COLOGNE BUSINESS SCHOOL (CBS)

THE ROLE OF PSYCHOLOGY IN

ADVERTISING

Term paper for “Media Psychology"

Summer Semester 2017

Lecturer: Nick Karry

Agustina Contreras

Guest Student SS 2017

Student-No. 1179000009
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction ……………………………………………………………………………2

Literature review ………………………………………………………………………2

Advertising as a persuasion tool……………………………………………………..3

AIDA
Model……………………………………………………………………………..3

Market response theory……………………………………………………………….3

Cognitive response theory……………………………………………………………4

Affective response theory……………………………………………………………..4

Persuasive hierarchy theory………………………………………………………….5

Theory of minimal involvement………………………………………………………5

Integrative theory………………………………………………………………………6

Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………..6

Reference list…………………………………………………………………………..7

Affidavit………………………………………………………………………………….8

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INTRODUCTION

When I go to the supermarket to buy four things ... I always come out with
seventeen. What happened? Why? The answer is very simple - the psychology
of advertising.

Advertising is defined as any form of paid communication by an identified

sponsor aimed to inform and/or persuade target audiences about an
organization, product, service or idea (Belch & Belch, 2004; Tellis, 2004;
Yeshin, 2006).

Audiences reply to advertising by: describing advertisements to their

backgrounds and experiences, altering information, making attributions, and
both deriving meaning from and referring meaning to advertisements being
considered.

The relationship between psychology and advertising has a long history. Many
psychologists looked at how advertisements worked, one of the first being was
Walter Dill Scott. He believed people were very easily persuaded by
propaganda, regardless of intelligence. Starting with his 1903 book ‘The
Psychology of Advertising in Theory and Practice’, Scott's work surfaced the
way for two other psychologists, Harry Hollingworth and John B. Watson, to
further study how advertisements draw people in and help companies sell
products.

Advertising provide a variety of societal and individual functions. Societal

functions include facilitating competition among companies, funding mass
media, serving as a key employer to thousands of professionals worldwide. The
individual functions of advertising are: to inform and persuade consumers.
When advertising’s function is to inform, the attention is on creating or
influencing non-evaluative consumer responses, such as knowledge or beliefs.
When talking about persuasion, in contrast, the focus is on generating or
changing an evaluative response, in which the advertised brand is viewed as
more favorable than before or vis-à-vis competitors.

Persuasion is any change in beliefs and attitudes that results from exposure to
a communication (Petty & Cacioppo; 1986).

LITERATURE REVIEW

To analyze and study the different audiences responding to advertising is not an

easy task; however, it is possible to use tools such as: Market Response
Theory; Cognitive Response Theory; Affective Response Theory; Persuasive
Hierarchy Theory; Theory of minimal involvement and Integrative Theory. This
tools are the main models used in this paper to analyze the role of persuasion
as a psychology process in advertising.

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THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

Advertising as a persuasion tool

Above these arguments, most definitions of advertising underline its persuasive

character. The aim of those using this type of marketing communication is to
create favorable attitudes or emphasize existing attitudes so that they obtain a
purpose in the form of purchase of a product or a brand. This process of
persuasion is associated to the concept of attitude. Most theories of advertising
have explored the connection between persuasion and attitude, identifying
possible responses that the receiver can give to advertising information.
Explanations are not always convergent, but they provide an overview of how
consumers respond to advertising stimuli.

As I said, advertising is an entry for consumer. Message content, media

planning and repetition are at the same time aids and components of a strategy
that has the role of generating the receptor reaction mechanisms. Reaction
mechanisms can be internal components of the black box, such as cognitive or
emotional reactions, and external, visible through a displayed behavior:
acquisition loyalty, etc. The knowledge of the effects of advertising usually
involves identifying those internal or external customer-specific side effects.

The starting point in the diagnostic of the effects of advertising belongs to St.
Elmo Lewis, who developed in 1898 the famous AIDA model (attention - interest
- desire - action). Since then, the literature has shown many other opinions in
this view. Among the most popular theories on consumer reaction to information
of a promotional nature are (Vakratsas and Amble, 1999):

• market response theory;

• cognitive response theory;
• affective response theory;
• persuasive hierarchy theory;
• theory of minimal involvement;
• integrative theory.

