such products may use classical conditioning strategies to derive an advertisement-induced

affect’ .

The implications for advertisers is clear. For high-involvement products (high in syncretic

value) the advertisements should show the affect that can be derived from the product, while

for low-involvement products, the advertisements should produce advertisement-induced

affect from the presentational elements in the advertisement, since such products lack the

inherent motivational potential to produce an affect. In either case, spontaneous

communication is always relevant.

For product-induced affect strategies, the following hypothesis is stated.

H9: Advertisements high in product-induced affect strategies will produce greater syncretic

cognitive response than advertisements high in systematic learning strategies.

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ADVERTISING DIFFERENTIATION MATRIX

In accordance with the rationale provided earlier, Fig. 1. presents an advertising

differentiation matrix’ that uses the involvement outcomes of analytic and syncretic

responses to categorize products into four classes. However, the general implication,

for advertising strategy, that derives from this conceptual approach, is that affective

advertising strategies are viable for all product categories. For instance, advertisement-

induced affect (classical conditioning) can be used in all four classes. In addition, vicarious

learning and product-induced affect strategies can be used for all products that are high in

syncretic value.

1. Products: High in syncreticvalue and high in analyticvalue (automobiles, airlines,televisions)

Strategies:- Brand differentiationusing print media- Product-induced affectusing broadcast media- Advertisement-induced affectusing broadcast media- Vicarious learningusing broadcast media

2. Products: Low in syncreticvalue but high in analyticvalue (banks, appliances,industrial products)

Strategies:- Brand differentiationusing print media- Advertisement-induced affectusing broadcast media

4. Products: High in syncreticvalue but low in analyticvalue (chocolate, beer, sodas,yogurt)

Strategies:- Product-induced affectusing broadcast media- Advertisement-induced affectusing broadcast media- Vicarious learningusing broadcast media- Heuristic learningusing broadcast media

3. Products: Low in syncreticvalue and low in analyticvalue (tissues, detergents,fabric softeners)

Strategies:- Advertisement-induced affectusing broadcast media- Heuristic learningusing broadcast media

SYNCRETICCOGNITION

HIGH LOW

ANALYTICCOGNITION

HIGH

LOW

FIGURE 1. Advertising differentiation matrix.

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Quadrant 1

Certain products, such as motor vehicles, airlines and televisions are high in syncretic value

and analytic value. The advertising of such products emphasizes systematic learning via print

media in order to engender analytic cognitions and also elicits product-induced affect by

delineating, via broadcast media, the enjoyment that can be derived from the advertised

product. Alternatively, vicarious learning strategies in broadcast media may be used in order

to depict the social rewards of using the correct brand. In addition, advertisements for such

products can use classical conditioning strategies to derive an advertisement-induced affect.

Thus, brand information and an advertisement-induced affect both serve to differentiate the

advertised brand from competition. An obvious failing of the Foote, Cone and Belding (FCB)

grid (Vaughn, 1980, 1986) is its contention that products such as motor vehicles are

purchased solely on thinking’ . A cursory look at car advertisements on television will reveal

the insistent use of feeling’ techniques for such product categories.

Quadrant 2

Industrial products, services such as banking and household appliances are low in syncretic value

and high in analytic value. The advertising of such products emphasizes systematic learning via

the print media. In addition, advertisements for such products can use classical conditioning

strategies, through symbols, etc., to derive an advertisement-induced affect and thereby

differentiate the advertised brand. The attempt is to generate syncretic value through the

advertisements for a product which otherwise possesses very little inherent affective potential.

Quadrant 3

The FCB grid does not accommodate products that may be low in both thinking and feeling,

but certain products, such as tissues, fabric softeners and detergents are low in syncretic value

and low in analytic value. Advertisements for such products use heuristic learning strategies

(the use of celebrities, etc.) which provide consumers with easy decision rules for choosing

between brands in a low-involvement product category. Furthermore, classical conditioning

strategies are used, in particular through the broadcast media, to derive an advertisement-

induced affect, thereby differentiating the brand from competition.

