Research Methods
Professor Bresmer
December 12, 2013
Abstract
Research has explored the relationship between
males’ and females’ emotion to advertising (Fisher & Dub, 2005) and if
males’ and females’ react differently in varying social contexts (Barrett,
Pietromonaco, & Eyssell, 1998). Another study examined if art affected
males’ and females’ emotions/moods to art and whether it was a negative or
positive affected (Dalebroux, Goldstein & Winner, 2008). Other
research has explored what effects males’ and females’ product buying patterns
(Timmer & Katz-Navon, 2008). This research measured the
variables of gender, age, area of educational study, negative and positive
emotions experienced and the intensity felt in relationship to an art
illustration mounted on a vehicle that was used to promote sales. This
study examined the response to emotional advertising.
Upon
review of the literature there are several articles that attempt to measure
gender, age, and emotions to advertising. According to Fisher & Dub, 2005,
the main idea of this research article was gender similarities and emotional
experience. After review of current literature, emotional experiences between
the genders revealed mixed results. The authors set out to determine if gender
makes a difference in responses to advertising. In the past, women
were self-reported as being more emotional than men and found that if men were
emotional, they generally expressed anger.
In
this research article, the hypothesis was “Do males and females react
differently to emotional advertising?” Before the research was conducted there
were a group of 32 judges that viewed 15 ads and selected 4 that in their
opinion solicited a variety of emotions. The judges were undergraduate business
students that did not participate in the research study. The ads were
associated with emotional descriptors which included high and low, and positive
and negative responses.
There
were a total of 160 participants; 40 male and female pairs that knew each
other. Participants were recruited through signs located throughout the campus
of a major Northeastern university. Recruitment was accomplished by posting signs
to “attract” same-gender and mixed-gender pairs to participate. The
participants were randomly assigned to view the ads as pairs or individuals.
After viewing each ad, participants answered a questionnaire using items from
the established Pleasure, Arousal, and Dominance 8 Point Scale asking questions
that ranged from unhappy to contented. This self-reported scale was taken
before the viewing of the ads to determine where the participants were
emotionally before viewing the ads. The participants were randomly placed into
viewing areas in couples, or alone to measure gender response and if social
context had anything to do with their reaction. Immediately after viewing
each ad, the researchers answered a six point Attitude Scale ranging from “bad”
to “loved it” to measure their self-reported attitude, before viewing the next
ad. The outcome of the research raised the possibility that females and
males had the same emotional responses and it did not matter whether they sat
with the same gender or with the opposite gender or by themselves.
The
research seemed to be well thought out and the research process did attempt to
prevent many pitfalls. The students were asked to volunteer to participate and
were randomly arranged however, there was no indication if their
confidentiality was protected. The selection of participants was done by
questionable means. The researchers shared that signs were posted to
“attract” people to participate. It was not disclosed by the
researchers what the signs actually said. They advertised for same-gender and
mixed-gender couples, but did not define what this meant. The selection of
participants was limited because they could only participate if they had an
associate that was willing to participate as well.
The
site of the study was “a Northeastern University” which makes the reader
wonders why they did not disclose the site. The researchers did not share if
confidentiality was maintained and how they kept responses properly assigned
for later tabulation. The group that determined which ads would fall into which
category were undergraduate business students. They did not participate in
the study, but the group did all belong to a school of business and the
validity of their opinions about emotional responses to the ads is
questionable, as their field of study could have skewed their opinions. The
research was vague about actual participants, and did not indicate their ages
(assumed to be college age) or majors which could have had an impact on their emotional
impressions of the ads. The use of the established scales was a good
strategy as well as being sure that each participant viewed the ads and then
immediately completed the emotional response scale before moving on to view the
next ad. Having couples participate that already had knowledge of the other
should have helped correlate if their emotions were affected when they were
with someone else, but that cannot truly be assured.
Barrett,
Pietromonaco, & Eyssell in 1998 conducted a research study that
sampled 104 students; 56 students from the University of Massachusetts and 48
students from Pennsylvania State University. Only 70 students chose to
participate; 28 males and 42 females. They were encouraged to participate by
receiving course credit and being entered into a lottery drawing for 50
dollars.
