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Elaboration Likelihood Model: The cognitive route to advertising effect
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Elaboration Likelihood Model: The Cognitive
Route to Advertising Effect
Esha Patnaik
VOLUME 1, NUMBER 1
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF THE INTERDISCIPLINARY SOCIAL SCIENCES
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Elaboration Likelihood Model: The Cognitive Route to Advertising
Effect
Esha Patnaik, Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, India
Abstract: The paper examines the use of the Elaboration Likelihood Model in the field of advertising. A review of prior research in the field considers the scope for application of the model to advertising. Two approaches based on this model classical conditioning and cognitive response theory – that are used in developing ads are elaborated upon. The need for
further research to bring out a clear relationship between some of these principles and the effectiveness of advertising is
also discussed.
Keywords: Advertising, Psychology, Elaboration Likelihood Model, Classical Conditioning, Cognitive Response Model
Introduction
HE EFFECTIVENESS OF an advertisement (advertisement and ad are used interchangeably in this paper) is measured in
terms of its ability to create, sustain, and/or
increase the market of the product advertised. Central
to this function is the persuasiveness of the ad to
develop a positive attitude in the audience towards
the advertised product. Thus, understanding of how
information in ads is received and interpreted by the
audience becomes crucial to effective advertising.
Within this psychological framework, the Elaboration
Likelihood Model (henceforth ELM) of communication processing provides a referral point for understanding how information from the environment is
processed cognitively. Discussing ELM in the advertising context, this paper reviews prior research on
the application of ELM in advertising. Based on this
understanding, two cognitive approaches – the cognitive response model and classical conditioning –
are elaborated upon for their role in effective advertising.
T
Elaboration Likelihood Model
ELM (Petty, Cacioppo and Schumann, 1983) is a
theory of communication processing (Hennessey and
Anderson, 1990) that explains the process of persuasion and attitude formation (Jones, 2005). The degree
to which a piece of information will be processed
depends on the elaboration likelihood of the information. A widely studied model in persuasion research,
ELM outlines conditions under which persuasion
occurs through regulation of the messages and the
message environment available to the individual
(Karson and Korgaonkar, 2001) and the individual
factors that govern information processing.
In an advertising context, an ad functions to
highlight a product or service. The probability of the
ad being noticed and drawing the attention of the
audience will determine to what extent the message
will be processed or elaborated upon. This again is
contingent upon the individual’s ability (Petty et al.,
1983), motivation (Sen, 2003), and opportunity to
elaborate (Cho, 1999) on the message. Elaboration
will also depend on the context and knowledge of
the ad and product background. Thus, based on the
degree of processing and nature of cues present in
the ad, the model proposes two cognitive routes to
persuasion - the central route and the peripheral
route.
These two routes are based on the nature of cognitive processes that occur at the time of persuasion.
The central cognitive process focuses on analysis of
product-related information or logical arguments.
Peripheral cognition relies more on peripheral cues
such as environmental and affective or emotional
cues in the persuasion context rather than on message
content (Hennessey and Anderson, 1990). The more
the likelihood of elaboration of message details,
greater the chances of central processing gaining
importance over peripheral routes (Whittler and
Spira, 2002; Petty et al., 1983). Thus, message-based
persuasion works via the central route while noncontent cues such as details in the message environment become more prominent in peripheral processing (Darley and Smith, 1993).
The central route is an active and conscious cognitive process to evaluate a persuasive argument
(Whittler and Spira, 2002). The individual extensively processes relevant information in the message
(Jones, 2005) and persuasion occurs only when the
message information integrates with existing belief
structures (Agostinelli and Grube, 2002). When there
are too many messages in the environment, or the
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF THE INTERDISCIPLINARY SOCIAL SCIENCES, VOLUME 1, NUMBER 1, 2006
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scope for cognitive elaboration (Hausknecht and
Moore, 1986) or message-related thinking is limited
(Karson and Korgaonkar, 2001) people are unable
or not motivated to (Haugtvedt, Petty, and Cacioppo,
1992) carefully and thoroughly analyse every message that they come across. They then use the peripheral route to channel information. In this route to
persuasion the emphasis is not so much on reasoning,
contents and merits of the message as on simple associations with situational factors, such as the affective component of the ad (Agostinelli and Grube,
2002). For example, advertisers explore the ‘feelgood’ factor by introducing some component in the
ad that generates the feeling of ‘I am worth it’ in the
potential customer. Ads for high-end or life-style
products may employ such a technique (Sen, 2003)
by playing upon the emotion of the customer, rather
than offering a rationale as to how that product or
service actually adds to or enhances the standard of
living.
