Running head: INFLUENCE OF
ALCOHOL ADVERTISEMENTS
Influence of Alcohol Advertisements on
Extraverts and Introverts
Jennifer Donlin
St. Bonaventure University
Abstract
Unger, Schuster, Zogg, Dent and Stacy(2003), found
a positive relationship between exposure to alcohol advertisements and alcohol
use. In addition, Smith & Brown (1998), found that
extraverts place themselves in situations where they can consume alcohol more
readily than introverts. Extraverts desire excitement, parties and social
events compared to introverts. The predicted main effect is that extraverts
will perceive the alcohol advertisements more favorably in comparison to
introverts. It is also hypothesized that no significant
difference will be found between extraverts and introverts on perception of
other advertisements interaction. A 2( Introversion)
x 2 (type of advertisements) ANOVA was conducted. A
There is an increasing amount of concern
regarding the extreme use of alcohol among college students (Austin & Chen,
2003). Alcohol remains the drug choice for American youth (Unger, Schuster, Zogg, Dent & Stacy, 2003). “Estimates suggest that
between 70% and 95% of students attending large
“Media messages frequently have been cited as one important influence on adolescents’ beliefs about alcohol” (Austin& Chen, 2003). Researchers maintain that media and in particular, advertisements are a major source of information in regard to alcohol information (Grube & Wallack, 1994 as cited in Unger et al., 2003). “Previous estimates indicate that in any given year, a typical adolescent may encounter in excess of 2000 beer, wine and liquor advertisements from magazines, newspapers, television, radio and billboards (Aitken, 1988 as cited in Unger, 2003).
There is a link among alcohol advertising, attitudes, and behaviors with regard to alcohol use by those who are underage (Austin & Chen, 2003). Research has shown correlations between exposure to alcohol advertisements and the attitudes and behaviors that are related to drinking alcohol in the youth (Austin & Chen, 2003).
“Ads link drinking with highly valued personal attributes, such as sociability, elegance, and physical attractiveness, and with desirable outcomes, such as success, relaxation, romance, and adventure”(Committee on Substance Abuse, 2001). Studies on the impact of alcohol advertisements indicate that those that have increased exposure to beer advertising have higher recall levels of both brands and brand characters and are more likely to drink as adults (Committee on Substance Abuse, 2001). It is also found that children who have greater exposure to the advertisements have more positive beliefs about both social and ritual uses of beer (Committee on Substance Abuse, 2001). Research also indicates that brand exposures as well as acceptance of positive themes that are related to drinking are positively correlated with more positive attitudes towards drinking itself (Atkin & Mastro, 2003).
In an experiment by Kelly and Edwards, 1998, image and product advertisements were compared. Image advertisements suggest that the lifestyle suggested in the advertisement can be attained with use of the product (Kelly & Edwards, 1998). They also rarely mention the actual quality of the product itself (Kelly & Edwards, 1998). In contrast, product advertisements focus on the quality of the product itself (Kelly & Edwards, 1998). Results in this study indicate that image advertisements were preferred by the participants (Kelly & Edwards, 1998). There was a positive association in this study as well between preference for image advertisements and future intent to drink (Kelly & Edwards, 1998). There is continued debate that alcohol advertisements and more specifically image advertisements are directly targeting underage drinkers (Kelly & Edwards, 1998). A lot of these debates have led to actual banning of alcohol advertisements in some countries (Addiction Research Foundation, 1981 as cited in Kelly & Edwards, 1998).
Wyllie et al. (1998) “found that positive responses to beer ads were associated with higher levels of current and expected future alcohol consumption (as cited in Unger et al., 2003). The study by Unger et al. supported this finding. They found that “items measuring preference of alcohol ads were associated with lifetime and recent alcohol use” (Unger et al., 2003). The results highly suggest that forming favorable emotional responses to alcohol advertisements may be crucial in the experimentation with alcohol (Unger et al., 2003).
In addition to the more traditional forms of advertising, the Internet is a growing source for alcohol advertisements. Despite claims that adults of legal drinking age are the primary target market of alcohol advertisements, youth have a great opportunity for exposure to alcohol advertisements (Unger et al., 2003). In a recent study of over 300 Web sites, it had been found that “25 major alcoholic beverage companies are using the Internet to advertise, promote, and sell their products through a variety of marketing techniques that capitalize on the Internet’s strong attraction of young people” (Committee on Substance Abuse, 2001).
