The role of quantitative easing in distorting equity markets leading Research Paper

The role of quantitative easing in distorting equity markets leading to a distortion in the labor market - Research Paper Example The governments in these countries have been actively taking policy measures, such as quantitative easing and easy monetary policies to boost up the economies and increase level of economic performance. Table of Contents Table of Contents 3 Central Bank Tools Discussion 5 Recent Recession and its effects 8 Equity Markets Bubble in Banking Sector 9 Compare QEs in US, EU and Japan 10 Effects on the Labour Markets 11 Conclusion 12 Works cited 13 Name of the Student Name of the Professor Course Number Date The role of quantitative easing in distorting equity markets leading to a distortion in the labour market Recessionary background The financial crisis that had hit the America and the European Union in the 2008 has come to an end in the 2009, according to economists. However, the effects of crisis have been lingering around for the last four years. The financial crisis had ruptured the financial system and has consequently affected the entire global economy. As the financial drought ha s neared its end in the year 2009, think tanks consisting of economist and politicians from around the world have been investigating the root cause of global crisis. The actual reason has yet remained a debatable discussion. However, near consensus has been reached on one factor that has led to the financial breakdown; high default rate on the subprime mortgages. In the Europe, high liquidity had led to high level of risky transactions in the real estate market. Loans were provided at low rates of interest and without accepting fair amounts of security. Some of the large financial institutions that were affected the most in this scenario were, Lehman Brothers, Bear Sterns and Northern Rock (Weisberg, â€Å"What Caused the Economic Crisis?†). This financial down turn had caused economic activities to slowdown in the Europe and the United States. This has been the primary reason behind the global recession in the first decade of the twenty first century. The effect of the finan cial crisis has been an elongated one. The extent upto which the effect of recession in the European Union is being experienced is a longer period of time than the actual period of time for which the financial break down had occurred in these countries (Arcega, â€Å"European Recession Now Longer than 2008 Financial Crisis†). The countries in Europe are still striving to recover from the after effects of the crisis. Out of the seventeen nations that follow the common currency, Euro, nine countries are in the state of recession in 2013. While in general recession lasts for four quarters in a financial year, this recession is lasting for more than six quarters. Central Bank Tools Discussion In general, the central banks raise lending activity indirectly by cutting the rate of interest. Lower interest rate encourages investors to make higher levels of investment. People are also induced to spend more. But when rates of interest come close to zero, the central bank cannot further lower the interest rate (â€Å"What Is Quantitative Easing?†). It has the last option of directly injecting higher amount of money in the economy. The central bank can do this by purchasing assets (usually in the form of government bonds). This raises the level of money supply in the economy. The financial crisis

Ancient Persian Cuisines and Dinning Rituals Research Paper

Ancient Persian Cuisines and Dinning Rituals - Research Paper Example For example, the Mesopotamian, Central Asia and the Anatolian cuisines are some cuisines that have influenced the Persian cuisine such as ice cream and kebab (Batmanglij 2011, 34). Some of these Persian cuisines rice that is served along with meat, basmati rice served with stew, soup made from herbs and vegetables, pure white rice, pastries, salad, appetizers, desserts and drinks (Batmanglij 2011, 34). Notably, the Iranian people love rice although they have an extensive list of cuisines. Logically, the Persian community loves to take green herbs together with fruits. This includes fruits like quince, plums, prunes, raisins, pomegranates and apricots (Batmanglij 2011, 35). Typically, the Iranians love meat, rice, fish, chicken and lamb. Moreover, they work hard to ensure that they take a balanced diet but add some flavor (Ghanoonparvar 2006, 67). Consequently, cinnamon, saffron, parsley and lime are some of the spices used in making special dishes. In summary, the Persian cuisine and dinning ritual that is intriguing and exciting to adapt into the daily dishes. Evidently, rice is a common Persian dish. There are different modes devised in cooking to ensure that the meals had a different touch. Sometimes, the rice is served with marinated chicken or served as saffron ice-cake (Batmanglij 2011, 97). Historically, rice was imported from India into Iran. For instance, the basmati rice is an import from India while Pakistan rice is definitely from Pakistan but is similar to that of Persia. On the other hand, rice is seen as a staple food in northern Iran. However, the rest of the Iranians consider bread as their staple food. Interestingly, the aroma of the Persian rice caused it to be a prized cuisine. In summary, rice and bread are the main staple foods in Persia. Logically, every community has its ways of preparing its cuisines. Therefore, the Persians have their ways of preparing different rice cuisines. The common ones are Tah-deeg, damy and kateh, alongside oth ers (Ghanoonparvar 2006, 79). One is soaking of rice in salt water, followed by boiling. This is called chelo, which is returned for steaming after boiling. Consequently, the rice becomes fluffy, and the grains are not sticky. The other is Tah-deeg, which has a golden crust at the bottom of the pot (Ghanoonparvar 2006, 79). This rice is taken plainly but is eaten alongside bread of potato slices. On the other hand, there are additions of nuts, meat, fruits and vegetables. Interestingly, all these additions can be served together in one meal. Interestingly, the heat is lowered when the chelo is still in the pot then covered with a piece of cloth so that it absorbs the steam (Ghanoonparvar 2006, 81). This chelo is plain and is mainly served with kebab or stew. However, chelo and polo are more or less cooked in the same way. On the other hand, kateh is rice that is cooked until water is completely dry. This is the most traditional mode of cooking rice. Finally, the preparing of the dam y is more like kateh, one starts with other ingredients such as beans. Damy is stemming of the rice. In summary, there are different methods used in the preparation of rice, which makes a difference to each rice meal. The other major additions in the Persian cuisines are vegetables and fruits. Luckily, Iran is known for its wide production of vegetables and fruits. Consequently, most homes in Persia will have a fruit bowl on their tables. Moreover, most meals are accompanied with herbs and vegetables. Additionally, Persians have promoted eating fruits and vegetables because of the health benefits they have on them. As a result, some vegetables like garlic, pomegranate and onion are included in the cooking of

Erythropoietin: Advantages and Disadvantages for Athletes

Erythropoietin: Advantages and Disadvantages for Athletes EPO (Erythropoietin), its advantages and disadvantages for endurance athletes. For the purposes of this essay an understanding of what EPO (Erythropoietin) is will be established. An understanding of how EPO works in the body will also be established. EPO’s use in medicinal practice is wide and varied and will be referred to also. Given an understanding of its mechanism and its effect on the body, its usefulness to endurance athletes will be established. Studies on its effectiveness will then be analyzed and referred to with reference to the health risks attached to this use. This will culminate in a brief overview of the history of EPO usage or â€Å"Blood Doping† in professional sports. EPO acts in the body as a glycoprotein hormone that regulates red blood cell (RBC) production. Its function is as a protein signaling molecule for RBC precursors in the bone marrow. EPO is produced naturally in the body by interstitial fibroblasts in the kidneys and by perisinusoidal cells present in the liver. Production of EPO in adults is most common in the kidneys. Notwithstanding, EPO is also involved in the healing process after the infliction of wounds and is part of the cerebral response to neuronal trauma. In terms of modern medicine, EPO is harvested from cell cultures and is used to treat anemia (a decrease in the bodies RBC count). EPO is also used in the treatment of Myelodysplasia, which is a type of cancer that inhibits the bone marrows ability to produce healthy RBCs. Most EPO prescribed to patients contain major health warnings about increased risk of heart attack, stroke and even the reoccurrence of certain tumors. Put simply, athletes who harness the power of EPO can go harder for longer. EPO allows bone marrow to create RBCs and thus extra hemoglobin. Consequently EPO is most generally utilized among endurance athletes as a means to increasing their RBC count which in turn results in better oxygen transportation along these lines and a vast improvement in aerobic respiration. The quicker the rate of high-impact respiration, the higher the level at which the competitor can work without using the anaerobic frameworks which deliver lactic acid and increase weakness. Traditionally, â€Å"blood doping† involved training at high altitude for a period of between 4 and 6 weeks. The blood that was rich in oxygen was then harvested from the body exactly as one would donate blood. The oxygen rich blood was then transfused back into the body at sea level prior to or during competition. Despite its natural occurrence in the body it can be synthesized into a serum that people can inject through the skin. Therefore its usefulness for endurance athletes is quite apparent. A vast number of studies concerning the effectiveness of EPO injection for Endurance athletes. The primary study to be analyzed as part of this essay is â€Å"Hemoglobin Mass and Running Time Trial Performance after Recombinant Human Erythropoietin Administration in Trained Men† by Yiannis Pitsiladis et al. The study was undertaken by infusing long distance runners with EPO every other day for a month. Their times were enhanced 3% to 6% on average after 4 weeks of use. The Pitsiladis study was part funded by the World Anti-Doping agency. They stated the reason for funding the study was the find ways of increasing the detectability of EPO use among professional endurance athletes, rather than to highlight the drug’s effectiveness. Be that as it may, the current report made no notice of any such testing or test outcomes. The study did note that EPO infusions, which expand the bodys RBC mass (consequently prompting more prominent oxygen conveyance and speedier running exhibitions on persistent occasions), additionally diminish the bodys aggregate blood plasma volume. A further study by Prof. Max Gassmann from the University of Zurich stated that EPO usage had massive psychological