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What Do They Say About “Friends”? Jyh-Shen Chiou, National Chengchi University Jasi Lee, Proctor & Gamble

What Do They Say About “Friends”?Jyh-Shen Chiou, National Chengchi UniversityJasi Lee, Proctor & GambleAbstractThis exploratory study is to analyze the impact of the popular US TV program Friends on Internet communication in the US, Japan, and Taiwan. It intends to establish whether exposure to foreign TV could lead to similar communication content in the context of the virtual community between exporting and importing societies. Content analysis was used in this cross-cultural study. The results of this exploratory study support the notion that the process of cultural value influence is more complex than Cultural Imperialism advocates propose. Audiences respond actively rather than passively to foreign TV programs. Prior information structure of the audience is affecting the interpretation of subsequent information.

[to cite]: Jyh-Shen Chiou and Jasi Lee (2006) ,"What Do They Say About “Friends”?", in NA - Advances in Consumer Research Volume 33, eds. Connie Pechmann and Linda Price, Duluth, MN : Association for Consumer Research, Pages: 161-174.

[url]: http://www.acrwebsite.org/volumes/12422/volumes/v33/NA-33

[copyright notice]: This work is copyrighted by The Association for Consumer Research. For permission to copy or use this work in whole or in part, please contact the Copyright Clearance Center at http://www.copyright.com/. What Do They Say About “Friends”? Jyh-Shen Chiou, National Chengchi University Jasi Lee, Proctor & Gamble

