Consumer Behavior Assignment

Ammad Amer Zia

Chapter 8

December 3, 2009

Individual Assignment Questions: 1)

How do researchers explain the sleeper effect?

2)

One of the key characteristics of a source (which can maximize attitude change) is credibility. What is source credibility and how can it affect attitude change?

Answers: 1

- After reading this chapter quite thoroughly, the fact that the sleeper effect really exists or not is still a mystery and is widely debated upon by many researchers in consumer behavior around the world. They have a couple of ways of explanations for their theories which they refer to as speculative explanations. Within this source there are 2 main types of explanations. One, the Dissociative cue hypothesis—this hypothesis basically states that as time progresses consumers generally begin to forget the links between products information with its unattractive source. In other words the message basically remains on its own inside your memory, which causes a delayed attitude change termed as the “sleeper effect”. The other explanation, the availability valence hypothesis, basically proposes that consumers make memory connections with the product information but not with the negative source, emphasizing the selectivity of memory owing to limited capacity. In other words, the sleeper effect is only consistent with this view in the case that the message is encoded deeply in memory and had stronger associations than the source itself. In case you are wondering as to what exactly is a sleeper effect, it is the phenomena of removing the negative affiliation of a source with the product itself. For example, the Mr. Whipple, annoying yet well known TV character who colds toilet paper shoppers, “please don’t squeeze the Charmin”… At first, Mr. Whipple’s character is seemingly very annoying but gradually as time passes, one may forget about the negative source, Mr. Whipple, and focus on the positive aspects of the product instead, in this case that tissues are really soft.

2 -- Source credibility basically refers to the spokesperson’s (or announcers) perceived expertise, objectivity, or trustworthiness. A credible source can be Huma Maqsood

Consumer Behavior Section K BBA III

Ammad Amer Zia

Chapter 8

December 3, 2009

particularly persuasive when the consumer has not yet learned much about a product or formed an opinion about it. Credibility can be enhanced if the source's qualifications are relevant to the product being endorsed. Credibility can be weakened if the source is perceived to be biased in presenting information, either because the source's knowledge is not accurate (knowledge bias) or the source is perceived to have the requisite knowledge but his or her willingness to convey it has been compromised (reporting bias); for example, getting money for saying good things about a marketer's product compromises believability.

Huma Maqsood

Consumer Behavior Section K BBA III