benefits to an athlete. He found that there were serious gains to be made in terms of motivation after treating genetically modified mice that produced human EPO solely in their brains. He surmised that EPOs possible mental health benefits were limitless given proper dosage and that it could be used to potentially alleviate the devastating symptoms suffered by Schizophrenics. I contrast to this, a peer reviewed study of the effectiveness of EPO doping for cyclists suggested that there was no tangible evidence to support the claim that EPO enhances performance in top athletes. The study was titled â€Å"Erythropoietin doping in cycling: Lack of evidence for efficacy and a negative risk benefit† by J A A C Heuberger et al. The summary of their findings suggested there was no increase in performance for top cyclists and that performance was based on more than V02 max results and that higher power output for longer doesn’t correlate with athletic performance, particularly in cycling. The main finding of the report was that the health risks associated with EPO supplementation were simply not worth the increase in V02 max or power output. Athlete’s use of artificial EPO became a very popular method of performance enhancement, specifically for cyclists in the 1980s and has been linked with many champion athletes being stripped of titles and banned from the sport. The most famous case of admitted EPO use was by seven times Tour De France Champion, Lance Armstrong. Advances in retroactive testing of blood, hair and urine samples may lead to other high profile athletes suffering the same fate in the years to come. However athletes prior to the EPO era were more inclined to use anabolic steroids and amphetamines as a means of performance enhancement. To summarize, EPO usage leads to an increase in RBC mass and its ability to transfer oxygen molecules around the body. It allows for an increase in Vo2 max and power output. However its effectiveness on the performance of top athletes is up for debate as an increased ability to go harder for longer does not necessarily lead to increased athletic performance. Despite this EPOs prevalence endurance sports would suggest that many athletes across different codes consider it a performance enhancing substance, despite the obvious health risks. References Amby Burfoot. (2013).Study: EPO Effective, Long-Lasting.Available: http://www.runnersworld.com/race-training/study-epo-effective-long-lasting. Last accessed 22nd Nov 2014. J A A C Heuberger et al. . (2013). â€Å"Erythropoietin doping in cycling: Lack of evidence for efficacy and a negative risk benefit†.British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology. 75 (6), 1406-21. Andy Layhe. (2011).Types of Drugs and Methods Used in Cycling. Available: http://bikepure.org/resources/list-of-banned-substances/types-of-drugs-and-methods-used-in-cycling/. Last accessed 22nd Nov 1014. Carsten Lundby and Niels Vidiendal Olsen. (2011). Effects of recombinant human erythropoietin in normal humans.The Journal of Physiology. 589 (1), p1265-1271. Yannis P. Pitsiladis et al.. (2013).Haemoglobin Mass and Running Time Trial Performance after Recombinant Human Erythropoietin Administration in Trained Men.Available: http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0056151. Last accessed 18th Nov 2014. Elizabeth Quinn. (2014).EPO and Blood Doping in Sports.Available: http://sportsmedicine.about.com/od/performanceenhancingdrugs/a/EPO.htm. Last accessed 19th Nov 2014. Johannes Vogel, Max Gassmann. (2007). Erythropoietic and non-erythropoietic functions of erythropoietin (Epo) in mouse models.The Journal of Physiology. 584 (1), 709.

We Are Media :: essays research papers

â€Å"We are media†, media is us, and we are one.† In this simple statement I site my definition of media ecology. If we would all take a look at our lives we are just a jumble of representations. From the moment we are born to the day that we die we are media. We are born a certain sex boy or girl. That represents something. Boys wear blue girls wear pink. This is a signifier to everyone of what we are. We don’t know we are boys or girls until someone tells different things. You have set and defined expectations for your life and ways that you will act. From that day forward we learn our media from our lives, our families, friends, literally everything we come in contact with. Everything we do and everything we see leaves some trace of an impression on us and represents something to each of us. That’s why I feel that media is us. Media is everything. We are just representations. Is there a reality? Do we exist to just consume reality? Are we realities of a representation? These are questions that I asked myself while writing this paper.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  While thinking through I came up with a thought of despair, almost panic. It makes you very frustrated to think seriously about this. It makes you question everything that you were socialized to believe as a member of society. It makes you question countless things in our lives. It made me think about life in general. Who are we to define reality? What is reality? How do we tackle these questions? Truthfully, I don’t know if there is a way but I think we all need to examine our lives in general and the everyday lives that we live and question them. Everything we do or say has a representation so therefore is media. It is all around us. It is everywhere. Most places we don’t even know that it is going on.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In my inspection of my life and the media that surrounds me I have found media to be all encompassing. It is everywhere. I wake up to a clock radio that I turn off to only seconds later turn on the TV which is on until I leave my apartment. But even with the TV or radio off my apartment is still crawling with media sources. Almost everything I own has labels on it from clothes to food. We Are Media :: essays research papers â€Å"We are media†, media is us, and we are one.† In this simple statement I site my definition of media ecology. If we would all take a look at our lives we are just a jumble of representations. From the moment we are born to the day that we die we are media. We are born a certain sex boy or girl. That represents something. Boys wear blue girls wear pink. This is a signifier to everyone of what we are. We don’t know we are boys or girls until someone tells different things. You have set and defined expectations for your life and ways that you will act. From that day forward we learn our media from our lives, our families, friends, literally everything we come in contact with. Everything we do and everything we see leaves some trace of an impression on us and represents something to each of us. That’s why I feel that media is us. Media is everything. We are just representations. Is there a reality? Do we exist to just consume reality? Are we realities of a representation? These are questions that I asked myself while writing this paper.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  While thinking through I came up with a thought of despair, almost panic. It makes you very frustrated to think seriously about this. It makes you question everything that you were socialized to believe as a member of society. It makes you question countless things in our lives. It made me think about life in general. Who are we to define reality? What is reality? How do we tackle these questions? Truthfully, I don’t know if there is a way but I think we all need to examine our lives in general and the everyday lives that we live and question them. Everything we do or say has a representation so therefore is media. It is all around us. It is everywhere. Most places we don’t even know that it is going on.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In my inspection of my life and the media that surrounds me I have found media to be all encompassing. It is everywhere. I wake up to a clock radio that I turn off to only seconds later turn on the TV which is on until I leave my apartment. But even with the TV or radio off my apartment is still crawling with media sources. Almost everything I own has labels on it from clothes to food.

Case Study 1

Li-Hsien Chen 09/16/12 Case Study 1 The Springfield Nor’ easters : Maximizing Revenues in the Minor League 1. Critically analyze the research undertaken by Larry Buckingham, Nor’ easters Marketing Director. Discuss if you feel the objectives, questions asked, sample chosen, and method utilized were appropriated and why they were or were not. What type of questions would you have added to the survey and why? 2. ————————————————- What do you consider to be the key findings of both the League Sports Association Survey and the research survey conducted by the Nor’easters?Discuss any potential biases that might exist. Comment on what Buckingham learned about a prospective customer profile, pricing, and single ticket versus season-ticket packages from both. The sport marketing research plan that Buckingham tried to do is well organized especially in this shor t time stress. However, it may not fully accomplish and still need some more steps to achieve the goal. The purpose and problem of the research is simple and clear. Buckingham want to know how many people would come to see and how much to charge them.There are many of key findings that Buckingham can make a good use of it. According to the League Sports Association Survey, over 73% residences are willing to attend baseball game who having an income ranging from$22,500 to $75,000. Base on the statement, Buckingham used non-probability sampling method. Trying to focus on the most possible group that becoming the game attenders. I think the problem is only one existing finding and Buckingham just used it as model. It seems to me that he trying to prove the result from the previous found but there is no novel or creative finding appear.It's a pity that he couldn’t use this time to find something new and more inspiring result, Because of time stress and budget consideration, Bucki ngham chose postcard and internet survey to finish the research instead of mail survey. But in the end, approximately just 4% of postcards were return to the office and totally 625 responses (add to internet response) were tabulated is just not enough samples for me to make critical decision. According to statistic calculation, the confidence interval of survey is about 94~95% that still can make it more reliable and validity if Buckingham gathered moreinformation.Blesch noted that Minor League teams (unlike Major League Baseball) won-lost records appeared to have little to do with attendance; mediocre teams that provided a high entertainment value often had very high attendance. What Blesch’s note is so right to me because you have nothing to do with your roster and team’s competition. It’s all in charge of Major League. Sometimes, the most productive or talented player may get promote to higher level of minor league teams as soon as they have breakout performa nce. It’s graceful if your team has good prospect and future superstar.But you just cannot put all eggs on it. How to use advertisement, promotion to attract local residences attending games and make them believe it would be great experience no