Running head: INFLUENCE OF
ALCOHOL AND ADVERTISEMENTS
Influence
of Alcohol and Neutral Advertisements on Extraverts and Introverts
Advertisement
Perception
Jennifer
Donlin
St.
Bonaventure University
Abstract
There has been no research
describing the effects of personality types on the influence of alcohol
advertisements. 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. A 2
(Introversion/Extraversion) x2 (Alcohol and Neutral) ANOVA was used. Main
effects were found for both personality type (extravert were more influenced by
advertisements than introverts) and type of advertisement (alcohol
advertisement were more influencing than neutral). In addition and interaction
was obtained: that neutral advertisements had little impact on either
introversion or extraversion but alcohol advertisement influence extraverts
more than introverts.
Influence of
Alcohol Advertisements on Extraverts and Introverts
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, the main problem is that 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.
Hypotheses
Main Effect 1- A main effect is predicted for personality such that extraverts will be more influenced by advertisements than introverts.
Main Effect 2- A main effect is predicted for advertisements such that alcohol advertisements will be more influential than neutral advertisements.
Interaction- An interaction is predicted such that neutral advertisements will
have little impact on either introverts and extraverts
but alcohol advertisements will influence extraverts more than introverts. .
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 separate groups: alcohol advertisements and neutral advertisements.
Measures
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 influence of the alcohol/neutral advertisements.
Design/Procedure
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
Results
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. The means for each group were as followed (see Table 1) Alcohol/Introversion had M=35.8, SD=5.07;Alcohol/Extraversion had M=72.6, SD=8.73; Neutral/Introversion had M=36.4,SD=7.75; and Neutral/Extraversion had M=39.9, SD=7.75.
A between subjects ANOVA was used to analyze the
data.
A main effect for personality was found (see Figure 1) F (1, 36) =109.410 p<. 05. Indicating that extraverts were greater than introverts
on influence of advertisements. A main effect was also found for advertisement
F (1, 36) =76.041 p<. 05. Which indicates that alcohol advertisements were
greater than neutral advertisements on influence of the advertisements.
An interaction was found (see Figure 1) between type of advertisement and
personality type F (1, 36) =80.546
p<. 05. That neutral advertisements had little impact
on the influence on either personality type but alcohol advertisement
influences extraverts more than introverts.
Discussion
Previous research has found the effect of extraversion on alcohol use and alcohol advertisements on alcohol use. No previous research had tested the two variables together to determine the influence of advertisements on personality types. Thus, the previous experiment was conducted.
The results support the hypotheses for both main effects and interaction of the variables. As predicted, extraverts receiving the alcohol advertisements were greatly influenced by the advertisements. Also as predicted, extraverts and introverts receiving neutral advertisements showed no difference of influence. Main effects were found for extraversion and alcohol advertisements. Such that extraversion is a factor on influence of advertisements. As predicted, an interaction was found such that personality type and type of advertisement effected the perception of alcohol. There was a functional level of extraversion/introversion such that neutral advertisements had little impact on the influence but alcohol does particularly for extraverts. As predicted, introverts showed no difference of their influence based on the type of advertisement.
The findings in this experiment could be a useful tool for advertisers. The experimental conclusions will allow advertisers to realize that personality type is a major factor in the way people are influenced by advertisements. It would be beneficial for advertisers to be fully aware how their advertisements are reaching their desired target audience, or likewise not reaching their target market. The main effects and interactions suggest that alcohol companies, such as Budweiser, would greatly influence the consumer if they reached extraverts. A beneficial way to do such would be to show similar extraverts placing themselves in highly sociable and desirable situations that include alcohol. The experiment is also significant for those who wish to hinder alcohol use. The findings could be used to further demonstrate how alcohol advertisements are influencing people.
This experiment was an imperative beginning to targeting how extraverts/introverts are influenced differently by alcohol advertisements. Further experiments should test how other types of media influence extraverts/introverts. In addition, it would be greatly beneficial for experimenters to test the influence of other drugs/alcohol on extraverts/introverts. The experiment has only found the influence of alcohol advertisements on extraverts/introverts; it would be beneficial for future research to test a large variety of personality types.
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Table 1- Perception of Advertisements as a function of personality type (Introversion/Extraversion) and type of advertisement (Alcohol/Neutral)
|
|
Alcohol |
Neutral |
|
Extraverts |
72.6 |
39.9 |
|
Introverts |
35.8 |
36.4 |
Figure Caption
Figure 1- Perception of Advertisements as a function of personality type (Introversion/Extraversion) and type of advertisement (Alcohol and Neutral)