EXTENDED ABSTRACT of the Japanese Beauty or Beast sitcom aired in Taiwan may provide The virtual community is a cyberspace supported by com- support for the proposition that cultural proximity may affect puter-based information technology, which centers on the commu- viewers’ abilities in interpreting and retaining the message of a nication and interaction of participants to generate member-driven foreign TV program. Taiwanese viewers of Beauty or Beast related content, resulting in the establishment of relationships (Hagel and very well to the program. They discussed significantly more Emotion- Armstrong 1997; Lee et al. 2003). These days, people surf the related and Plot-related topics and messages than Friends. Finally, Internet on a scale far greater than could have been imagined before, the results of Love of Rose also provide evidence for this claim converging on chat rooms, message boards and discussion forums, among younger generations. which have become assembly points for personal communication Overall, the results of the study showed that the communication (Fion et al. 2003). Because the virtual community can enhance style in discussion forums is very similar among the three cultures participants’ sense of belonging and loyalty toward a brand or studied, if the cultural proximity factor is controlled. Although corporation, more and more marketers are actively participating in viewers used discussion forums to search for related information the establishment of chat rooms, message boards and discussion more than any other purposes, they were willing to share their views forums to promote their brand or corporation (Chiou 2003; Wellman, regarding the plot and even express their personal feelings on the 1999). However, little research has been done on the summarization web in all three societies, as long as the TV show touched the of electronic communications (Radev et al. 2001; Zinkhan et al. audiences. This assertion was also sustained when analyzing the 2003). data from the discussion forums for the TV program targeting the The primary goal of this exploratory research is to analyze the younger generation. The results of this exploratory study support impact of the highly popular US TV program Friends on Internet the notion that the process of cultural value influence is more communication in the US, Japan, and Taiwan. It intends to establish complex than Cultural Imperialism advocates propose. Audiences whether exposure to foreign TV could lead to similar communication respond actively rather than passively to foreign TV programs. content in the context of the virtual community between exporting Prior information structure of the audience is affecting the and importing societies. If the content of communication is different interpretation of subsequent information. Therefore, the assertion among societies, what is the process that causes this difference? In that global cultural invasion will happen in a rapid and dominant this study, we view discussion forums or message boards as online way may be too optimistic. Globalization is more likely to pluralize tools that allow for interactive consumer communication. Our the world, by recognizing the value of cultural niches and local research concentrates on the ways consumers express their reactions ability (Water 1995). and feelings toward a foreign (or domestic) TV program on the message boards or discussion forums. REFERENCES Content analysis was used in this cross-cultural study, with the Beltran, L. R. (1978), “Communication and Cultural aim of understanding the ways in which dialogues posted on various Domination: USA-Latin American Case, Media Asia, 5, 183- discussion forums differed among the United States, Japan, and 192. Taiwan. The TV sitcom Friends was chosen as the medium for Byrd, Marguita L. 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ABSTRACT Jung’s theory (1954/1959a, b) can be divided into three parts. This paper describes the principles and assumptions of Jung’s Part one is the conscious mind termed the “ego”. Closely related to archetypal psychology, and analyzes the question of whether the the ego is the personal unconscious that includes anything not use of archetypes influences the conscious assessment of commer- presently conscious. The personal unconscious includes both memo- cials, brands, movies and unconscious approach reactions. Further- ries that can easily be brought to mind and those that have been more, the question is discussed as to whether different personality suppressed for some reason. Jung’s third part of the psyche is called types vary in the degree to which they are attracted by advertising the “collective unconscious”, and this element makes his theory and movies which use typical archetypes. Two laboratory experi- stand out from others (Boeree 1997, 2). The collective unconscious ments were conducted to test our hypotheses. In order to gain can be characterized as a “psychic inheritance” or the kind of insight into the unconscious reactions of test persons and to assess knowledge with which all human beings are born. The individual is the activating function of archetypes, we also measured electroder- never directly aware of this collective reservoir of experience, but mal reactions to explore arousal evoked by archetypal commercials it can indirectly influence personal feelings and behavior. Effects and movies. that illustrate the functioning of the collective unconscious are experiences of first love, of déjà vu and the immediate recognition INTRODUCTION AND GENERAL QUESTION and understanding of certain myths. In contrast to Freud (1933), Are books like “Lord of the Rings”, “Harry Potter”, or “Ances- Jung (1961) viewed the unconscious as a meaningful source of tors of Avalon” and movies presenting Arnold Schwarzenegger as renewal. the “Terminator” or internet games like “Everquest” so successful, The content of the collective unconscious is characterized by because all these products use archetypes that activate more or less so-called “archetypes” that represent inborn and universal ways of unconscious, but innate human desires? Are advertising campaigns perceiving and comprehending the world and provide individuals shaped by archetypal myths also appealing to consumers (Walle with “wisdom” about the past and predispose people to experience 1986)? A content analysis of advertisements in magazines and the world as their ancestors did. Thus, archetypes have an instinc- newspapers reveals that many brands (even credit institutes or tive or biological function (Veen 1994, 332) and act as regulators sophisticated newspapers) use archetypal images like brave heroes, and stimulators. In other words, “archetypes activate behavior” innocent maidens like the “Sleeping Beauty”, or pictures associated (=“systems of readiness for action” (Stevens 1982, 62)). As inher- with such fairy tales as “Cinderella”, “The Frog Prince”, or animal ent experiences of the human species, they are stable across time archetypes like the “faithful horse” or the “lion”. and societies, but can be culturally coded in typical iconic represen- In the consumer behavior literature, there are several articles tations. inquiring into archetypes from a qualitative research perspective The variety of archetypal images is substantial. In general, (e.g., Hirschman 2000; Veen 1994; Walle 1986). However, there archetypes are mythological or primordial images and are regarded appear to be no empirical studies investigating the effect of arche- as useful in the analysis of myths, fairy tales and general literature. types on approach behavior and on affective responses. In this Jung (1954/1959a, b) devoted special attention to those archetypes paper, we analyze the topic from a positivistic research perspective: he considered as highly important in shaping behavior. It would go 1) whether archetypes influence, on the one hand, the conscious beyond the scope of this article to discuss them all, but three types assessment of commercials, brands, and movies and, on the other are of major relevance for this article and are presented in more hand, unconscious approach reactions and 2) whether all people detail: the anima in men and the animus in woman, the hero, and the behave similarly to the same exposure or whether different person- maiden (Jung 1982, 165) ality types vary in the degree to which they are attracted by Bolen (1984) argued that although archetypes are universal, archetypal topics. To acquire insights into the unconscious reac- people reveal a wide diversity of personality styles that influence tions of test persons and to assess the biological, activating function the decision to allow the psyche to bring the collective unconscious of archetypes, we also measured arousal evoked by archetypal into the conscious. Furthermore, personality factors like self- commercials and movies. esteem and clarity of self-concept (Campbell et al. 1996) may also influence individual (unconscious) preferences for romantic arche- An Introduction to Jung’s Archetypes types (Boeree 1997; Holbrook and Olney 1995). Because Carl G. Jung (1875-1961) was influenced by his mentor Sigmund Freud, he was called Freud’s “crown prince of Archetypes and Consumer Behavior psychoanalysis”. However, “Jung had never been entirely sold on Some authors (e.g., Walle 1986) suggest the general use of Freud’s theory” (Boeree 1997). Briefly, Freud’s (1933) therapy heroes or archetypes in advertising campaigns. Walle (1986, 22) objective was to render the personal unconscious conscious. Ac- describes archetypes as “constitute valuable tools for practitioners cording to Freud, repressed personal experiences are fueled by such as strategic planners of promotional campaigns”, because primitive, pleasure-seeking and destructive emotions that must be archetypal advertising originates from innate human universals and controlled (Enns 1994). Furthermore, Freud was convinced that focuses on innate needs. Veen (1984) argues that archetypes like the one day, his theory about the relevance of unconscious instincts hero in particular, are helpful in explaining buying behavior (e.g. of would be confirmed by modern neurological techniques of brain cars) and that myths in general give products a ritualistic image. imaging (Behrens and Neumaier 2004). Ritualistic consumption satisfies the search for spiritual satisfac-