matter the host team win or lose. Another key finding is how much money residents are willing to pay for a ticket. Range from $10-$14. And no matter how cheap the tickets are, concession will make up for it. No less than 39% team’s profit make of concession sales. One MD who Buckingham has talked with said it even makes more than half team’s revenue.It seems that Buckingham should pay more attention on concession sales. On the questionnaire, Buckingham can put some questions, like what type of snack, beverage and food sports fans hope to have in the games; what kind of souvenir and team’s goods that fans are willing to buy it. It’s all about gaining the profits and fans’ attending. Asking one question that how much do fans expect to spend on concession is too general to me. The potential fan base which Buckingham described by himself is anybody who can enjoy a good ball game. To more specific, they need to be baseball fans at least.However, 60% of responses were not baseball fans, 72% of responses didn’t attend a professional baseball games in the past year which means most part of this survey result came out from people who really doesn’t care about tickets price or new professional baseball team coming to this city. The result may be misunderstanding and understated because people who are not baseball fan don’t want to spend even one dollar on attending the games. As a result, Buckingham better separate different type of responses. He can establish price policy based on the esponses which are baseball fans and trying to find another way to pursue the non-baseball fans, like promoting the feature and fun of game not related to baseball. To do with these â⠂¬Å"media consumers† and â€Å"indirect consumers† in sport marketing concept is do your best as you can but don’t expect to get too much return of it. 3. ————————————————- Based on your finding who would you recommend that the Nor’easters target and why? Base on the article, I would say that Family with children age from 5~16 and high school (College) students should be the target market.Without a doubt, the commitment sports fans should be count in too. But it’s easy to take care of those die-hard fans. It’s all about long-term service and other consideration. On the other hand, to create the new potential sports consumers related the article about pricing policy, previous two groups would be critical. According to the research, most part of ticket buyers are group consumers rather than individual consumer. For family, it’s good for parents to take their children seeing the professional performance and have good time in the weekend afternoon with relative low cost compared to other entertainment.For students, they can hang out with friend and classmates. Why they wouldn’t opt to attend games with reasonable cost and convenient transportation (especially important factor for students. ) Take my personal experience as example, I usually went to see my country professional baseball game not only I’m a big baseball fan but also there is special discount for students. Students can have half price, and take free shuttle bus from my college to the stadium. Because of it, we were glad to attend the games even there is not my supported team of the matchups.Just experience the games circumstance and atmosphere. So I would recommend the Nor’easters to pursue the more potential attenders as they can. 4. ———————————â €”————- What consideration should the Nor’easter take into account in establishing a pricing policy? The price is the factor that the most visible and flexible part of sport marketing. I think there are few considerations that need to be count in establishing a pricing policy. Offering more ticket packages for different type of consumers that can attract more people attending games.As I mentioned before, Nor’easter should try to know about and do survey on students, families and school groups’ preference of ticket price. Offering specific ticket package should be good way to focus on different distinct groups’ consumer behavior. Also, special date of calendar can let people willing to spend money on recreation. Minor League short A season starts from mid-June through the first week of September. There are some dates should be used to promote, such as â€Å"Father’s day† and â€Å"labor day†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦etc.No r’easters can give a special promotion for these days that let Springfield residences have more choice on their holiday for celebration. Not only setting reasonable price that can compete other sports, varies entertainment should also be counted, such as Movie, bowling and music concert. Knowing why people (as baseball fans) choose other activities over attending games is important for organization to decide the ticket price. I think that it’s opportunity for Nor’easter making more revenue if they take a look at these factors into their pricing policy. 5. ————————————————-Design a ticket pricing plan for the Nor’easters first season. Your plan should include specific pricing and package. Discuss how and why you decided on the prices and what package you are offering or not offering. Ticket Type| $ per ticket| Note| Regular| | | Single ticket| 12 | | 5-game ticket | 10| | 20-game ticket| X| Not offering| 38-game ticket| 6| With grandstand seat and one special team’s souvenir| Package| | | Family plan for single game| 10| $30 for three persons with tickets and hot dogs. Additional can be added on for $10 per person. | Family plan forWeekend| 8| Include two games on the weekend. 48 for three persons with tickets and hot dogs. Additional can be added on for $8 per person. | Students plan| 10| Only qualify with Students ID cards| Group Sales| 8| 25+ with adult group| | 6| 25+ little leaguer or elementary school| Special Promotion| | | Father’s Day| Free for father who take at least one children or wife with him| Ladies’ Night| Free for female who take at least one male with him| Children Day| Every attender person who age no more than 10 get extra hotdogs and beverage| Labor Day| Every attender get special meal for celebration|I design the ticket pricing plan based on the Buckingham’s survey. Even tho ugh there are still some problems and flaws in this survey (as mention before). But that’s all materials I have. Here are some strategies of my plan First, I choose not to offer 20-game ticket because it doesn’t have distinct difference from other types of ticket. Little series package like 5-game ticket are good enough for people who like to attend more than just one game but not every games of season. Furthermore, even though only 2% of responses likely subscribe 38-game full season ticket.In my opinion, it’s still necessary for Professional Baseball team to work on it. It’s kind of symbol. And teams should take good care of it. Giving them grandstand seat like VIP area and team’s special souvenir like hat or badge that only belong to whole season ticket holder. Make them feel worthy spending on large money supporting this team. I also delete grandstand seating service because 72% of responses will pay only 10% more than original ticket price. It doesn’t necessary for me to execute this policy.Second, 81% of responses are willing to spend from$6 to $15 on concessions. Concessions sales are somehow equally important as ticket sales. So I try to attract as more attending as I can by the reasonable low pricing policy and various special packages. For different target you will need different specific promotion. The most important thing for the new team of city is to make local residents familiar with and then support this team. I’m sure Nor’easters can provide great game experience and service, and hence my priority is to attract people attending and feeling it. Case Study 1 Week 1 Case Study Summary Joanne Zippittelli was a 63 year old woman who filed a claim of against J. C. Penney and her employer, James Johnson, in 2004. She decided to file a claim when she was not promoted to Shift Operations Manager. The reason she cited for the claim is that she was passed over for a promotion that she felt she was most qualified for because of her age which is a clear violation of title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Age Discrimination Act in Employment Act (ADEA) of 1967.The job was given to another female under the age of 40. Since the plaintiff could not provide sufficient evidence that Anita played a role in the decision-making process or that the defendant used discriminatory factors against her the case was awarded to the defendants. Questions 1.Given a conversation that an employee had with her supervisor about applying for a promotion, which resulted in a question about age and a response by the supervisor when she found out that the applican t was 63 that the applicant would â€Å"probably not† coupled with the fact that the applicant had better performance evaluations than the younger woman who was awarded the position, would not a reasonable layperson in the position of the applicant think that she had been discriminated against because of age?Yes, a reasonable layperson would agree with the 63 year old employee that age discrimination was a factor in the hiring process. One may think that the verbal response and previous job performance would have guaranteed him or her that position. However, there could have been additional selection criteria that the employer was looking for that would be a better fit for the organization. Unfortunately that is not case. If the person making the verbal response has no role or influence on who gets hired or promoted, there is not a case for age discrimination unless other factors are brought to the forefront. . Was the fact that the plaintiff had better performance evaluation s than the younger worker promoted to the job evidence of discriminatory intent because of age? Yes, with the plaintiff having better work performance evaluations supports her claim of age discrimination. Based on comments made by Anita Benko, the plaintiff received better performance evaluations and was still passed over for a younger candidate therefore provided substantial evidence for the plaintiff to pursue a claim of discriminatory intent because of age.Based on the evidence she has made a prima-facie case showing she’s in a protected class, she was qualified for the position, she was dismissed in spite of being qualified, and that she was replaced by a younger and less qualified person. Because of the plaintiff moving her case forward allowed J. C. Penney can review its hiring practices. 3. Was Benko’s remark that the plaintiff would â€Å"probably not get the job† when the plaintiff revealed her age sufficient evidence for a jury to find that the defenda nt’s stated reasons served as a pretext to hide a discriminatory practice?The remark made by Benko was not sufficient evidence in order for a jury to find the defendant’s reason a pretext to hide a discriminatory practice. Benko was not on the hiring committee nor was she consulted on the applicants. Her comment was solely based on her opinion and she clearly misspoke with such an offensive remark. Her comment could be perceived as a form of harassment. There may have additional factors in the hiring process which the plaintiff may not have been privy to when seeking the promotion.

