No abstract

We evaluated how brand recall and persuasion knowledge combined to affect brand attitudes and brand self-identification following product placement. In two experiments (N = 296), implicit brand self-identification for a placed brand increased regardless of brand recall and persuasion knowledge activation. In contrast, brand recall led to increased brand attitudes when persuasion knowledge was not primed, but decreased brand attitudes when it was primed. Our results suggest that product placement can affect both implicit and explicit measures, and that one placement experience can have both positive and negative consequences depending on brand recall and whether viewers are primed to think about product placement.

We tested the hypothesis that Faith in Intuition (FI) would moderate implicit-explicit attitude relationship strength for attitudes formed via associative processes, but not propositional processes. Experiments 1 and 2 demonstrated that FI moderated I-E relationship strength for attitudes formed via evaluative conditioning. High FI people had stronger I-E correlations. Experiment 2 showed that FI did not moderate I-E relationship strength for attitudes formed via propositional reasoning. Those low in Need for Cognition (NC), however, showed stronger I-E correlations than those high in NC. The importance of considering trait variables in combination with the method of attitude formation is discussed.

An experiment (N = 68) explored how background music in a realistic web advertisement could condition implicit and explicit attitudes toward a novel brand. Conditioning effects were apparent in both traditional explicit attitude measures and also in the Implicit Association Test (IAT). Further, brand choice was predicted by explicit attitudes, but prediction improved significantly when implicit attitudes were considered. Mood‐congruent judgment, demand effects, and conditioning are considered as potential explanations for our results, and we argue that conditioning provides the most parsimonious explanation. Finally, the results are discussed within the context of the associative‐propositional evaluation model (Gawronski & Bodenhausen, 2006). This model provides a framework for the integration of the implicit attitude construct into the study of consumer behavior.

Recent research documents an increase in narcissism in the United States. Little research, however, has explored mechanisms that could cause higher narcissism. In 2 studies, we test the hypothesis that exposure to narcissistic reality TV characters is related to greater narcissism for those engaging in experience taking (Kaufman & Libby, 2012). Study 1 is a correlational study showing that greater exposure to narcissistic reality TV while engaged in experience taking is related to higher levels of narcissism. Study 2 is an experimental study showing that participants randomly assigned to watch a narcissistic reality TV show, under conditions that encouraged experience taking, were more narcissistic. These results suggest that media can shape trait narcissism levels that are generally assumed to be stable.