VIEWERS' PROCESSING OF ACTOR'S RACE AND MESSAGE CLAIMS IN ADVERTISING STIMULI

TOMMY E WHITTLER, Purdue University

Abstract

This study examines the impact of black and white actors' race and viewers' racial attitudes on advertisement evaluation. A total of 160 white and 140 black participants rated an advertisement featuring a white or black actor promoting a portable word processor or a liquid laundry detergent. An assessment of whites' racial prejudice and blacks' identification with black culture followed product, advertisement, and actor ratings. It was hypothesized that high prejudiced whites and high identification blacks would be more strongly influenced by source-based cognitions than would low prejudiced whites and low identification blacks. It was also hypothesized that low prejudiced whites and low identification blacks would be more strongly influenced by message-based cognitions than would high prejudiced whites and high identification blacks. The findings indicated that, when the black actor promoted the relatively inexpensive liquid detergent, viewers with firmly established racial attitudes were more likely to employ racially focused heuristics (i.e., perceived similarity or dissimilarity, symbolic role identification or lack thereof) than viewers with less defined racial attitudes. These heuristics positively (for high identification blacks) or negatively (for high prejudiced whites) influenced viewers' likelihood of purchase given the black actor. However, the data did not support the notion that viewers with less defined racial attitudes would be more likely to consider the message claims than viewers with firmly established racial attitudes. Thus, the study's hypotheses were partially supported. Support was also found for the hypothesis that perceived similarity and symbolic role identification were factors through which the actor's race operates in advertising.

Degree

Ph.D.

Subject Area

Social psychology

COinS