Involvement plays a crucial moderating role in
determining the elaboration component and route to
persuasion (Karson and Korgaonkar, 2001; Cole,
Ettenson, Reinke, and Schrader, 1990). Involvement
refers to the association with or interest that an individual has in the ad or the product. It has three
properties – intensity, direction and persistence
(Andrews, Durvasula and Akhter, 1990): the degree
of involvement, whether it is positive or negative,
and its endurance, all impact the ad effect by influencing motivation and the ability to process the product
qualities (Hennessey and Anderson, 1990). In high
involvement an issue or product is evaluated based
on its true merit as there is greater exploration of the
environment for product-relevant information. Information is then processed via the central route.
However, when involvement is low (Swasy and
Munch, 1985) or the issue does not involve extensive
product-relevant searching, there is more reliance
on affective components and information processing
is done via the peripheral route.
Interestingly, in high involvement there is a
greater chance of the message being rejected since
it is more likely to come in for more detailed scrutiny
(Petty et al., 1983). There is more resistance to the
persuasion attempt. Examining the role of strength
of message in information processing, Hennessey
and Anderson (1990) found that the strength of the
argument influenced the degree of positive response
of involved individuals than of those who were less
involved, while peripheral or affective cues influenced low-involvement individuals more than highinvolvement individuals. Strong arguments or message content can generate negative impact in individuals who have low involvement.
The initial concept of involvement as a determinant in the selection of the route to persuasion (Petty
et al., 1983) did not differentiate amongst the various
dimensions of involvement that come into play. Cole
et al. (1990), found different individuals have different involvement functions, such as, situation involvement, issue involvement, advertisement involvement,
and product involvement. Thus, high involvement
in the ad by itself may not necessarily be an indicator
of high product involvement. This may explain why
some ads become extremely popular without the effect getting translated into increased interest in the
product.
An individual’s need for cognition also governs
the choice of route for information processing (Inman, McAlister and Hoyer, 1990). High need-forcognition individuals are intrinsically motivated to
engage in cognitive activities and hence are more
likely to use the central route (Haugtvedt et al.,
1992). Low need-for-cognition individuals are more
easily affected by promotional components rather
than product qualities (Haugtvedt and Petty, 1989)
and thus, use the peripheral route to cognition. They
use less complex decision rules to decide whether
or not to get persuaded by ad messages. High needfor-cognition individuals respond more positively to
strong arguments than to weak arguments (Haugtvedt
et al., 1992). According to Whittler and Spira (2002),
for such individuals, bias for or against the advertising translates into corresponding attitudes towards
the product.
Looking at environmental factors, situational
variables like the message environment and message
source or endorser play significant roles in the choice
of route to persuasion (Haugtvedt and Petty, 1989;
Petty et al., 1983) and determining the message outcome (Whittler and Spira, 2002). When the ad is for
a product of low involvement for the consumer, affective components such as the celebrity status of
the product endorsers or source characteristics
(Whittler and Spira, 2002) are most effective in
bringing about an attitude change (Inman et al.,
1990). An attractive and/or credible spokesperson
may be sufficient to draw a more favourable response
from the audience as compared with a less attractive
presenter, without logical evaluation of the message
argument (Agostinelli and Grube, 2002). Strong
message features create high personal relevance for
the audience and increase the chances of central
processing. Cole et al., (1990) found the effect of an
expert source heightened even in situations of high
involvement. In cases of moderate involvement,
situational factors like source credibility enhance the
effect of the ad (Agostinelli and Grube, 2002) by
generating the motivation to think and actively explore the ad message (Brinol, Petty and Tormala,
2004).