The
study wanted to know “whether sex differences and emotion are related to the
social context and address differences between global, retrospective, online,
momentary, and self-descriptions of emotional experience and expression.” The
researchers were attempting to find out if women are more emotional than men.
Participants
were given a code number and were not identified by name to maintain
confidentiality. Before entering the room the participants had to rate their
mood based on a self-reported Likert Scale which ranged from "do not like
at all” to “strongly agree.” The participants were brought into a laboratory
setting three different times. The first time the participants were encouraged
to keep records of their social interactions with other people for a week. When
they came in for the second visit, the participants returned the completed
record. When the participants came in the third time, the
experimenter interviewed the participants to make sure they followed the
directions.
The
participants completed another self-reported Likert Scale where they did a
self-analysis of their social interaction that they logged for the week
describing the quality and the emotion of the interaction and rated their
intimacy with the person they interacted with.
The
results of the study provides some evidence that culturally, women are seen as
more emotional than men but the results of this study indicated that neither
men nor women are any more emotional than the other.
The
research did attempt to protect the confidentiality of the participants which
is good; how participants were recruited was not indicated. The number females
drastically outnumbered the male participants. This may skew the results,
especially considering the fact that the researchers were attempting to
determine if females react emotionally more than males. Offering
course credit and a chance at lottery money would encourage students to
participate, however it could affect the outcome of the study by having
participants that were motivated due to outside influences rather than desire
for research.
Dalebroux,
Goldstein, & Winner, 2008 had the hypothesis that stated, “Can
short-term moods be repaired through making art?” There were 75 participants;
53 female and 22 male ages 18-22, which were undergraduates from a Psychology
Department, from the same college, and participated at random. The participants
were randomly placed in 3 groups and viewed a film, “Band of Brothers
Concentration Camp.” This was a film that highlighted concentration camps
during WWII. Participants were given a self-report to gauge their
mood after viewing the movie. This study implemented a chi square
analysis and an Affect Grid Scale which has been shown to be valuable and
reliable by repeated and consistent results use in previous research studies.
The
participants were split into three groups after viewing the film; 25
participants in each group. 25 participants were placed in a group called
venting and were asked to draw art scenes that depicted their current mood, 25
participants were placed in a group called fantasizing and were asked to draw
pictures depicting something that made them feel “happy”, and the control group
consisted of 25 participants that were placed in a group called distracted and
were asked to scan sheets of specific symbols.
Moods
were assessed using the Affect Grid Scale after each activity and the
preliminary evidence suggests that the participants who drew happy pictures
felt more positive and had rid themselves of negative feelings. Those who drew
negative pictures maintained a negative mood and the control group had no change
in mood.
The
conclusion of the study provided some evidence that when people vent by
utilizing art such as drawing, they do not rid themselves of their own negative
emotions, however when people who have a negative mood are asked to draw a happy
picture, it requires them to fantasize. The brain function of fantasizing
is what makes the person feel better.
One
concern about this study is that the number of females was more than two times
the number of males and all undergraduate students from the same field of
study, psychology. This factor may not affect the research, but is to be
considered. Random selection of participates was done, but how was not
indicated and there was no indication that their confidentiality was protected
in any way. There was no pre-viewing assessment evaluating the
participant’s moods so it is difficult to measure how much the film actually
affected them.
Timmor
& Katz-Navon in 2008 conducted a study in which they questioned, “What
affects customers to purchase new products?” The study was conducted by the
Arison School of Business at a university in Herzliya, Israel. There were 158
undergraduate students that participated in the research study. A brain
storming event occurred among the researchers and three students who did not
participate in the study to identify the new products to be researched in the
study. A pilot study was conducted among 50 students before the 158 students
were polled. The researchers requested that each participant answer a
questionnaire that indicated their reaction to new products: a cell phone with
camera, memory stick, and a new fashion item. The fashion item was not
specified by the researchers, however each participant had to identify a new
fashion item of their choice and rate the item.