Market response theory is based on the belief of a direct relationship between

advertising and buying behavior, measured by sales, market share and brand
choice. This excludes the presence of intermediate effects that may occur at the
consumer level, for example expressing brand loyalty by number of repeated
acquisitions and not through a psychological predisposition of the individual.
These theory has two scales: aggregate and individual. Aggregate dimension of
the theory is based on the relationship between market data regarding
advertising spending or the audience, on the one hand, and brand sales or
market share, on the other hand. Individual dimension points against the choice
of individually brand or number of risks necessary to generate individual or
everyday purchasing behavior.

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Cognitive response theory assumes that advertising has the ability to influence
the relative importance that individuals attach to various attributes of the
product, purchase decision being completely rational (Thorson and Moore,
1996). The primary role of advertising is to provide utilities related to information
or search costs. These model considers that on the market there are two major
categories of goods: those involving consumer experience and those related to
the search process. The goods in the first category are characterized by the fact
that they involve the need for repeated use so that the consumer can estimate
their quality. The second category can be easily evaluated on the basis of
objective norm such as price, prior use not being necessary. This classification,
however, is problematic because numerous goods involve both consumer
experience and search.
Cognitive response theory is the basis of the link between advertising and price
elasticity of demand. On the one hand, high quality and product differentiation
entail, in accordance with the theory of strength of the market, a decrease in
price elasticity of demand, especially visible in the case of products involving
the experience and, on the other hand, according to the information theory,
actively searching information by consumers generates an increase in
sensitivity to price (Bagwell, 2005). Studies in this direction have led to results
that seem to confirm both theories (Vakratsas and Amble, 1999; Reed and
Ewing, 2004). An obvious consequence of the theory of cognitive response is
that by which the sponsors experiment to create an effective advertising, using
initially unique selling recommendation, and then the product standing in the
market.

Affective response theory is a different approach from that previously shown by

the fact that it focuses on the emotional response that advertisement can
generate (Holbrook and O`Shaughnessy, 1984). According to this theory,
consumers form their preferences based on pleasure, feelings or emotions
issuing from exposure to the message, the objective characteristics of the
product playing a less important role in this direction (Gardner, 1985). It is also
required repeated exposure to the advertisement to determine the desired
effects, but this repeated exposure can lose effectiveness when the frequency
exceeds a certain level (wear in - wear out effect). This affective response takes
into account, on the one hand, the promoted brand and, on the other hand, the
advertisement itself. The creative concept may be largely based on melody,
whose emotional effects are recognized. The problem with this theory is the
impossibility of separating the affective effect from the cognitive ones. Although
it is evident that advertising causes affective effects, they cannot however be
detached by the cognitive ones.

Persuasive hierarchy theory assumed that in order to influence sales

advertising should generate a number of effects on the consumer. Such effects
are generated in a particular way, the first being considered as preconditions
and at the same time, being the most important. It is believed that these effects
are: cognitive effects, emotional effects and behavioral effects. Also appear, a
number of factors with mediating role: the degree of involvement and attitude
toward message. Involvement can be defined as the personal grade of

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importance given to a product or situation, including the perceived risk in the
purchase (Reed and Ewing, 2004). The degree of involvement usually varies
from high to low, without considering, however, that it can be addressed simply
by this difference of opinion. In fact, the degree of variation is constant from one
end to the other. According to this theory, there were a number of models.
Elaboration Likehood Model was proposed by Richard E. Petty and John T.
Cacioppo, they consider that consumer response is cognitive one that can take
two directions, one related to the evaluation of product attributes and the other
referring to the execution of the message (Lee and Schumann, 2004). Both
directions follow the cognitive- affective response. Another model designed at
intermediate effects that advertising generate, is that proposed by Deborah
MacInnis and Bernard J. Jaworski C. (Smith and Yang, 2004). According to
them, at the consumer level occurs six levels of mental processing, which are
the following: 1. analysis of the characteristics which have the effect of affective
mood 2. primary classification with affective transfer effects 3. analysis of
meanings, whose effect is an heuristic analyze 4. integration of information, with
primary persuasive effects 5. assuming the roles with persuasive effects of
empathic nature 6. processes of construction with effects of self-persuasion.
The presented theories and models refer to the importance of involving as the
mediator element in the advertising communication.