Attitude change through the central route is said
to be more enduring and predictive of future purchase
ESHA PATNAIK
behaviour (Jones, 2005; Darley and Smith, 1993;
Miniard, Sirdeshmukh and Innis, 1992; Petty et al.,
1983). There is cognition, learning and logical processing, and integration of product-related information with one’s overall belief and cognitive structure.
Considering that attitude towards ads is affected by
deep-seated belief patterns, it is all the more important for advertisers to pay attention to what to say and
how to say it (Darley and Smith, 1993). The product
description used in the ad claim is a good indicator
of how best to frame the message. Selecting the right
attributes to associate with the brand in the ad is
crucial in predicting the likely impact on the audience
(Darley and Smith, 1993).
The relationship or independence of the two routes
to persuasion is yet to be clearly determined. The
interplay of the two routes has been brought out in
several studies. Ads with affective components have
demonstrated equal recall value as those with rational
information (Gorn, 1982). Examination of the effectiveness of banner ads on the web (Shamdasani,
Stanaland and Tan, 2001) revealed that high source
credibility reduced counterargument and enhanced
the chances of the message being accepted uncritically or with minimum evaluation and bringing about
an attitude change. However, this occurred when the
website content was congruent with the advertised
material. Relevance, rather than just reputation of
the website on which the ad is placed, was important
in determining the ad effect.
Over-emphasis on factual presentation of product
details overlooks the influence of situational variables in the persuasion process, including cases of
high involvement. Some researchers (Miniard et al.,
1992) propound an inverse relationship between the
degree of involvement and effect of peripheral cues.
In contrast, examining the impact of alcohol counteradvertising, Agostinelli and Grube (2002) discovered
that even when the message in counter-advertising
was factually correct, heavy drinkers found ads for
alcohol more desirable.
Whether a cue will act as a central or a peripheral
cue or will be rejected altogether depends on a host
of factors such as the product, individual, situation,
and the ad (Cole et al., 1990). A peripheral cue for
one may be a central cue for another. There is no
fixed rule to determine which is a central cue and
which one is peripheral. The quality of argument can
strengthen the ad even in the absence of relevant
product information. ELM is not a unidirectional
model where the peripheral route is used only when
the central route is not applicable or as a secondary
solution. In cases of moderate involvement, both
central and peripheral routes may be functional
(Karson and Korgaonkar, 2001). Examining the apparently mutually exclusive nature of central and
peripheral processing, Lord, Lee and Sauer (1995)
offer a combined influence hypothesis which holds
that attitude towards an ad, and subsequently towards
the product, is a function of the combined effects of
central and peripheral cues. Exposure to ads is not
always by choice. People are generally involuntarily
exposed to ads in various media even when they may
not be actively seeking information. Introducing affective components or peripheral cues that generate
a positive attitude in the potential consumer towards
the ad (Gorn, 1982) can effectively translate into
positive evaluation of the product/brand advertised.
Two psychological principles that closely represent the routes to persuasion propounded by ELM are
the cognitive response model and classical conditioning. These have been the subject of much research
in the context of advertising. The next two sections
discuss the two principles for their role in information processing and determining advertising effectiveness.
Cognitive Response Model
The central route to persuasion has been effectively
represented through the cognitive response model.
According to this model, attitude towards an ad impacts attitude towards the brand through development
of brand cognitions (Gresham and Shimp, 1985).
The model is an attempt to understand how cognitive
responses in the form of acquiring and changing attitudes towards persuasive messages take place as a
result of information processing by the brain. The
concept of ‘cognitive response analysis’ was used
(Love and Greenwald, 1978) to explain the viewing
of the communication recipient as an active processor
in a persuasive communication environment.
