Very few studies in social marketing empirically compare the effectiveness of positive and negative appeals. This study examines the effect of positive (warmth appeal) and negative (guilt appeal) print imagery on donation behaviour to an animal welfare organisation. A quasiexperimental design was used to test the appeals, using a convenience sample of 282 university students, with each experime...

This study examined consumers' emotional responses, their attitudes toward advertisements and brands, attributions about the companies promoting the brands, and purchase intention for ads varying on level of guilt appeal. Sixty working mothers, a prime target of guilt appeals, participated in the study. Results indicated that moderate guilt appeals elicited more felt guilt in the working mother...

The notion of ‘user satisfaction’ plays a prominent role in HCI, yet it remains evasive. This exploratory study reports three experiments from an ongoing research program. In this program we aim to uncover (1) what user satisfaction is, (2) whether it is primarily determined by user expectations or by the interactive experience, (3) how user satisfaction may be related to perceived usability, a...

The current studies examined the effect of aesthetic appeal on performance. According to one hypothesis, appeal would lead to overall decrements or enhancements in performance [e.g. Sonderegger & Sauer, (Applied Ergonomics, 41, 403-410, 2010)]. Alternatively, appeal might influence performance only in problem situations, such as when the task is difficult [e.g. Norman, (2004)]. The predictions ...

Despite the expected value of online customer reviews as an emerging advertising medium, the manner of enforcing its effectiveness on customers’ purchase behavior is still a question not well answered. To address the question, we propose a new central route cue called “advertising appeal” to examine attitude and intention to purchase a product or service based on the reasoning of the elaboratio...

Two research syntheses evaluate the effects on attitudes of forewarning of an influence appeal. In general, warnings appeared to threaten people's attitudes or their self-images, and warning impact depended on which aspect of the self was threatened. When the topic of the appeal was involving and concerned immediate outcomes or when the appeal was actually delivered, recipients appeared to focu...

Why do managers employ certain tactics when they try to influence others? This study proposes and tests theoretical linkages between the five-factor model of personality and managers’ upward influence tactic strategies. Longitudinal data from 189 managers at 140 different organizations confirmed that managers scoring high on extraversion were more likely to use inspirational appeal and ingratia...