Effects of Television Commercial Repetition

Journal of Consumer Research, Inc. The Effects of Television Commercial Repetition on Cognitive Response and Message Acceptance Author(s): George E. Belch Reviewed work(s): Source: Journal of Consumer Research, Vol. 9, No. 1 (Jun. , 1982), pp. 56-65 Published by: The University of Chicago Press Stable URL: http://www. jstor. org/stable/2488937 . Accessed: 17/08/2012 06:48 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www. jstor. org/page/info/about/policies/terms. jsp .JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email  protected] org. . The University of Chicago Press and Journal of Consumer Research, Inc. are collaborating with JSTOR to digitiz e, preserve and extend access to Journal of Consumer Research. http://www. jstor. org The Television Commercial Repetition on Cognitive Response and Message Acceptance Effects ofGEORGEE. BELCH* The cognitiveeffects of advertisingrepetitionare examined by consideringthe impactof three levels of TV commercialexposure withina one-hour program. Attitudesand purchase intentionswere not affected by message repetition, although cognitive responses became more negative as exposure frequencyincreased. The relationship between cognitiveresponses and the message acceptance measures was relatively constantacross the three exposure levels. effects of repeated exposure to a persuasive communication have long been of interest to social psychologists and marketers.However, research concerning the effects of persuasive message repetition on cognitive processes has been limited in both social psychology and marketing. In social psychology, much of the repetition researchhas been performedin contexts thatdo not involve communication. For example, Zajonc's (1968) theory of mere exposure suggests that a person's attitude toward a stimulus is positively relatedto exposure frequency(an effect Zajonc attributedto the pleasantness associated with hearing an increasinglyfamiliar stimulus).However, mere exposure theory may have limited relevance to the attitudinal effects of persuasivemessage repetition,as this model applies primarilyto simple nonassociative stimuli, such as nonsense syllables or Turkish alphabet characters. Persuasive messages tend to be more complex stimuli and, in the case of advertisingmessages, the focus is generally on objects or ideas presentedin the message ratherthan on the advertisementitself. With the exception of a study by Cacioppo and Petty (1979), the cognitive and affective effects of repeated exposure to persuasive communicationshave generatedsurprisinglylittle researchin social psychology.Attemptsto determinethe effects of advertisingmessage repetition have appearedfrequentlyin the marketingliterature (Craig, Sternthal, and Leavitt 1976; Grass and Wal- The lace 1969; Mitchell and Olson 1977; Ray and Sawyer 1971; Sawyer 1973; Silk and Vavra 1974; Winter 1973). However, most researchinto the effects of advertisingrepetition has focused primarilyon outcome measuressuch as recall, attitude,and purchaseintention,ratherthanconsideringthe underlying processes that might shape and determine reaction to an advertisingmessage following multiple exposures.While knowledge of the repetition function for a persuasivemessage with respect to these outcome variables is important, the cognitive effects of message repetition must also be consideredif insight is to be gained in understandinga recipient'sreactionsto a message following multiple exposures. The purpose of this investigation is to study the effects of repeated exposure to a persuasive communication by examining the impact of television commercial repetition on cognitive processing.Cognit ive response measures (Greenwald 1968; Petty, Ostrom, and Brock 1981; Wright 1973) as well as traditionaloutcome measures such as recall, attitude, and purchase intention are used to examine the effects of multiple message exposures on recipients. This study also examines changes in the relationship of cognitive response mediators to measures of message acceptanceresultingfrom multipleexposuresto a commercial message. RELEVANT LITERATURE *George E. Belch is AssistantProfessorof Marketing,College of Business Administration,San Diego State University, San Diego, CA 92182.The author wishes to acknowledge the financial support provided by a doctoraldissertationgrant from the AmericanMarketingAssociation and by researchgrantsfrom the MarketingScience Instituteand the University of California, Los Angeles. Appreciationis also expressed to Rich Lutz and James Bettmanfor their comments on an earlierversion of this manuscript and to two anonymousreviewers for their insightful comments and re commendations. The effects of advertising repetition on outcome measures such as attitude and purchase intention have been examined in a numberof studies.Winter(1973) found that exposure to the commercials decreased the distance between attitudes toward the advertisedbrand and the ideal brand. However, diminishingreturnswere found, since the greatestamountof attitudechange occurredduringthe first two exposures. Also, exposure had a significanteffect only on individualsinitially unfamiliarwith the advertisedbrand 56 ? JOURNAL OF CONSUMERRESEARCH* Vol. 9 0 June 1982 EFFECTSOF TV COMMERCIAL REPETITION and it was positively related to brand familiarity for the relatively new brandonly. Ginter(1974) found that either overall attitude change nor brand choice was affected by the numberof message exposures. Null effects of advertising repetition were also found in a study by Mitchell and Olson (1977): repetition of two types of print ads had no effect on belief strength, attitude, or purcha seintention. Several studies have examined the effects of multiple exposure in conjunction with varied advertising appeals. Ray and Sawyer (1971) found that repetitionof six soft-sell â€Å"nongrabber† advertisementsproduced increases in purchase intention, while intention was not increasedby repetition of hard-sell â€Å"grabber† ads.Similar results were found in-a study by Silk and Vavra (1974), who examined reactions to hard-sell and soft-sell radio commercials. Gorn and Goldberg (1980) examined the effects of repeated commercialexposure on eight- to ten-year-oldboys by varying the numberof commercials seen in the context of a half-hourprogram. Subjects viewed the commercials eitherone, three, or five times. However, some of the multiple-exposure condition subjects viewed the same commercialrepeatedly,while otherssaw a differentcommercial for the new brandeach time.Gorn and Goldbergfound that moderateexposure (threerepetitions)resultedin the highest level of brandpr eference, providedthat the same commercial was not seen each time. 57 Cacioppoand Petty (1980) tested the viability of the twostage cognitive response model in two other repetitionexperiments. In the first experiment, the cognitive response measureand a persistingmeasureof attitudechange (taken one week later) were affected in the curvilinear manner suggested by the two-factor model.In the second experiment, they predicted-and found-an interactionbetween exposure frequency and the nature of the argumentsused on a persisting attitudechange measure. Strong argumentbased messages became more persuasive with repetition; weak argumentmessages became less persuasivewith repetition; and novel messages became more, then less persuasive with repeatedexposure. Calder and Sternthal (1980) measured cognitive responses after commercials for two products;one product and was unfamiliarto the participants one was well known.They found that increased frequency of exposure led primarilyto more total thoughtsfor the unfamiliarproductand to an increasein negative thoughtsfor the well-knownproduct. TheoreticalAccounts of RepetitionEffects While several theoreticalexplanationshave been offered for repetitioneffects, the one that appearsto be most congenial for advertisingmessage repetition is some form of Berlyne's (1970) two-factor theory. Berlyne proposed a nonmonotonic inverted U-curve relationship between familiarity and liking.According to Berlyne, two separate and opposing psychological processes, positive habituation and tedium, operatesimultaneously. Positive habituationis similar to a reduction in response competition: exposure results in a reductionin arousaldue to uncertaintyand conflict and thus increases liking. Tedium also increases with exposure and results in a less pleasurablefeeling toward the stimulus. Berlyne suggests that the relative strengthof each factorvaries as a functionof exposureto the stimulus, with the habituationprocess having the greaterimpact on af fect initially, while tedium and disliking occur at higher exposure levels.Stimulus complexity and sequence heterogeneity slow the positive habituationprocess; thus tedium occurs at higher exposurelevels for complex, variedstimuli and at a relatively low frequency for simple, nonvaried stimuli. An extension of Berlyne's two-factor theory was proposed by Stang (1973, 1975), who argued that repeated to exposureprovidesmore opportunity learnaboutthe stimulus and that because this learning is rewarding, positive affect results. However, continued repetition beyond that necessary for initial learningleads to boredomor satiation, and repeated exposure ultimately produces negative affect toward the stimulus.A similar explanationfor repetitioneffects was proposed by Cacioppo and Petty's (1979) two-stage attitudemodification model. They argue that repetition of the message to providesrecipientswith more opportunity elaboratecognitively upon message content and to realize the favorable implic ationsand cogency of the argumentsused in the mes- Repetition and Cognitive Response McCullough and Ostrom(1974) examined the effects of repeatedexposure by having subjects view five similar ads that used the same basic appeal, but differed in the order and phrasing of the message arguments.Cognitive responses were measuredimmediatelyafter each exposure to the advertisements. They found that repetition resulted in a significantpositive effect on cognitive response activity, as subjectslisted more positive thoughtsand fewer negative thoughts with repeatedexposure. Cacioppo and Petty (1979) examined the effects of repeating messages that were either consistent with or contraryto recipients' initial attitudeon cognitive response activity. They found that agreementwith the message position increased and then decreased as exposure frequency increased.The cognitive response patternfollowed a similar curvilinear relationship as favorable thoughts showed an increase followed by a decrease, while counterarguments showed a significant decrease followed by an increase. Analysis of the cognitive response measures also revealed that the counter-attitudinal message evoked a greaternumber of topic-relevantthoughts and fewer neutralor irrelevant thoughts than the proattitudinal message. Cacioppo and Petty interpretedthese results in terms of a two-stage attitudemodificationprocess.Accordingto this model, repetitionof the message providesmore opportunity for cognitive elaborationupon the specific argumentsand realizationof theirfavorableimplications. At high exposure levels, however, tedium and/orreactancelead to an attack against the message by the receiver. 