Date of Award
6-2011
Document Type
Open Access
Degree Name
Bachelor of Science
Department
Psychology
First Advisor
Kenneth DeBono
Language
English
Keywords
self-monitoring, public/private product, luxury/necessity product, image- oriented advertisement, quality-oriented advertisement
Abstract
High self-monitors tend to prefer image-oriented advertisements, whereas low self-monitors favor quality-oriented advertisements. Past research has found that image congruence had a stronger affect on product evaluations of high self-monitors relative to low self-monitors for public products, while this effect did not emerge for private products. Study 1 extended these findings by examining the effect of self-monitoring and public/private products on evaluations of image- versus quality-oriented advertisements. The participants were shown two sunglasses (public product) advertisements and two toilet paper (private product) advertisements; for each product, one advertisement was image-oriented and was quality-focused. The participants completed two questionnaires—one for each product type—and the self-monitoring scale. Study 2 employed a similar method but extended the self-monitoring propensity to different public products: Ice cream (luxury product) and a winter coat (necessity product). Past findings suggest that high self-monitors are influenced more when considering luxury, rather than necessity, products. Although not significant, analyses of Study 1 showed that high self-monitors preferred the image-oriented sunglasses advertisement, while low self-monitors preferred the quality-focused sunglasses advertisement. Both high and low self-monitors preferred the quality-oriented toilet paper advertisement. Although also not significant, the results of Study 2 illustrated that high self-monitors preferred the image-focused advertisement for both the luxury and necessity advertisements more than low self-monitors. The results of both studies confirm that high self-monitors prefer image-oriented advertisements for public products more than low self-monitors. Possible limitations and future research directions are discussed.
Recommended Citation
Schroth, Erin M., "Self-Monitoring and Advertising: Evaluations of Image- versus Quality-Oriented Advertisements for Public/Private and Public Luxury/Necessity Products" (2011). Honors Theses. 1058.
https://digitalworks.union.edu/theses/1058