Healthy Skepticism Library item: 1613

Warning: This library includes all items relevant to health product marketing that we are aware of regardless of quality. Often we do not agree with all or part of the contents.

Publication type: Journal Article

Coulter RH, Pinto MB.
Guilt appeals in advertising: what are their effects?
J Appl Psychol 1995 Dec; 80:(6):697-705
http://content.apa.org/journals/apl/80/6/697

Abstract:

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 mothers than did low or high guilt appeals. Furthermore, emotional responses, particularly anger, mediated the relationship between level of guilt appeal and consumers’ attitudes and corporate attributions, and an inverse relationship occurred between level of guilt appeal and attitudes and attributions. Purchase intention was affected by the level of the guilt appeal and by anger.

Keywords:
Adult Advertising* Anger Attitude* Child Consumer Satisfaction* Female Guilt* Humans Male Mother-Child Relations Mothers/psychology Self Concept Women, Working/psychology