The
participants were asked to respond to Brewer’s self-reported 5 point Likert
scale, ranging from “do not agree” to “agree”, measuring need for assimilation
and need for distinctiveness. The researchers studied correlation coefficients
and the variables included assimilation vs. distinctiveness (participants want
what others have vs. wants to be different). Assimilation means “purchasing to
belong to a larger group as a whole.” Distinctiveness means “desiring to be different.”
The study did raise the possibility that when consumers are getting ready to
buy a new product, the higher the number of perceived consumers that own the
product, the higher the correlation of the consumer purchasing the product. The
researchers did note that marketers advertise and promote products by giving
the impression that everyone has or will need the product. This action by
marketers skewed results of the study because participants had already been
exposed to the promotion of the product, even though the items were new on the
market.
The
researchers did not indicate what school of study the participants were from,
what ages (assumed 18-25 years), how they were selected, what sex they were, or
if their confidentiality was protected. Any of these variables could affect the
outcome of the research. The reader questions why the researchers
had each participant think of and react to a new fashion item. Possibly
more consistent results would have occurred if the researchers had selected a
fashion item for the participants to assess.
Another
variable that was not explored was if the participants had the financial
ability to purchase the products. Being college students could affect
their financial purchasing power and this variable could have affected their
reaction to the product knowing that they were unable to actually purchase
it. The participants may actually want the new products, but do they
really need the product. This could have entered into their reaction
towards the products.
There
is an indication in all four research studies of further research needing to be
done. Fisher in 2005 examined if there are gender
differences in responses to emotional advertising. Barrett in 1998
examined women versus men emotional experiences within a social context. Dalebroux
in 2008 examined the effect of positive art versus negative art on human
emotions.Timmer in 2008 examined what factors affect the success of the
marketing of a new product.
Each
research article was selected due to the concepts related to my hypothesis, “Do
pickup tailgate illustrations affect people positively or negatively?” Even
though there is research in the literature that examines art, gender, and human
emotions, there is no research related to the way wrap-around illustrations on
vehicles are perceived and in turn, affect individuals. If I were to conduct my
own study, I would have 100 randomly selected participants including 50 males
and 50 females which would include 25 Caucasian males, 25 Caucasian females, 25
non-Caucasian males and 25 non-Caucasian females. Within the study is a
variety of age groups from 11 years of age and older, from a variety of
undergraduate programs, classes, and faculty and students from a local junior/senior
high school.
Methods
The hypothesis for my research study is, “Do pickup
tailgate illustrations affect people positively or negatively?” The
employees at an advertising company in Waco, Texas had a female coworker lay
down in the cargo section of a pickup truck. A photograph was taken of her, was
transferred onto a plastic vehicle wrap and mounted to the closed tailgate of
the pickup truck. She was unidentifiable because her hair obscured her face.
She was lying down in a fetal position and her hands and feet were bound with
rope. This photograph was so convincing that I was unable to determine that the
image was not a real person contained in the back of a truck. Multiple feelings
began to flood my mind and even though I strongly disagreed with the
illustration, I did view it as a form of art. I began wondering if I was
particularly sensitive or if others would experience a similar emotional
response of the intensity level that I did. I wondered if the
participants’ gender, age, and area of study would affect their perspective.
For
my research I would print colored still shots from the CNN video of the bound
woman illustration. One still shot would be of the illustration on the pick-up
tailgate when it is up. The second still shot would be of the illustration on
the pick-up tailgate when it is down. I would allow participants to view the
first still shot while the second still shot was hidden. Afterwards,
they would view the second still shot. The measuring tool of this study would
be a self-reported, five-question, five-point Likert scale questionnaire,
gathering demographic information and the participants’ emotions and their
degree of emotion after viewing the still shots. The researcher feels that
studying this hypothesis will be beneficial to a career in human services
management. Understanding gender and potential ethical dilemmas will
enhance the researchers understanding of emotional reactions and the management
of those emotions.
The
pictures would be shown as follows:
All the participants will be volunteers and
randomly selected. They will have the option to refuse at any time and they
will be anonymous and confidential. The population that I have selected will be
in the educational setting at Alfred State College with a total student body of
3,549 and a local high school with a total student body of 555, because they
are the most accessible. There will be a total of 100 people surveyed.