Attitude is an enduring favourable or unfavourable
position on an issue or subject. Cognitive responses
and attitudes are highly correlated and influence each
other - cognitive response leads to the formation of
attitudes (favourable or unfavourable) and attitudes
are responsible for how new information is processed. Studies have found that favourable thoughts
elicited by a communication correlate positively with
attitude change, whereas unfavourable thoughts
generated by a communication show a strong negative relationship with persuasion (Hastak and Olson,
1989; Love and Greenwald, 1978). Along with the
amount and the direction or valence of thoughts
generated in response to an ad, the confidence people
have in their thoughts can also influence the ad effect
(Brinol et al., 2004). This is apparent in cases of high
involvement where people are actively involved in
information processing and evaluation. The greater
one’s confidence in one’s thoughts, the higher is their
impact on attitudes. In cases of high involvement,
even source credibility can enhance the effect of
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thought confidence through the process of self-validation.
Retention of the message is considered an important component in attitude change. Presumably, the
more a person retains a message, the more persuasion
effect there will be. However, studies show that acceptance, rather than retention, of content governs
the effectiveness of persuasive messages. Love and
Greenwald (1978) found no necessary relationship
between communication retention and persuasion.
They emphasized on the message recipient’s understanding and interpretation of the message content
and product information or the evaluative content as
determinant of what and how much of the message
is remembered for later recall. Repetition, an important factor in retention, has also not found much support in research findings for its effectiveness in
bringing about a positive attitude change. Maximum
attitude change may be expected during the first few
exposures to the ad, but then a diminishing effect
may set in (Belch, 1982). Repeated exposure in a
short span or high exposure conditions can lead to
the onset of tedium and effects can range from no
positive change in attitude to more negative evaluations, as compared with exposure spread over a
longer period. Such findings raise questions about
the efficacy of closely spaced repetition of ads during
programme telecasts on television, as is a common
practice with advertisers. Thus, it is not just memory,
but the quality of memory in terms of elaborations,
associations and inferences that will govern attitude
towards the ad, and consequently, towards the
product. Rather than a mechanistic stimulus-response
model based on repetition and retention, ad effect is
the result of the combined effect of prior associations,
learning and cognitive sets regarding the product and
the product category (Weilbacher, 2003).
Exploring the role of individual factors in attitudes
towards ads, Sudman and Schwarz (1989) highlight
the role of moods in the development of positive or
negative evaluations. An individual is more likely
to recollect positive information while in a good
mood and negative information when in a bad mood.
Translating this into ad effect, if the person is exposed to the ad while in a good mood, the positives
of the ad and ad message are more likely to be noticed, while there is likely to be more negative evaluation if the person is in a bad mood. The result is
selective memory of ad and product attributes. The
implications of such a phenomenon for repetition of
ads across a variety of situations need to be examined
in greater detail. Does repetition neutralise affective
responses, or does it strengthen the initial emotion
generated by the ad? Also, some individuals have a
consistent tendency to react more strongly than others
to emotion-provoking situations (Moore, Harris and
Chen, 1994). Such individuals will experience bore-
dom faster in the absence of positive emotions, as
also be more tolerant of repetition if the ad appeals
to their positive emotions. This finding counters the
widely used advertising strategy of identifying a
target segment as a homogenous group that reacts in
a similar fashion to an ad.
Consumers make a conscious effort to attend to
the advertisement, and search for relevant information before making a selection regarding the product
or service (Weilbacher, 2003). They are assumed to
be interested in actively thinking and elaborating on
incoming information (Petty et al., 1983). While
Darley and Smith (1993) consider factual messages
to be more effective for central persuasion, they also
warn against the generalisation that objective claims
are always more effective than subjective elements
in the ad. An individual cannot be expected to be
constantly processing the multitude of advertising
information broadcast through various media. There
is likely to be selection / rejection of messages from
the environment depending on the degree of involvement. People will be more motivated to put in the
cognitive effort required to process information if
their involvement is high (Petty et al., 1983).
