The Role of Attachment Style in Shaping Consumer Preferences for Products Shown in Advertisements that Depict Consensus Claims

Consensus claims are often depicted in advertisements. The present research adopts an attachment theory (Bowlby 1969 ) perspective to advance new insights into the effect of consensus claims in advertisements on consumers' purchase likelihood. Results of five studies demonstrate how the effecti...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of advertising 2016-04, Vol.45 (2), p.227-243
Main Author: David, Meredith E.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Advertisements
Consumer behavior
Consumers
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Summary:Consensus claims are often depicted in advertisements. The present research adopts an attachment theory (Bowlby 1969 ) perspective to advance new insights into the effect of consensus claims in advertisements on consumers' purchase likelihood. Results of five studies demonstrate how the effectiveness of consensus claims in ads is circumscribed to specific individuals and that interpersonal attachment style is a key moderator. Specifically, among individuals with secure attachment styles, depicting consensus claims in ads enhances consumers' intentions to purchase the advertised product, but among individuals with anxious attachment styles, consensus claims are a less effective advertising tactic as they result in lower intentions to purchase the advertised product.
ISSN:0091-3367
1557-7805
DOI:10.1080/00913367.2016.1142405