The
survey begins by collecting demographic information such as: gender, ethnicity,
age and area of study. It includes a 3-point Liker Scale asking
emotional responses; 1 a positive emotion to 3 a negative emotion. A 5-point
Liker Scale is used to measure the level of intensity of their emotions ranging
from; 1 strongly disagree to 5 strongly agree. This is non-experimental
research and will occur in a natural, existing setting. The variables involved
in the study will be: gender, ethnicity, and age, area of study, emotions and
intensity of emotions. According to the literature, sex should have an effect
on emotional response to advertising. Ethnicity will be interesting to measure
because I found no literature in relation to this perspective. Age may affect
emotions because older persons may be more reserved than younger people. I
thought I would ask for the field of study to see if that would have any
influence. In other research studies that I read, the majority of
participants and/or researchers seemed to be within a particular area of
study. want to sample randomly with the goal of polling people from
multiple areas of study to see if there is any correlation. For consistency I
formulated a short explanation of the project so that I remain consistent each
time I ask someone to participate. I do not want to influence the participants
by explaining more or less.
Hi.
I am Lynnette Lockwood. I am doing a short research project. I would like you
to look at a picture and then answer 6 questions for me. Your answers will be
strictly confidential because you will not be identified in any way. Are you
willing to participate?
My questionnaire is shown below.
11. What
gender do you most identify with? (Please circle one)
·
male
·
female
·
transgender
·
other
22. How
old are you? (Please circle one)
·
11-18 years old
·
19-30 years old
·
26 years of age or older
- What is your
area of study?
- When you viewed
the pickup truck illustration, what did you feel? (Please
circle one)
·
a positive emotion
·
no emotion
·
a negative emotion
55. How
intensely did you feel about this illustration? (Please circle one)
·
strongly disagree
·
disagree
·
do not agree or disagree
·
agree
·
strongly agree
Results
Caucasian Females (high
school)
Discussion
A total of 83 people were surveyed. Of the 83, 51
of them were from a local high school and 32 were from the Alfred State
College. Out of the 51 at the high school, 11 were Caucasian males between
11-18 and 1 Caucasian male between 19-25, 11 Caucasian males 26 years or older.
Of the 51 surveyed, 15 were Caucasian females 11-18 and 13 Caucasian females 26
years or older.
Of the 32
surveyed from Alfred State College there were 10 Caucasian males 19-25, 8
Caucasian females 19-25 years of age. There were no 11-18 or 26 or older
Caucasian males or females surveyed. Of the 32 surveyed, there were 2 minority
males 11-18 and 5 minority males 19-25, 2 minority females 11-18, and 5
minority females 19-25 years of age. There were no minority males or females 26
or older surveyed.
At
Alfred State College there were a total of 10 Caucasian males surveyed. Out of
the 10 Caucasian males surveyed, 4 showed no emotion, 0 felt a positive emotion
to the photo, 6 felt a negative emotion, and 4 felt no emotion at all. Out of
the 10 surveyed they indicated that 3 strongly disagreed, 2 disagreed, 4 were
neutral, 0 agreed and 1 strongly agreed with the picture. A total of
60% showed a negative reaction. 40% showed no reaction. 30% strongly disagreed,
20% disagreed, 40% neutral and 10% strongly agreed.
At
Alfred State College, there were a total of 8 Caucasian females surveyed. There
were 7 that felt a negative emotion and 1 felt no emotion. 6
strongly disagreed, 1 disagreed, 1 neutral. A total of 88% showed a negative
reaction and 12% was neutral. 70% strongly disagreed, 13% disagreed and 12 %
were neutral.
At
Alfred State College, there were a total of 7 minority males surveyed. All
seven felt a negative emotion toward the photo. 4 strongly
disagreed, 3 disagreed and 1 remained neutral. A total of 100% showed a
negative reaction. 57% strongly disagreed, 29% disagreed, and 14%
was neutral.
At
Alfred State College, there were a total of 7 minority females surveyed. The
minority females were consistent. All of the 7 felt a negative emotion toward
the photo and all of the 7 strongly disagreed with the photo. A
total of 100% felt a negative reaction. 100% strongly disagreed.