Highlighting the tangible, rather than the intangible, product attributes in the ad increases the likelihood of central processing (Darley and Smith,
1993). At the same time, in a highly competitive
scenario where the audience is constantly bombarded
with ads for competing products that may not have
much differentiating attributes, advertisers have to
look beyond “what the brand is at a transactional
level, but what it can be made or seem to be in the
mind of the consumer” (Weilbacher, 2003). Adding
another dimension to this discussion, McCracken
(1987) emphasizes on the cultural context in which
ads are interpreted. People seek symbolisms or
meanings that they can identify within the ad –
meanings of what it implies to hold a certain position
in life, to belong to a group, and so on.
The manner in which the audience relates with the
ad, depending on their context, associations and involvement (Cacioppo and Petty, 1989) will determine
the ad effect. Also, some prior knowledge about the
product teamed with moderate exposure is likely to
have the maximum impact in terms of bringing about
a positive attitude change. The cognitive associations
generated by the ad should be rich enough to engage
the audience in further exploration. This will trigger
the central route to persuasion, leading to logical
evaluation of product information.
Classical Conditioning
Classical conditioning has been identified as one
approach to explain the peripheral route to persuasion
(Allen and Madden, 1985). It has been widely studied
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in the context of development of attitude towards an
ad and, consequently, towards the product. According
to this theory offered by Pavlov, a person can be
trained to respond (conditioned response) to a previously neutral stimulus (unconditioned stimulus) by
pairing it with another relevant stimulus (conditioned
stimulus). In his classic experiment, Pavlov trained
a dog to salivate to the sound of a bell by pairing the
sound with the availability of food in close temporal
contiguity (McSweeney and Bierley, 1984; Reed Jr,
1975). The same principle of conditioning is applied
in advertising. External stimuli that elicit positive
emotions are paired with the product so that the
product itself elicits a favourable reaction. When a
new product for which people might have neutral
feelings is advertised repeatedly during a popular
sporting event, it is possible for the product to eventually generate excitement on its own, through repeated pairings with the event. Where the advertised
product or service by itself may not have generated
an affective response, transference of feelings occurs
because of emotional components associated with
the paired stimulus.
A noted study on the role of classical conditioning
in advertising effectiveness was conducted by Gorn
(1982). He found that attitudes towards a product
may be developed by associating it with other liked
(or disliked) stimuli in the commercial. Clubbing an
advertised product with liked music in an experimental set-up, he observed that the product was selected
a greater number of times than when it was clubbed
with music that was not much liked. He concluded
that some of the feelings associated with the music
got transferred to the product during the pairing.
Thus, music, colour, and stimuli with emotional
connotations in the ad may evoke corresponding
emotions in consumers when paired with the product
being advertised.
Researchers have obtained varying results regarding the effect of prior familiarity with the unconditioned stimulus on the advertising effect. Allen and
Madden (1985) argue that the unconditioned stimulus
must alter the subjects’ affective or feeling state to
be able to have a positive impact. Positive associations with the unconditioned stimulus produce
positive emotions regarding the product. It triggers
certain memories and perceptual cues that are transferred to the product being paired with it. Countering
the belief that pairing with a liked unconditioned
stimulus automatically leads to positive attitudes towards the advertised product (conditioned stimulus),
McSweeney and Bierley (1984) consider the novelty
factor as instrumental in classical conditioning. Familiarity with the unconditioned stimulus reduces
the likelihood of conditioning. Similarly, familiarity
and prior association with the product outside the
paired situation in the ad will affect the strength of
the pairing and reduce the effect of classical conditioning (Gresham and Shimp, 1985) due to latent
inhibition (Stuart, Shimp, and Engle, 1987; McSweeney and Bierley, 1984). The use of novel unconditioned and/or conditioned stimulus increases the
chances of a positive mental association. For example, if the stimulus being paired with the product
is extremely attractive or popular, it might overshadow the product, and not help towards increasing
brand awareness among consumers (McSweeney
and Bierley, 1984). According to Blair and Shimp
(1992), when a product in an ad is paired with music
that has prior unpleasant association, the ad effect is
less favourable than when the audience has no prior
associations and is exposed to the music only as part
of the pairing. They suggest a conservative approach
of using relatively unfamiliar music as background
to negate the effect of prior associations and maximise the impact of classical conditioning.