Other studies have been designed to examine the relationship between personality variables and alcohol use. “The extroverted individual is one who desires excitement, enjoys parties and being sociable, and wants to remain busy by moving and doing things (Eysenck & Eysenck, 1994 as cited in Smith & Brown, 1998). Extraverts are insensitive to lower levels of stimulation they however become “reactive to high to high levels of stimulation” (Zuckerman, Buchsbaum, & Murphy, 1980 as cited in Smith & Brown, 1998). Since extroverts are more social they tend to place themselves in social situations such as a party or bar in comparison to introverts (Smith & Brown).
Research has shown that a variety of personality characteristics greatly affect drinking levels. The personality trait that was found to be the single best predictor variable is extraversion (Martsh & Miller, 1997). A study was done to examine the link between alcohol consumption and personality (Cook, Swansea, Young, Taylor & Bedford, 1998). Results indicate that alcohol that is consumed is positively correlated with extraversion and sociability (Cook et al., 1998). It was negatively associated with conscientiousness and willingness to conform (Cook et al., 1998). Likewise, non-drinkers were found to score lower on levels of extraversion (Rodgers, Korten, Jorm, Christensen, Henderson & Jacomb, 2000).
Alcohol advertisements and extraversion are two important factors in alcohol use. However, both have never been examined together to find further causes of alcohol use. It is important to further examine predictors of alcohol advertisement awareness. Since the “controversy over impact of alcohol advertising on alcohol consumption and attitudes about drinkers and drinking continues to mount, the following study will be conducted (Kelly & Edwards, 1998). The purpose of this research proposal is to identify further information that may ultimately hinder college alcohol use.
Main effect 1
Main effect 2
Interaction
Based on past research linking extraversion to high alcohol consumption (Smith & Brown,1998) and the positive correlation between exposure and attention to alcohol advertisements and positive attitudes toward alcohol (Aitken, 1988 as cited in Austin & Knaus, 2000), the main hypothesis is that extraverts will be will perceive the alcohol advertisements more favorably. The influence of advertisements is influenced by how extraverts are influenced by alcohol advertisements.
Method
Participants
Forty
randomly selected St. Bonaventure University college undergraduates (18 and
older) participated in this study. All participants signed a consent form and
were tested individually. The
participants were randomly assigned to two sepa
The Eysenck Personality test for Extraversion/Introversion was a tool used in this study. A demographic survey was also used to find the average age and year in college. The next measure used in this study would be a 5-point Likert scale in order to find the participants perceptions of the alcohol/neutral advertisements.
A
2x2 between-subject design with 40 participants was performed. Participants
were asked to complete the Extraversion/Introversion scale on Eysenck’s Personality test. After completion, participants
were given a demographics questionnaire. Also during this time, the Eysenck Personality test was graded. After completing the
questionnaire, each participant received 10 alcohol or neutral advertisements.
The alcohol advertisements were beer advertisements. “In the
The data were analyzed using a 2x2 (Personality type x Type of advertisement) between-subject ANOVA. The two levels of the independent variables are the following: Personality Type (Extraversion/Introversion) and Type of Advertisement (Alcohol/Other). The dependent variables are the perceptions of alcohol advertisements and neutral advertisements. The mean for each group (n=10) was calculated. Alcohol/Introversion=35.8; Alcohol/Extraversion=72.6; Neutral/Introversion=36.4 and Neutral/Extraversion=39.9.
A between- subjects ANOVA was used to analyze the data. An interaction was found between type of advertisement and personality type F=80.546. A main effect for personality was found F(df)=109.410 p<.05 (F=109.410). A main effect was also found for advertisement F(df)=76.041 p<.05 (F=76.041).
Discussion
As predicted, extraverts receiving the alcohol advertisements were greatly influenced by the advertisements. Also as predicted, extraverts receiving neutral advertisements showed no difference of influence. Main effects were found for extraversion and alcohol advertisements. As predicted, an interaction was found such that personality type and type of advertisement effected the perception of alcohol.
As predicted, introverts showed no difference of their influence based on the type of advertisement. In addition, personality type did not differ on their perceptions of other advertisements.
Further extensive
research on the influence of advertisement on personality types would
potentially aid in hindering alcohol use. It would be beneficial for
advertising agencies to further examine how personality type are factors in the
influence and reach a particular advertisement has on the target market.
Further experiments should test the subjects on a variety of media sources to
find the role on personality types.