58 sage. However, in the high exposure conditions, it is very likely that tedium and/orreactancewill develop, leading to a decline in affect. Sawyer (1981) has suggested that Berlyne's two-factor theory is consistent with results concerning the repetition effects of advertising.Sawyer suggests that advertisements and othe r persuasive messages in contexts of obvious manipulative intent may elicit a majority of defensive responses-such as counterarguments and source derogations-at the outset. Once expressed, these defensive responses may dissipate and allow other, more objective evaluations and associations to occur. However, high exposure levels would ultimately result in satiation and negative reactionsto the message.The first question of interest is whetherthe inverted Ucurve predictions offered by Berlyne's two-factor theory and Cacioppo and Petty's two-stage attitude modification process model occur with multipleexposuresto a television commercial. Most of the studies extant have only examined outcome measures of effectiveness, providinglittle insight into the cognitive processing that underliesthese reactions. The studies that have utilized cognitive response measures have produceddivergent results, primarilybecause of the methodologicaland proceduraldifferences among them.It will be difficult t o arrive at any generalizationsconcerning the effects of persuasive message repetition on cognitive processing until more empiricalevidence is produced. The firsthypothesisto be tested in this studyconcernsthe effects of commercialmessage repetitionon cognitive responseand message acceptance: Hi: The favorabilityof message acceptanceand cognitive responses to a television commercial increases with moderate levels of exposure, then declines following high levels of exposure. THEJOURNAL CONSUMER OF RESEARCH curring during the first few exposures to it.Krugman's (1972) notion of only three message exposures being sufficient to stimulatea buying decision is relevanthere. According to Krugman, the very first exposure (defined as actualattentionby the consumer)is dominatedby a â€Å"What is it? † type of response, whereby the message recipient attemptsto define and understandthe advertisingstimulus and to determine whether the message is of any use or interest. Krugmansuggests that much of the needed reduction in response competition occurs during this first exposure and that the second exposureevokes a more evaluative and personal â€Å"What of it? reaction, which determinesthe message's ultimate ability to persuade. If any meaningful response occurred earlier, the third exposure then acts mostly as a reminderto the recipient. The third exposure is also the beginning of disengagement or withdrawalof attentionfrom the task. Krugmansuggests that more than three exposures to a message essentially repeat earlier exposure effects. While no direct test of Krugman's conjecturehas been conducted, there is indirect evidence that is relevant.A study by Krugman(1968) of eye movement explorationof print ads indicated that peak effectiveness occurred after two or three exposures, while Grass and Wallace's (1969) work with CONPADD response indicatedthat from two to 1 four exposures are optimal. Otherevidence consistentwith Krugman's notion comes from a study by Goldberg and Gorn (1974). Also, Cacioppo and Petty's (1979) finding that topic-irrelevant ideation increased as exposure frequency increasedsuggests that the importantprocessing of a message takes place during initial exposures. This review suggests that the strengthof the relationship between cognitive responses and message cceptancemeasuresshould increasefrom low to moderateexposurelevels, since more detailed and evaluativeprocessing will occur as message recipients become familiar with the commercial message. At higher exposure levels, however, the tedium and/or reactance associated with message satiation would inhibit and/or interfere with subsequent informationprocessing activity and resultin a weakeningof the relationship between cognitive response and message acceptance. Cognitive processing at higher levels of exposure may consist ideationmore thanof relevantprocessing of topic-irrelevant and evaluation of the message arguments.The following predictionsconcerningthe effects of televi sion commercial message repetition on the relevancy and mediatingrole of cognitive responses will be examined: H2: The frequency of topic-irrelevant ideation increases as exposure to a television commercial increases. ‘CONPADD (ConjugatelyProgrammedAnalysis of Advertising)measures attentionto commercialsby using an operantconditioningprocedure whereby subjects operate either a foot or hand device in orderto receive the video and audio portionsof an advertisement.The subject'seffort thus becomes a measure of interest and attentionto the message in either the audio or video mode. Effects of Repetition on the MediatingRole of Cognitive Response Also of concern in this study are the effects of message repetitionon the mediating relationshipbetween cognitive responses and message acceptance. The issue of interest here is whethercognitive responseselicited afterhigh levels of message exposure mediate affective reactionto the message. Most studies of repetition effects have focused o n dependentmeasures, such as recall, attitude, and purchase intention.In these studies, the cumulativeeffects thatresult from repeatedexposure to the message may be capturedby using these â€Å"outcome† measures. However, this may not be the case for cognitive response measures. The detailed processingthat truly determinesthe message recipient'sreactionto the message may take place duringinitial exposure to the advertisement. Theorizingconsistent with this position has been offered by several researchers. For example, Leavitt (1974) has suggested a â€Å"strong effects† hypothesis, which suggests that the effectiveness of an ad depends on the events oc-EFFECTSOF TV COMMERCIAL REPETITION H3: The strength of the relationshipbetween cognitive response and message acceptance measures increases with moderatelevels of exposure, then decreases at high levels of exposure. 59 thoughts. 3After completingthe cognitive responsetask, the subjectswere asked to complete a programeval uationform and a set of postmeasuresconcerning issues dealt with in the program. After completing these measures, subjectswere asked to respondto dependentmeasuresconcerningmessage acceptance and reception.Two dependentmeasures of message acceptancewere used in this study: attitudestoward using the new brandof toothpasteand purchaseintentionsfor the new brand. Subjects' attitudeswere measuredon four semantic differentialscales (good-bad, wise-foolish, favorable-unfavorable,beneficial-harmful). Subjects' responses to the four scales were averaged to arrive at the attitude score used in the analyses. Intentionto try the new brand of toothpaste was measuredon three semantic differential scales (likely-unlikely, probable-improbable, possibleimpossible). The purchase intention measure used in the analyses was calculated by averagingthe three scales.Two measuresof message receptionwere employed. An unaidedrecall measurewas takenby askingthe respondents to write down as much as they could rememberaboutwhat was said in the commercial. The recall score was then formed by counting the number of correct claims for the productlisted by the subject. The aided recall measureconsisted of six multiple-choicequestions aboutspecific points in the commercial. METHOD Overview The data for this study were collected as part of a laboratoryexperimentexaminingthe effects of advertisingmessage structure and repetition on cognitive response and message acceptance(Belch 1981). A 2 x 2 x 3 betweensubjectsdesign was used with type of message (comparative or noncomparative), message-sidedness (one- or twosided), and repetition(one, three, or five exposures) as the factors. Commercialsfor a new, fictitious brandof toothpaste were produced to serve as message stimuli for the study. The basic text for the four commercialsis shown in the Appendix. The data used to test the repetitionhypotheseswere compiled by combiningthe resultsfor the four treatment groups at each of the three exposure level s.There were no significant interactionsbetween the message structure factorsand exposure frequencyfor the dependentvariablesof interest. Subjects and Procedure The sample consisted of 260 persons recruitedfrom two churchgroups in the Los Angeles area. Data collection was spread over 10 evenings during a two-week period. Upon arrival at the research setting, the subjects were given a brief statementconcerningthe reasonfor theirpresenceand were then randomly assigned to one of the three experimental treatments being used during that session.One hundred subjects were assigned to both the one- and the three-exposureconditions, while 60 subjectswere assigned to the five-exposurecondition. The smaller cell size in the five-exposure condition was due to cost limitations in attaining additionalsubjects. were readto the subjectsinformingthem that Instructions they were participatingin a researchprojectevaluatingthe content of television programmingand that they would be asked to evaluate an episode of Quincy. The subjects were also told they would be asked questions about the commercials.The subjects completed the set of premeasures, which included demographicquestions, a television viewing profile, and premeasuresconcerning issues dealt with in the program;the one-hourprogramcontainingthe stimulus commercial(s) was then shown. Immediatelyafter the program ended, the subjects were read the cognitive response instructionsand were given two minutesto list their Categorizationof Cognitive Responses The cognitive response classificationscheme used in this study included three categories of thoughts: product/mesevaluations,and sage-relatedevaluations,repetition-related evaluairrelevant thoughts.The product/message-related tions included the cognitive response categories of counterargument, supportargument,source derogation,and curiosity thoughts as defined by Wright (1973), as well as the categories of simple dissaffirmationsand simple affirmations describedby Beaber (1975 ). An additionalcategory, source bolstering, was also used. This categorizationis the of positive counterpart source derogation. evaluations included any thought that Repetition-related addressedthe fact that the commercialwas seen more than one time in the program.The use of the repetition-related categorizationmay be useful in analyzing message recipients' reactionto multiple message exposures duringa short time period, such as a one-hourprogram. Other studies of repetitionandcognitive response(CacioppoandPetty 1979; Calderand Sternthal1980; McCulloughand Ostrom 1974) have not distinguishedthoughts reflecting reactions to the message per se from thoughtsthat might be relatedto multiple exposures to the same message.The final cognitive response category was the irrelevantcategory, which in3The cognitive response instructionsused in this study requested the subjects to list the thoughtsthat occurredto them while viewing the commercial about the product and their reactions during the commercial to what was said about the productby the advertiser. 