As discussed earlier in this paper, the mood of the
subject has an impact on his/her perception of the
ad, and this mood can be affected by the nature of
stimulus paired with the product. In instances of low
involvement, negative, neutral and positive emotive
cues exerted a progressively enhancing influence on
attitudes towards ads. Using background music as
an affective moderator for measuring brand attitude
formation, Bozman and Mueling (1994) found that
in cases of high involvement, music as a neutral
emotive cue was less favourable than as a negative
or a positive cue. Compared with this, another study
(Englis and Pennell, 1994) showed that meaningful
music used in the background interfered in the interpretation of the ad message due to affective associations with the music in the minds of the audience.
The use of a favourite music for advertising purposes
can also be resented, affecting the individual’s perception of the product. Brooker and Wheatley (1994)
demonstrated that ads using music depend more on
the affective, rather than the cognitive, component
to influence consumers. There is more concentration
on the mood generated rather than information exploration and hence, lower information recall. Music
with faster tempo creates more cheerful feelings,
though that might affect information recall. While
Sudman and Schwarz (1989), as discussed in the
earlier section, found positive or negative moods to
translate into corresponding evaluations of ads,
Brooker and Wheatley’s study demonstrates low
transference of the effects of a positive mood to
positive ad evaluation. They also found music was
more effective when used in the introductory part as
a lead-in to the product information than when used
in the background, since the latter interfered in information processing.
The effects of classical conditioning can be expected to be manifested only after several exposures to
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the pairing and the effects cannot be expected to last
indefinitely even after the pairing has been stopped
(McSweeney and Bierley, 1984). Empirical evidence
also questions the assumption that repeated exposure
to advertising of a product paired with an unconditioned stimulus generates more positive response
towards the product (Allen and Madden, 1985).
Awareness is another point of contention in explaining classical conditioning in advertising. Proving that an ad effect is the result of classical conditioning is difficult as the audience may not be aware
of the likely cause for their ad preference (Gorn,
1982). Self-reports are unlikely to provide evidence
in support of classical conditioning. According to
Reed Jr (1975), the result of classical conditioning
is not due to any rational association between cause
and effect but the “subliminal” effect of pairing the
advertised product with a desired satisfaction of a
need such as love or acceptance. Researchers are divided over the degree of conscious effort involved
in classical conditioning. Allen and Janiszewski
(1989) did not find conditioning happening without
awareness. In classical conditioning the unconditioned stimulus is expected to generate anticipation
for the product through repeated pairing, leading the
audience to predict and actively seek product information. What is also assumed to be classical conditioning may be the effect of repeated exposure (Gorn,
1982). In the former there is the involvement of affect, so that even when there is repeated exposure
the person will not like an ad if there is some negative affect involved.
Rossiter and Percy (1980) propose the role of
visual imagery as an unconditioned stimulus in ad
persuasion by creating positive associations in the
mind of the audience. A dual loop of verbal belief
and visual imagery creates a classical conditioning
situation that generates a positive attitude effect.
Classical conditioning also works for negative imagery by creating associations of what to avoid.
Gresham and Shimp (1985) found classical conditioning to work better with television ads, which are
more emotionally evocative, than with print ads, and
for products that are relatively new, as compared
with established brands. The pairing up of motion
and sound with visual appeal adds to the intensity of
the conditioning variable in television ads. Inappropriate pairing can have a detrimental effect on the
attitude towards the ad. If the stimulus being paired
with the product is not congruent with the product
qualities, it can actually turn people away from trying
the good or service, or cause them to consider other
alternatives. The sequencing of the unconditioned
and the conditioned stimuli is to be correctly planned.