Minimal involvement theory is an alternative response to the model promoted by

hierarchy theory persuasive. According to this theory, the consumer response to
advertising involves the following stages: cognitive response, behavioral
response and affective response. The experience is one that has the greatest
importance in the formation of choices and the role of advertising is to
emphasize consumer habits and experience. Andrew SC Ehrenberg is the one
who proposed in 1974 awareness- test-reinforce model based on the theory of
minimal involvement (Barry, 1987). This model implies that the consumer
buying behavior has a high degree of regularity and predictability, the habits
having a significant impact on the choice of the brand more than advertising and
other forms of communication.

Integrative theory supports the presence of the cognitive, affective and

behavioral effects, but the order in which these effects goes is dependent on a
number of factors such as: the product, the level of involvement and the context
of the acquisition. Based on this theory there have been developed a number of
models. The FCB grid proposed by Richard Vaughn considers two dimensions
required in the categorization of products: level of involvement, which can be
high and low, and type of motivation of the individual, being either cognitive or
affective (Vaughn, 1980). Level of involvement related to this model refers
therefore to product category, not to a brand or a particular situation. The
implications of this operating pattern are related to the type of used advertising.

All these theories believe the presence of different effects of the advertising
effort (Weilbacher, 2001). However, they are different in that the significance to
a greater or lesser extent a given type of effect, whether cognitive or emotional.
The similarity, on the other hand, is related to emphasize given to the concept
of experience. Latest opinions on the issue suggests that the three effects are

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unbreakable and should be addressed not as a hierarchy, but rather as
dimensions of a complex reality that characterizes the consumer and his
reaction to the phenomenon of advertising (Vakratsas and Amble, 1999).

CONCLUSION

Advertising is based on a variety of theories and explanatory models. Whether

they define how advertisement is developed in social or individual, or explain
how it affects the lives and behavior of the individual in his capacity as
consumer, they have the benefit providing new directions and perspectives of
development of advertising practice.

Advertising has been and remains a very important area of interest, this being
due to its impact on human society in general and given its communication
impact. The multitude of theories and models express very clear that the study
of advertising was not static, but dynamic closely linked to socio-economic
development.

REFERENCE LIST

Arens, William F. (2002), Contemporary Advertising, 8/e, McGraw Hill/Irwin,

Boston.

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Bagwell, Kyle (2005), The Economic Analysis of advertising, available at
http://www.columbia.edu/~kwb8/papers.html.

Barry, Thomas E. (1987), The Development of the Hierarchy of Effects: An

Historical Perspective, Current Issues and Research in Advertising.

Belch, George E., Belch, Michael A. (2002), Advertising and Promotion: an

Integrated Marketing Communications Perspective, McGraw Hill/Irwin, Boston.

Gardner, Meryl Paula (1985), Mood States and Consumer Behavior: A Critical
Review, Journal of Consumer Research, vol. 12, December.

Holbrook, Morris B., O`Shaughnessy, John (1984), The Role of Emotion in

Advertising, Psychology and Marketing, no. 1.

Kotler, Philip, Armstrong, Gary, Cunningham, Peggy H. (2000), Principles of

Marketing, Fifth Canadian Edition, Prentice Hall.

Vakratsas, Demetrios, Amble, Tim (1999), How Advertising Works: What Do

We Really Know?, Journal of Marketing, vol.63, January.

Vaughn, Richard (1980), How Advertising Works: A Planning Model . . . putting

it all together, Journal of Advertising Research, 20(5): 27-33.

Weilbacher, William M. (2001), Point of view: Does advertising cause a

”hierarchy of effects”?, Journal of Advertising Research, vol. 41, December.

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AFFIDATIV

I herewith declare that the following work I have prepared is my own without the
use of materials other than those cited.

Cologne, 11/05/2017