2A complete descriptionof the method employed in this study is available elsewhere (Belch 1981). In the interest of brevity, only a summary will be presentedhere. 60 cluded those statements that did not reflect any relevant evaluation of the advertisingmessage or of the advertisement itself.A three-judgepanel was used to code the cognitive response protocols. The judges were given operationaldefinitions of the three response categories and were trainedin the applicationof these definitions until each had a good of understanding the coding scheme and coding task. The basis for the final rating of each cognition was a modal ratingof the threejudges. Interjudge reliabilities,calculated for each response category separately,rangedfrom 0. 69 to 0. 95. THEJOURNAL CONSUMER OF RESEARCH FIGURE AND NEGATIVE MEANNUMBERS POSITIVE OF COGNITIVE RESPONSESFOR EACHLEVEL REPETITION OF 2 (1. 77) Total Negative 1. 5 (1. 32) (1. 04) Total Product/Message (1. 15) Related Negative 1 (. 96) Total Positive RESULTS The first hypothesis concerns the effects of commercial message repetitionon the message acceptancemeasuresof attitude and purchase intention and on the cognitive response measures. The mean attitudinal scores for the one-, three-, and five-exposureconditions were 3. 87, 4. 11, and 3. 77, while the mean purchaseintentionscores were 3. 24, 3. 60, and 3. 33. An analysis of variance performedon the message acceptancemeasures showed no significanteffect of repetition for either attitude or purchase intention, F (2,257) = 1. 6 and 0. 89, respectively. The means for the numberof favorableand unfavorable thoughtsgeneratedby subjectsin each of the threeexposure conditions are graphedin the Figure. 4 An analysis of variance revealed that the increase in the numberof negative thoughts across the three levels of repetitionis significant, F (2,257) = 9. 93, p < 0. 001. Pairwisecomparisons,using a Scheffe test, indicated that the difference in negative thoughts was not significant between the one- and threeexposureconditions, but was significantbetween the threeand five-exposure conditions (p < 0. 5). The Figure also shows that favorablethoughtsremainedrelatively constant across the three exposure levels. An analysis of variance for the favorable thoughts measure was nonsignificant,F (2,257) = 0. 69. The resultspresentedabove are not supportiveof the first hypothesis. The message acceptancemeasures(attitudeand purchase intention) did not show the inverted U-curve relationshippredictedby Berlyne's (1970) two-factortheory and Cacioppo and Petty's two-stage attitude modification model.The cognitive response results also fail to support the first hypothesis because negative thoughts increased across the three levels of exposure, while positive thoughts remainedrelatively constant. One possible explanationfor the increase in the number of negative thoughts across the three levels of repetitionis that multiple exposures to the message within the one-hour programmay have resultedin satiationandthe development ‘The favorable and unfavorable thoughts measures were derived by combining those cognitive responses that were positive and negative in valence, respectively.Thus, favorable thoughts representthe sum of all source bolstering, support arguments, and simple affirmations. Unfavorable thoughts representthe sum of all counterarguments, source derogations, simple disaffirmations,and repetition-related negative comments. l:; .v~~~~~~. 3 ( 53) (. 63) (. 63) I 0 I ,I 1 5 NUMBER OF EXPOSURES 3 of reactanceby the subjects. This negative reactionto message repetition could be expressed through negative repecontition-related thoughtson the partof multiple-exposure dition subjects.To determinewhether the increase in negative thoughts across the three levels of repetition was due to the repetition-relatedthoughts produced by the message recipients, these responses were omitted from t he composite of unfavorableresponses and the effect of repetitionon the number of product/message-related negative thoughts was examined. The means for the numberof negative product/message-relatedthoughtsare graphedin the Figure. A one-way analysis of variancerevealed that these differences in negative product/message-related thoughts were not significant, F (2,257) = 0. 5. Thus, the increase in negative thoughtsacross the three exposure levels was due primarily to the recipients' negative reactions to message repetition, ratherthan to negative evaluations of message content. Hypothesis two concerns the effect of multiple message exposure on the generation of topic-irrelevant thoughts. Topic-irrelevantthoughts were defined as those responses that do not represent an evaluation of the message arguments or of the advertisementitself. The mean numberof irrelevantthoughts for the one-, three-, and five-exposure levels was 0. 53, 0. 34 and 0. 3, respectively. The differences in irreleva ntthoughtsacross the threeexposurelevels were not significant, F (2. 257) = 1. 99. Contraryto the second hypothesis, it appearsthat message recipientsin the conditions did remainactive in attending multiple-exposure to the commercials, ratherthan tuning them out and producing cognitions that were unrelatedto the message. Relationshipof Cognitive Response to Message Acceptance To examine the relationshipof the cognitive responses generatedby subjects at the various exposure levels to attitude and purchase intention, several compensatoryEFFECTS OF TV COMMERCIALREPETITION TABLEI RELATIONSHIPOF COGNITIVERESPONSE AND MESSAGE RETENTION MEASURES TO MESSAGE ACCEPTANCE BY EXPOSURE LEVEL Single exposure Attitude Model 1 Purchase intention Three exposure Attitude Purchase intention Five exposure Attitude 61 Purchase intention Y2(SA+SB+SAf) – Y. (CA SD + SDf) + Model 2 .327b .323b .481 b ,345b .491 b .236c Y2(SA+SB+SAf+RRP) – Y. (CA. + + SDf+ RRN)8 SD Retention Aided recall Unaide d recall .327b .323b .468b ,339b .522b .258c . 021 . 086 .065 . 129 .014 . 010 .028 . 159 .001 . 121 .009 . 081 SAf = Simple Affirmations;SDf = Simple Disaffirmations; RRP = Repetition Related Positive; RRN = Repetition Related Negative; SA = Support Arguments; CA = Counterarguments; SD = Source Derogation; SB = Source Bolsters. bp < 0. 01 Cp < 0. 05 weighting models (cf. Wright 1973) were developed from the cognitive responses. These models, which are shown in Table 1, are based on an underlying assumption that message recipientsprocess cognitive cues in a mannersuch that opposing cues linearly balance each other. These compensatory models yield a measure of â€Å"net directionalimpact† of the cognitive mediators.Model 1 includes the product/message-related cognitive cues using the difference between the amountof positive ideation and negative ideation engaged in by the message recipients as the predictor of message acceptance. Model 2 adds the repetition-related thoug hts to the model and incorporatesall of the relevant cognitions into the cognitive response index. The relationships between the message retentionmeasures(unaidedand aided recall) and attitudeand purchaseintentionwere also examined. Simple regressions were performedusing each model as a predictorof the message acceptancemeasures.The results of these analyses, which were performedseparatelyfor each exposurelevel, are shown in Table 1. This table shows that the cognitive response models are significantly related to the message acceptancemeasuresacross all three exposure conditions. However, the aided and unaided recall scores are not relatedto either attitudeor purchaseintentionat any of the exposure levels. As can be seen in Table 1, the relationshipof the cognitive response models to the attitudinalmeasure of message acceptanceis strongerin the three-exposurecondition than in the single-exposurecondition, as predicated.However, the differences in these correlationsfor the two exposu re levels are not statistically significant (t = 1. 32, p < 0. 10). 5 Table 1 also reveals that the magnitudeof the relationshipbetween the cognitive response models and attitude does not show the hypothesizeddecline between the 5Comparison these correlationcoefficients was made using the folof lowing test statistic: three- and five-exposure conditions, but remainsrelatively constant. The relationshipbetween the cognitive response models and purchase intention across the three exposure levels is also shown in Table 1.The correlationsdo not show the predicted increase between the one- and three-exposure conditions. There is an attenuationin the correlationsbetween the three- and five-exposure conditions; however, these differences are not significant(t < 1). These results fail to supportthe hypothesizedchanges in the relationshipbetween cognitive and message acceptance across the three exposure levels. Table 1 also indicatesthat differences exist in the relationshipsbetween cog nitive response and the attitudinalmeasure of message acceptance and between cognitive response and the purchaseintention measure in the multiple-exposureconditions.There is an attenuationin the correlationof cognitive response to message acceptance when purchase intention, ratherthan attitude, is the message acceptance criterion. Wright (1973) found a similar attenuationbetween cognitive response and a behavioralintentionversus an attitudinal measureof message acceptance. The attenuationfound in this study may be due to the fact thatbehavioralpatternsfor a productsuch as toothpasteare likely to be well developed. Thus, favorable or unfavorablecognitive reactionsto the message may be related to affective position toward the new brand, but would not necessarily impact on intentionto buy the new brand.I + Vm 1 Vm I/ ~1 lNm-3 l/2 In – l/2 In 1 I + Vf 1- Vf 3 t= Nf- where Vm and Vf denote the correlationcoefficients for each group and Nm and Nf denote the size of each group. This statistic makes it possible to test the equalityof two correlationcoefficients using a t test (Kleinbaum and Kupper 1978). 