At ® rst glance, it would appear that the products in quadrants 2 and 3 could not possibly

bene® t from emotional advertising. However, advertisements for industrial products do not

only develop beliefs and advertisements for tissues do not only repeat the brand name

(Krugman, 1965). In both classes there is classical conditioning through the subtle use of

symbols. The attempt is to create involvement with the advertisement by using, for example,

puppies in an advertisement for toilet paper or a horse-drawn stagecoach in an advertisement

for a bank. Children and canine commercials accounted for one-third of the top 25 most

popular commercials of 1987 (Alsop, 1988). Affection for trade characters (Snuggle, Pillsbury

Doughboy, etc.) also translates into affection for the product.

Quadrant 4

Certain products, such as chocolate, alcoholic beverages and sodas, are high in syncretic value

but low in analytic value. The advertising of such products uses product-induced affect

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strategies, particularly via broadcast media, which present sensory information in more vivid,

lifelike and dynamic images than print and thereby produce a greater syncretic cognitive

response. Product-induced affect strategies delineate the pleasure that can be derived from the

advertised product and serve to increase the consumers’ existing involvement with these

products. Unlike the FCB grid, the matrix does not consider these categories to be low

involvement. Involvement here can also be increased by the use of other emotional

treatments, such as vicarious learning, which enhance the perceived value of the product.

Furthermore, actual differences are hard to come by in these product classes and advertising is

the real’ difference induced through classical conditioning and vicarious learning strategies.

Lastly, since such products lack analytic value at the level of brand differences, heuristic

learning strategies may be employed in order to provide consumers with relatively simple

criteria for brand choice.

FUTURE RESEARCH

The hypotheses developed in this paper could be tested empirically. A comprehensive 5 3 2

3 2 experimental design is recommended in this regard. Advertisements would have to be

constructed specially for the experiment in order to separate the effects of the various

advertising strategies. Actual advertisements from actual advertisement campaigns are not

recommended since these advertisements usually combine elements of more than one

advertisement strategy and this would prevent conclusive testing of the pure’ effects of each

of the advertisement strategies in H5 ± H9.

The ® rst factor would be advertising strategies and the ® ve levels of this factor would be

systematic learning strategies (e.g. a product comparison), heuristic learning strategies (e.g. a

testimonial), classical conditioning strategies (e.g. a humorous advertisement), vicarious learning

strategies (e.g. an advertisement with a status appeal or a reference group appeal) and product-

induced affect strategies (e.g. an advertisement that stresses the pleasure that can be derived

from the product). The second factor would be product involvement and the two levels of this

factor would be products high in syncretic value and low in analytic value (e.g. chocolate bars)

and products low in syncretic value and high in analytic value (e.g. electrical appliances).

The third factor would be media and the two levels of this factor would be broadcast (e.g.

radio) and print (e.g. magazine). In all, there would be 20 different advertisements that would

have to be constructed and ten of these would be in broadcast and the other ten in print. Of

the ten broadcast advertisements, two sets of advertisements (one set for each level of product

involvement, for example chocolate bars and electric irons) would have to be constructed and

each set would comprise ® ve advertisements, one for each of the advertising strategies. This

would need to be done for the ten print advertisements as well, making sure that these print

advertisements have the same advertising content as in the ten corresponding broadcast

advertisements. We suggest a repeated measures design in which the same subjects provide

their analytic and syncretic cognition responses to each of the 20 conditions to be tested. If

this proves to be too daunting a task, then the project could be completed in incremental

stages. For instance, ® ve chocolate bar radio advertisements could be constructed ® rst and

H5 ± H9 could be tested and so on.

However, we strongly recommend the full experimental design in spite of the fact that this

would, obviously, be an ambitious research project suitable only for a dissertation or a

monograph. There is the opportunity here for some substantive research ® ndings in the area

of advertising effects since the suggested research design allows for the testing of the

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interaction effects between the various factors. Although the hypotheses developed in this

paper allow only for the main effects of the variables of interest, it is quite feasible that two-

way and even three-way interactions would be signi® cant, in addition to the main effects that

have been discussed. For instance, it is possible that for print advertisements, but not for

broadcast advertisements, systematic learning strategies produce greater analytic cognition than

advertisements using other advertising strategies. Investigation of this and other interaction

effects, as suggested in the four quadrants of the advertising differentiation matrix, would be

possible using the suggested research design.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors thank two anonymous reviewers for their very helpful insights.

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