Date of Award
Spring 2014
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
Communication
First Advisor
Felicia Roberts
Committee Member 1
Susan E. Morgan
Committee Member 2
Ralph Webb
Abstract
This study considers the level of involvement of participants viewing bilingual and English language TV commercials. It analyzes results from 295 non-Hispanic participants studying at a Midwestern university. In the study, participants were asked to view four commercials. Using Zaichkowsky's (1994) 10-item Personal Involvement Inventory (PII), participants scaled the advertisements on a 7-level scale. The scale evaluated participants' emotional and cognitive involvement with the ad. This between-subjects design required that participants be randomly separated into viewing all-English or all-bilingual advertisements. Findings showed no significant difference in involvement levels between bilingual or English commercials within this demographic group. Those with higher levels of Spanish language education had higher involvement scores for bilingual commercials. Overall, women showed greater involvement with the advertisements than men (for both English and bilingual ads). For the demographic group studied, these findings support the commercial use of bilingual advertisements in the United States. The data suggest that a non-Hispanic, U.S. audience will maintain neutral involvement levels for both English and bilingual commercials, rather than negative involvement for bilingual commercials over English commercials, as past research has suggested. Implications for the involvement levels of different demographic groups in the United States are discussed as future research.
Recommended Citation
Pellicciotti, Anne Giulia, "Software Architecture and Development for Controlling a Hubo Humanoid Robot" (2014). Open Access Theses. 233.
https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/open_access_theses/233