62 THEJOURNAL CONSUMER OF RESEARCH sage argumentsand then developing an attitudetowardthe new brand, but ratherwere using the retainedargumentsto support a preformed affective position.This explanation may be particularlyplausible in a low-involvement advertising situation(which one might argue was the case in this study) where global affect, rather than attribute specific information,providesthe basis for consumerevaluationand decision making (cf. Olshavskyand Granbois1979; Wright 1976; Zajonc 1980). The two perspectives regarding the mediating role of cognitive response suggest differentcausal patternsamong the message acceptance measures and cognitive responses following multiple exposure to a message.The first explanation argues for the traditionalmediatingrole of cognitive responses, whereby the flow of causal effects originates with repetitionand moves th roughcognitive responses that mediateattitude,which in turnmediatespurchaseintention. The competingexplanationsuggests that the flow of effects originates with repetition and moves successively through attitude and purchase intention, which in turn influences cognitive response. This causal flow suggests thatcognitive in responses, particularly the multiple-exposure conditions, are the result of preformedaffect towardthe new brand.To examine the two competing explanationsof the relationships among the variables, a testing of alternative model forms was undertaken. The tenabilityof each causal model was tested by attemptingto reproducethe original correlationmatrix among the four relevant variables (repetition, cognitive responses, attitude, and purchase intention). Examination of the reproducibility of the original correlationmatrix provides evidence in supportof a proposed model configuration also allows for a comparison and of other alternativeflows.A techniquedeveloped by Simon ( 1957) for testing simple linear flows of causation was used to examine the relationshipamong these variables. This techniquefor testing a proposed causal flow was used by Lutz (1978) in examining the relationshipsamong beliefs, attitude, and behavioral intention-a problem similar to the presentone. Simon developed a precise set of predictionsfor the magnitudeof correlationbetween nonadjacent pairsof variables in the hypothesized flow of causation, based on observed correlationsbetween adjacent pairs of variables.Specifically, the predicted correlationbetween any two nonadjacent variables is equal to the product of all the pairwise correlations between adjacent intervening variables. For example, in the traditionalcognitive response causal sequence (repetition– cognitive response-> attitude-> intention), Simon's model would predictthat the simple correlationbetween repetitionand intentionwould be equal to the simple correlationsof repetitionand cognitive response multipl ied by the simple correlationof cognitive response and attitudemultipliedby the simple correlationof attitude and intention.Comparisonof predicted and actual correlations provides a measure of â€Å"fit† for the theoreticalexplanations being applied to the data. While this mode of analysis cannot prove that a particularcausal sequence is correct, it is useful for testing competing explanations. Cognitive Responses: Mediatorsor Productsof Message Acceptance? A basic assumptionin using the cognitive response approachto studying communicationeffects is that the spontaneous thoughts generated by the message recipients causally mediate affective reactions to a persuasive message.The assumptionthat cognitive responses precede and influencethe formationof attitudesand intentionshas been made in most cognitive response studies and has been directly tested in several investigations (Cacioppo and Petty 1979; Osterhouse and Brock 1970; Petty and Cacioppo 1977). This study assumed that c ognitive response cues generated by the message recipients mediate the effect of repetition on message acceptance,since subjectsin the multipleexposure conditions had the opportunity to become acquainted with the message arguments and had plenty of time to elaborate cognitively upon them. Thus, the responses generatedby the multiple-exposurecondition subjects would be based on the cogency of the message arguments and their reactionsto these arguments,ratherthan on a general, overall impressionof the productand/orcommercial. Evidence in supportof this position is offered by the strong relationshipbetween cognitive response and attitude in the multiple-exposureconditions. There is, however, an alternativehypothesis to the argument that cognitive responses mediate the effect of repetition on message acceptance.It may be that the thoughts producedby the message recipientsare not really mediating acceptanceof the message, but ratherare a reflectionof the recipient's affective position to ward the product and/or commercial. Several studies (Tesser and Conlee 1975; Tesser and Cowan 1977) have shown that the opportunityfor thought leads to a polarizationof attitudeswhereby affective position becomes more extreme in the initial direction. onditionsmay Message recipientsin the multiple-exposure have formed an attitudetowardthe new brandafter one or two exposures, while further exposure to and reflection upon the message argumentsmay have led to attitudepolarization. Thus, the cognitive responsesproducedby these subjects may have been a reflection of a previously developed and polarized attitude;ratherthan mediatingmessage acceptance,the recipients'responses may thus have offered cognitive justification for their affective position.This alternativeperspective suggests that the multipleexposure condition subjects were not processing the mes- 6Thereis evidence that the message argumentswere retainedmore in the multiple-exposureconditions than in the single-exposurecondition s. The cell means for the unaidedrecall measurewere 1. 70, 2. 33, and 2. 48, while the means for the aided recall measure were 2. 22, 2. 74, and 3. 20. An analysis of varianceperformedon the receptionscores showed thatthe effect of repetitionwas significant for both measures, F (2. 257) = 7. 01 and 11. 25, respectively (p < 0. 1). Pairwise comparisons of the cell means, using the Scheffe test, indicatedthat both recall measuresshowed a significant increase between the one- and three-exposureconditions (p < 0. 05), but not between the three- and five-exposurelevels. REPETITION EFFECTSOF TV COMMERCIAL TABLE 2 INTERCORRELATIONSOF VARIABLES IN HYPOTHESIZED FLOW OF EFFECTS Cognitive response – 63 TABLE 3 PREDICTIONS AND DEGREES OF FIT FOR RELATIONSHIPS AMONG NONADJACENT CAUSAL VARIABLES Degrees of fit Actual Expected Variable Repetition – Attitude – . 013 . 429 Purchase intention . 31 R–CR->Att->PI' 1. Repetition 2. Cognitive response 3. Attitude 4 . Purchase intention .022 .310 . 692 13 12r23 -. 013 rl2r23r,. r24= r23r, r14= .031 . 310 R–Att->PIl-CR -. 009 [(-. 022)(. 429)] – . 006 [(-. 022)(. 429)(. 692)] . 297 [(. 429)(. 692)] In performingthis analysis, the cognitive response variable was operationalizedby using the compensatoryindex derived from model 1 (Table 1). Repetition was assigned a value of 1, 3, or 5, dependingupon exposurelevel. Table 2 shows the observed simple correlationsamong the four variablesof interest.Each variableis numberedto facilitate of interpretation Table 3, which shows the actual and expected correlations among nonadjacentpairs of variables for the two competing causal flows previously described. To compare the degrees of fit of the two models, a total discrepancy score was computed from the correlations shown in Table 3. Total discrepancy was operationalized as the sum of the absolute differences between predicted and actual correlations. Table 3 shows that the degree of fit was best for the traditional model, in which cognitive responses mediate message acceptance.The total discrepancyfor this model was 0. 055, while the total discrepancy for the competing model was 0. 278. In additionto the two models previously considered, alternativeorderingsof the cognitive response and message acceptance measures following message repetition were also examined. However, none of these models performedas well as the basic cognitive-responses-as-mediatorsmodel. 13 r12r23 r14 =r2r23r34 r24 =r23r34 .031 -. 022 . 429 -. 015 [(-. 022)(. 692)] -. 005 [(-. 022)(. 692)(. 310)] . 214 [(. 692)(. 310)] intention aRepetitionrCognitive response-Attitude-oPurchaseDISCUSSION The results of this study are not supportiveof Berlyne's (1970) two-factor theoretical account of repetition effects nor of Cacioppo and Petty's (1979) two-stage attitudemodification process model. Neither attitudesnor purchaseintentions were affected by the level of advertisingexposure. This is consistent with t he results of otherrepetitionstudies that have failed to find a significant main effect for repetition on these outcome measures. The patternof results found for the cognitive response measures was also inconsistent with theoretical expectations.The number of negative product/message-related thoughtsdid not decline between the one- and three-exposure conditions, as had been predicted. The negative thoughtsvariablealso failed to parallelthe resultsfound for the attitude and purchase intention measures for the oneand three-exposureconditions. This inconsistency, which was also found by Calder and Sternthal(1980) and, to a lesser degree, by-Cacioppoand Petty (1980), suggests that there is not always a direct correspondencebetween cognitive response and outcome evaluations.The second stage of two-factortheory and the two-stage attitudemodificationprocess, which predicts a decrease in affect and an increase in negative thoughts due to tedium and reactance, was partially supported. Neithe r attitudes nor purchase intentions showed a significant decline between the three- and five-exposure conditions. However, the significant increase in negative repetition-related thoughts between the three- and five-exposure conditions suggests that reactance to the multiple message exposures did become more pronouncedin the high exposure condition.The significant increase in repetition-related thoughts across the three exposure levels is not surprising,but it is noteworthy. Past studies of repetition and cognitive response have not directlyrecognized the possibility thatrepetition-relatedcognitions might occur as a result of excessive exposure to a message; instead, they have assumed that the recipient's reaction to message repetition impacts on more traditionalcognitive response variables, such as or counterarguments favorablemessage-relatedthoughts. From a strategicperspective, these findings have implications for the scheduling of adverising messages, particularly over short tim e periods. While the exposure levels used in this study were high for a one-hour time period, they are not totally inconsistent with actual media schedvalue uling