At
the high school, there were a total of 23 Caucasian males surveyed. 19 felt a
negative emotion, 3 felt no emotion, and 1 felt a positive emotion toward the
photo. 8 strongly disagreed, 6 disagreed, 3 were neutral, 3 agreed and 4
strongly agreed. 83% felt a negative emotion, 12% felt no emotion and 4% felt a
positive emotion. 36% strongly disagreed, 24% disagreed, 12% were neutral, 12%
agreed, and 16% strongly agreed.
At
the high school, there were a total 28 Caucasian females were surveyed. 23
felt a negative emotion, 5 felt no emotion toward the photo. 14 strongly
disagreed, 6 disagreed, 6 were neutral, 1 agreed and 1 strongly agreed. A
total of 82% felt a negative emotion and 18% felt no emotion. 50% strongly
disagreed, 21% disagreed, 21% were neutral, 4% agreed, and 4% strongly agreed.
Conclusion
The hypothesis for my research study was, “Do
pickup tailgate illustrations affect people positively or negatively?” In
this study the males and females had similar reactions toward the photo. College
age students were the most consistent with the results of negative emotions and
feelings of intensity toward the photo. 60% of the Caucasian males felt
negative emotions and 50% disagreed. 88% of the Caucasian females felt
negative emotions and 88% disagreed. 100% of the minority males felt
negative emotions and 100% disagreed. 100% of the minority females felt
negative emotions and 86% disagreed. Of the minority males and females polled
they were the most consistent in their negative emotions and intensity with a
100% negative response.
Surveying the high school age students indicated the largest range
of emotion and intensity. 83% of the Caucasian males felt negative emotions and
60% disagreed. 82% of the Caucasian females felt negative emotions
and 71% disagreed. There seemed to be an indicated that the younger the
age groups the less negative emotion and intensity was felt.
Strengths of this study were: there was a wide
variety of age groups that participated, ranging from 11 years to 60 years of
age. There was a broad variety of educational majors that offered a large
sampling of different educational viewpoints and willingness to participate and
actively answer questions honestly. The study included two different data
gathering sites, selected from potentially 3,549 different participants.
Weaknesses of the study were: although it was conducted in two different
sites, both sites were very rural areas. It was difficult to include
a good size sampling of minority males or females because the area was
predominately Caucasians. Even though there was a potential for a
large sampling for the study, which would have improved the data deductions, a
small sample of 83 participants was achieved.
Further
research has been indicated. Recommendations would be: poll from a metropolitan
geography, increase the minority participation, increase sampling size and more
closely compare emotions and intensity considering age ranges. Including a
picture of a different gender inequality in a photo could possibly provide
different reactions.
Works Cited
Barrett, L. F., Robin,
L., Pietromonaco, P. R., & Eyssell, K. M. (1998). Are women
the "more emotional sex?" Evidence from emotional experiences in
social context. Cognition and Emotion, 12, 555-578.
CNN Video (2013,
September 7). Would this Make you Call the Cops? Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/us/2013/09/07/dnt-texas-truck-decals.kwtx.html
Dalebroux, A., Goldstein,
T., & Winner, E. (2008). Short-term mood repair through art-making:
Positive emotion is more effective than venting, 1-8. Retrieved from
https://www2.bc.edu/~winner/pdf/shorttermmoodrepair.pdf
Fisher, R., & Dub, L.
(2005). Gender Differences in Responses to Emotional Advertising: A Social
Desirability Perspective. Journal of Consumer Research, 31(4),
850-858.Retrieved from http://econpapers.repec.org/article/ucpjconrs/v_3a31_3ay_3a2005_3ai_3a4_3ap_3a850-858.htm
Martin, A.S Brett, (2003).
The Influence of Gender on Mood Effects in Advertising. Psychology &
Marketing. 20 (e.g. 2), pp.249-273
Moore J., David, (2007).
Emotion as a Mediator of the Influence of Gender on Advertising Effectiveness:
Gender Differences in Online Self-Reports. Basic and Applied Social
Psychology. 29 pp.203–211
Timmor, Y. and
Katz-Navon, T. (2008), Being the same and different: A model explaining new
product adoption. Journal of Consumer Behavior, 7: 249–262.
doi: 10.1002/cb.249
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