Attitude Functions in Advertising

Self‐Monitoring and Consumer Psychology

“…If a product is, in fact, generally used for a single purpose, then perhaps we should not expect to see significant self‐monitoring differences as a function of advertising strategy. As the Shavitt et al (1992) results indicate, in such a situation, most individuals, regardless of self‐monitoring propensity, may gravitate toward those advertisements that speak to the product's sole function. According to this reasoning, self‐monitoring differences in response to image‐oriented and quality‐based advertisements are likely to be most evident for those products that have utilitarian value but that can also be used for image‐enhancing purposes.…”

“…This line of reasoning led Shavitt, Lowrey, and Han (1992) to predict that the relations between self‐monitoring and image‐oriented/quality‐based advertising are more likely to be found among those products that can serve multiple functions; that is, products that can reasonably be used for image‐enhancing purposes as well as for more practical/utilitarian purposes. For those products that serve primarily either a practical/utilitarian purpose (e.g., air conditioners) or an image‐enhancing/social identity purpose (e.g., greeting cards), they argued, self‐monitoring differences are not likely to emerge.…”

“…For those products that serve primarily either a practical/utilitarian purpose (e.g., air conditioners) or an image‐enhancing/social identity purpose (e.g., greeting cards), they argued, self‐monitoring differences are not likely to emerge. In one study designed to test these notions (Shavitt et al, 1992, Study 2), they presented high and low self‐monitors with possible arguments that could be used to advertise each of three products, an air conditioner (a utilitarian product), a class ring (an image/social identity product), and a watch (a multiple‐function product) and asked participants to choose the three arguments they would use if they were constructing an advertisement for this product. The arguments from which participants could select were a mix of product‐quality information and image/social‐identity claims.…”

“…In a conceptual replication (Shavitt et al, 1992, Study 3), participants were instructed to write advertisements that would appeal to them personally for an aspirin (utilitarian product), a university flag (social identity product), and a pair of sunglasses (multiple function product). Results showed no self‐monitoring differences for the aspirin or the flag.…”

Examining causal components and a mediating process underlying self-generated health arguments for exercise and smoking cessation.

“…For example, a person may think more positively about changing his or her own exercise habits after generating arguments than after reading arguments from an external source or those that are mismatched. Health messages that are more personally relevant to recipients elicit greater self-relevant thinking (Kreuter et al, 1999), and self-relevant thoughts have a stronger effect on attitudes than other thoughts (Shavitt & Brock, 1986).…”