practices. The results suggest that no short-term is gained from addedexposures. Media schedulesthatresult in high levels of message exposure in a limited time period run the risk of alienatingthe viewer and may not represent Althoughcognitive response measures were not taken in the study by Gom and Goldberg (1980), they did find negative repetition-related reactions to be commonplace: â€Å"Observationof the children suggested that when exposed to the same commercial three or five times, they became annoyedby the repetitions. Remarkssuch as â€Å"Oh no, not again† or â€Å"not anotherone† were common †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ . . . (p. 424). † 64 the most effective expenditureof media budgets.However, ratherthan focusing only on immediate postexposure reactions, it would be helpful to consider the effects of mul tiple message exposure over longer time periods, in order to determine the persistence of positive or negative responses. Crandall,Harrison,and Zajonc (1975) found that the negative effects of tediumfrom repeatedexposuresmay be only transitory,whereasthe positive effect is permanent. Stang (1974) also found satiationeffects to be short-lived: a small measurementdelay was more likely to show positive effects of exposure than an immediate measurement.Research similar to that of Cacioppo and Petty (1980), which uses delayed measures of cognitive response and the attitudechange, is needed to fully understand effects of message repetition. The use of delayed response measures in examining repetition effects is discussed in detail by Sawyer and Ward (1977). The results of this study are supportiveof other investigations suggesting that cognitive responses mediate postmessage attitudesand purchase intentions. Moreover, this studyoffers furthersupportfor the viabilityof using thought verbal ization data in studying communication effects.While the cognitive response models were capable of explaining a significantamountof the variancein attitudeand purchase intention, the aided and unaided recall measures did not show a significant relationshipto message acceptance despite the increase in recall scores across the three levels of exposure. These findingsare consistentwith other studies which have found that stimulus learningis not necessarily related to affective reactions (Cacioppo and Petty 1979; Greenwald1968; Wright19,73).These resultssupport the argumentthat cognitive cues generatedby the message recipient, ratherthan message arguments, are the primary mediatorsof message acceptance. [ReceivedMay 1981. Revised November 1981. ]RESEARCH THEJOURNAL CONSUMER OF REFERENCES Beaber, R. J. (1975), â€Å"The General Characteristicsof Covert Resistance Mechanisms and Their Relationship to Attitude Change and SpeakerPerception,† Unpublisheddoctoraldissertation,Department of Psychology, Universityof Southern California. Belch, George E. 1981), â€Å"An Examinationof Comparativeand Noncomparative Television Commercials: The Effects of Claim Variation and Repetition on Cognitive Response and Message Acceptance,† Journal of MarketingResearch, 18 (August): 333-49. Berlyne, D. E. (1970), â€Å"Novelty, Complexity, and Hedonic Value,† Perception and Psychophysics, 8: 279-86. Cacioppo, John T. , and Petty, Richard(1979), â€Å"Effects of Message Repetition and Position on Cognitive Response, Recall and Persuasion,† Journal of Personality and Social Psy97-109. hology, 37 (January): and Petty, Richard, (1980), â€Å"Persuasiveness of Communicationsis Affected by ExposureFrequencyand Message Quality: A Theoreticaland EmpiricalAnalysis of Persisting Attitude Change,† in Current Issues and Research in Advertising, eds. J. H. Leigh and C. R. Martin,Jr. , Ann Arbor: Division of Research, GraduateSchool of Business Administration, Univer sity of Michigan. Calder, Bobby J. and Sternthal,Brian (1980), â€Å"Television ComProcessingView, † Journal mercialWearout:An Information of MarketingResearch, 17 (May): 173-186. Craig, C.Samuel, Sternthal, Brian, and Levitt, Clark (1976), Analysis,† Journal â€Å"AdvertisingWearout:An Experimental of MarketingResearch: 13 (November):365-72. Crandall, R. , Harrison, A. A. , and Zajonc, Robert B. (1975), â€Å"The Permanence of the Positive and Negative Effects of StimulusExposure:A Sleeper Effect? ,† Unpublishedmanuscript, University of SouthernCalifornia. Ginter, James L. (1974), â€Å"An ExperimentalInvestigationof AttitudeChange and Choice of a New Brand,† Journal of Mar30-7. keting Research, 11 (February): Goldberg, Marvin E. , and Gorn, Gerald J. 1974), â€Å"Children's Reactions to Television Advertising: An ExperimentalApproach,† Journal of Consumer Research, 1 (September): 69-75. Gorn, Gerald G. , and Goldberg, Marvin E. (1980), â€Å"Chi ldren's Responses to RepetitiveTV Commercials,† Journal of Consumer Research, 6 (March):421-25. Grass, R. C. , and Wallace, Wallace H. (1969), â€Å"SatiationEffects of T. V. Commercials,†Journal ofAdvertisingResearch, 19: 47-57. Greenwald, A. G. (1968), â€Å"Cognitive Learning, Cognitive Response to Persuasionand AttitudeChange,† in Psychological Foundations of Attitudes, eds.A. G. Greenwald, T. C. Brock, and T. M. Ostrom, New York: Academic Press. Kleinbaum,David G. , and Kupper,LawrenceL. (1978), Applied Methods,North RegressionAnalysis and OtherMultivariable Scituate, MA: Duxbury Press. Krugman,HerbertE. (1962), â€Å"An Applicationof LearningTheory to TV Copy Testing,† Public Opinion Quarterly, 26: 626-34. (1965), â€Å"The Impactof Television Advertising:Learning Without Involvement,† Public Opinion Quarterly, 30: 583-96. (1968), â€Å"Processes Underlying Exposure to Advertising,† AmericanPsychologist, 23: 11-14.APPENDIX Sample Text o f CommercialMessages Announcingan importantadvance in the science of dental hygiene, new Shield toothpaste with fluorigard. Fluorigard is a new stannous fluoride substance developed by a biodental team at a leading university. Clinical tests by the American Dental Association have found new Shield to be more effective than Crest, the leading fluoride toothpaste, in reducing cavities. These tests showed that Shield, with its patented fluorigardformula, has significantly higher levels of fluoride activity than Crest.This means that Shield spreads faster while you brush, actually penetratingand cleaning in between your teeth, where most cavities occur. And Shield's fluorigard formulawas also preferredin taste tests. Remember, see your dentist regularly and brush often with new Shield, the only toothpastethat gives your teeth the protectionof fluorigard. REPETITION EFFECTSOF TV COMMERCIAL (1972), â€Å"Why Three ExposuresMay Be Enough,† Journal of AdvertisingResearch, 12: 11-14. Leavitt, Clark (1974), â€Å"Strong Versus Weak Effects of Mass Communications:Two Alternative Hypotheses,† in Buyerl ConsumerInformationProcessing, eds.G. D. Hughes and M. L. Ray, Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press. Lutz, RichardJ. (1978), â€Å"A FurtherExaminationof Two Laboratory Tests of the Extended Fishbein Attitude Model: Rejoinder,† Journal of Consumer Research, 4 (March): 266-271. McCullough, J. L. , and Ostrom, Thomas (1974), â€Å"Repetitionof Highly Similar Messages and AttitudeChange,† Journal of Applied Psychology, 59 (June): 395-7. Mitchell, Andrew, andOlson, JerryC. (1977), â€Å"Cognitive Effects of Advertising Repetition,† in Advances in ConsumerResearch, Vol. 4, ed. W. D.Perreault,Atlanta, GA: Association for ConsumerResearch, pp. 213-20. Olshavsky, Richard W. , and Granbois, Donald (1979), â€Å"Consumer Decision Making-Fact or Fiction,† Journal of ConsumerResearch, 7: 331-33. Osterhouse, R. A. , and Brock, Tim othy C. (1970), â€Å"Distraction Increases Yielding to Propagandaby Inhibiting Counterarguing,† Journal of Personality and Oocial Psychology, 15: 344-358. Petty, RichardE. , and Cacioppo, JohnT. (1977), â€Å"Forewarning, Cognitive Responding, and Resistanceto Persuasion,†Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 35: 645-55.Ostrom, Thomas M. , and Brock, Timothy C. (1981), CognitiveResponses in Persuasion, Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. Ray, Michael L. , and Sawyer, Alan G. (1971), â€Å"A Laboratory Technique for Estimating the Repetition Function for Advertising Media Models,† Journal of MarketingResearch, 8: 20-29. Sawyer, Alan G. (1973), â€Å"The Effects of Repetition of Refutational and SupportiveAdvertisingAppeals,† Journal of Mar3-33. ketingResearch, 10 (February): (1977), â€Å"Repetition and Affect: Recent Empirical andTheoreticalDevelopment,† in Foundationsof Consumerand Industrial Buying Behavior, eds. A. G. Woodside, J. N. Sheth, and P. D. Bennett, New York: AmericanElsevier. (1981), â€Å"Repetition, Cognitive Response and Persuasion,† in Cognitive Responses in Persuasion, eds. R. E. Petty, T. Ostrom, and T. Brock, Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum,pp. 237-61. 65 , and Ward, Scott (1979), â€Å"Carry-OverEffects in Advertising Communication,† in Research in Marketing, Vol. II, ed. J. N. Sheth, Greenwich, CT: JAI Press, pp. 259-314. Silk, Alvin J. , and Vavra, J. G. 1974), â€Å"The Influence of Advertising's Affective Qualities on Consumer-Response,† in Processing, eds. G. D. Hughes Information Buyer/Consumer and M. L. Ray, Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, pp. 157-86. Simon, H. A. (1957), Models of Man, New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Stang, D. J. (1973), â€Å"Six Theories of Repeated Exposure and Affect,† Manuscript#482, JSAS Catalog of Selected Documents in Psychology, 3: 126. (1975), â€Å"The Effects of Mere Exposureon Learningand Affect,† Journal of Personality a nd Social Psychology, 31: 7-13.Tesser, A. , and Conlee, M. C. (1975), â€Å"Some Effects of Time and Thought on Attitude Polarization,† Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 31: 262-70. , and Cowan, C. L. (1977), â€Å"Some Attitudinaland Cognitive Consequences of Thought,† Journal of Research in Personality, 11: 216-26. Winer, B. J. (1971), Statistical Principles in ExperimentalDesign, New York: McGraw-HillBook Co. Winter, FredrickW. (1973), â€Å"A LaboratoryExperimentof Individual AttitudeResponse to AdvertisingExposure,† Journal of MarketingResearch, 10 (May): 130-40. Wright, Peter L. 1973), â€Å"The Cognitive Processes Mediating Research, Acceptanceof Advertising,† Journal of Marketing 53-67. 10 (February): (1975), â€Å"Factors Affecting Cognitive Resistance to Advertising,† Journal of ConsumerResearch, 2 (June): 1-10. (1976), â€Å"An Adaptive Consumer'sView of Attitudesand Other Choice Mechanisms, as Viewed by an Equally Adaptive Advertiser,† in AttitudeResearch at Bay, eds. Deborah Johnson and William D. Wells, Chicago American Marketing Association, pp. 113-31. (1980), â€Å"Message-Evoked Thoughts: Persuasion ResearchUsing ThoughtVerbalizations,†Journal of Consumer Research, 2

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