Under laboratory conditions, forward conditioning
(unconditioned stimulus before conditioned stimulus)
has been found to be more effective than backward
conditioning (Stuart et al, 1987). Highlighting the
importance of temporal positioning of conditioned
and unconditioned stimuli, McSweeney and Bierley
(1984) discuss that while traditional classical conditioning theories emphasize on the prior temporal
positioning of the conditioned stimulus before the
unconditioned stimulus for maximum effect, developments in the field stress on the predictive nature
of the conditioned stimulus and not just its temporal
positioning for classical conditioning to occur.
The effectiveness of classical conditioning in advertising is still a moot point. While laboratory conditions appear to support its role (McSweeney and
Bierley, 1984), not much empirical consumer research is available on whether choice of product can
be classically conditioned (Gorn, 1982). Many of
the experiments on classical conditioning have been
done in the laboratory on non-human subjects.
Though the approach offers a plausible explanation
of how ad effect occurs, the role of higher order
cognition and awareness is not clearly brought out
(McSweeney and Bierley, 1984). While the method
may be used to grab initial customer attention, the
ability of classical conditioning to bring about a favourable perception of the advertised product needs
further validation.
It also raises another question - is classical conditioning more effective in case of limited availability
of information regarding the product, or would similar results be noticed even when subjects had detailed information regarding product qualities and
attributes? Logical analysis of product attributes
might change one’s perceptions formed on the basis
of an affective state of mind. Taking this further,
Allen and Madden (1985) stress on the affective
rather than the cognitive role of classical conditioning
in advertising impact. Examining rival views as to
whether classical conditioning involves cognitive or
affective components, Kim, Allen and Kardes (1996)
find both to have a role to play in the process. Rather
than an either-or situation, they complement each
other during conditioning. It generates interest and
encourages the audience to seek additional product
information. To this end, classical conditioning plays
a dual role of affectively influencing the individual
for engaging in cognitive information-seeking behaviour.
The apparent effect of classical conditioning
makes it an effective advertising tool (Grossman and
Till, 1998), particularly in the absence of more cognitive appeals. Then again, positive or negative associations with the ad may or may not translate into
corresponding feelings for the product. In the words
of Gresham and Shimp (1985), “what is termed as
classical conditioning is open to alternate explanations”. It is debatable if a complex process like
choosing a product based on advertising can be so
ESHA PATNAIK
easily explained by classical conditioning (McSweeney and Bierley, 1984). While experimental
evidence supports the possibility, there is need for
more real life examples that classical conditioning
actually works in positively influencing consumer
preference.
Scope for Research
Many early studies appear to form a simple causeeffect relationship between information processing
and formation of attitudes towards ads, and consequently towards the product. The role of other
mediating variables has to be examined both in the
context of and independent of ELM, to bring out
clearly its importance in the field. The paper reviews
some of the important studies on the two routes of
persuasion. Cultural contexts and social norms are
expected to influence the processing of advertising
content. Comparative studies across cultures can
validate whether these factors influence the processing of advertising content and use of the route
to persuasion. The internet is a medium that has vast
scope for exploration in the advertising context
(Karson and Korgaonkar, 2001; Cho, 1999). Given
the dynamic nature of the medium, conventional
theories and assumptions might not be sufficient to
explain how the viewer responds to online advertising. Even in traditional media like the radio, the
impact of central and peripheral cues needs to be
examined in greater detail (Darley and Smith, 1993)
before drawing any conclusions regarding the medium’s effectiveness in providing objective product
information and persuading the audience.
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About the Author
Esha Patnaik
Masters in Psychology. Taught several courses in business communications, psychology and counselling. Editor
of a magazine on psychology and counselling.
THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INTERDISCIPLINARY
SOCIAL SCIENCES
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Mary Kalantzis, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, USA.
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Norma Burgess, Syracuse University, Syracuse NY, USA.
Vangelis Intzidis, University of the Aegean, Rhodes.
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Chryssi Vitsilakis-Soroniatis, University of the Aegean, Rhodes, Greece.
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