(o1) Anima and Animus (n2) Her (3) Innocent Maide

The "anima" depicts the unconscious The "hero" can be characterized as the In fairy tales, the female role is often female side of the male psyche, and man of "self-generated-submission" that of the innocent maiden like the "animus" expresses the who will eradicate the difficulties of Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty (Boeree unconscious masculine side of the the world. The hero is the defeater of 1997). The young and beautiful female. The anima may be personified the dragon (Aziz 1990, 29) who woman, who lives in distress or misery as a young girl, a fairy godmother or "undertakes the battle and ultimately, or is maltreated by her stepmother or the earth mother. The animus may be because of his sincerity, is given the the evil fairy is rescued by a gallant personified as a wise old man, or a strength to overcome the dragon" prince who protects her forever and rational male character. According to (Veen 1994, 332). In other words, the promises her a wonderful life free of Jung, both anima and animus are hero can master all challenges in life. worry and care. The story of the 350 present within one character. Moreover, the typical male hero is able year-old fairy tale "Cinderella" has However, due to societal rules, women to rescue an unhappy or threatened survived, because it has given the are still expected to be less aggressive woman and sweep her into an idyllic "underdogs of society a source of and more understanding than men, existence. hope", because the tale has "flourished whereas the latter are expected to be as a paradigm of happily-ever-after, stronger and to ignore the emotional wish-fulfilling romantic fantasy" side of life more than females. (Waters 2003). Women are assumed to like this fairy tale, because it offers an optimistic or sentimental escape from a complicated and difficult reality, whereas men are supposed to identify with the heroic prince.

tion and self-actualization (Belk 1988; Belk, Wallendorf, and archetype like Cinderella is called into question or even eroded. The Sherry 1989; Rook and Levy 1983; Solomon 1983). According to book “The Cinderella Complex” (Dowling 1981) questions the Hirschman (2000), movies portraying particularly meaningful ar- abdication of women’s power to males and asks why, in the old fairy chetypal figures create living icons that are used by consumers as tales, we never hear what happens to the young Cinderella after she important personal anchors. This could be the reason for the marries the prince. Will she really be happy and satisfied with a popularity of many archetype-oriented movies. spouse role or will there be a tendency to break out of the repressive castle existence? To summarize, we could question whether a Feminism and the Innocent Maiden Archetype modern young woman still believes that she needs to do no more In converse, the feminist movement opposes the reduction of with her life than find a gallant prince who will look after her. In archetypes to stereotypes like Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty. other words, do typical maiden archetypes like “Cinderella” or Feminists complain about a misinterpretation of Jung’s theory (e.g., “Sleeping Beauty” really reflect women’s ideals and can they Enns 1994, 73; Lauter and Rupprecht 1985). They point out that his therefore be used successfully in advertising strategies? notion that an unconscious man exists within the woman (animus) However, we can analyze this topic from a male perspective as and that an unconscious woman exists within the man (anima) well. Women’s emancipation might also have changed men’s implies that masculine and feminine characteristics can be united in expectations and philosophies of life. Analogously, we could a balanced relationship and that mentally healthy people have both question whether men are still attracted by the hero-scheme. Does a well-developed anima and animus. However, Jung (1954/1959b, a man always feel capable of mastering all obstacles and is he really 82) also wrote that femininity is associated with “feelings of keen to assume responsibility for his wife and family or does the inferiority”. Since his work has predominantly been interpreted by hero-claim rather lead to a feeling of being burdened? men who are mostly against abolishing patriarchal structures, these In our study, we wish to investigate whether archetypal stories concepts have helped men enhance patriarchal myths and under- like Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty cause positive unconscious and/ value the merits of women as well as their experience and power or conscious responses. This general research question will be (Enns 1994). Furthermore, archetypes (though principally stable specified in the following sections. over time) are nevertheless embedded in socialization processes. On the one hand, feminists (e.g., Lauter and Rupprecht 1985) Self-Concept, Personality and Archetypes believe that the more fairy tales that prevail about heroic men and According to Jung (1954/1959a, b), archetypes refer to deep needy women, the more difficult it will be for women to change structures of the human mind and act as “organizing principles”. such stereotyped role expectations as “Men are brave and clever, This would suggest that a message which is compatible with innate they hunt and solve problems, whereas women stay home, look desires or desired behavior will be more effective (with regard to after children, create a pleasant home life–and obey.” On the other approach behavior towards this special message) than one that is hand, currently, more and more students are female; they often less focused on these innate drives (Celsi and Olson 1988; MacInnis, achieve better examination results than their male colleagues and Moorman, and Jaworski 1991). Thus, we can assume that advertis- more and more women gain high career positions. Thus, a maiden ing messages shaped by desirable archetypes will evoke positive Advances in Consumer Research (Volume 33) / 165 responses. Furthermore, as mentioned before, a relationship be- of two events that are meaningfully related. For instance, people tween personality variables and preferred archetypes can be as- sometimes pick up the phone to call a friend, only to find the friend sumed. Holbrook and Olney (1995) found that people vary in the already on the line. Jung (1953) believed that the collective uncon- degree to which they are attracted either by romanticism (measured scious is responsible for these two synchronous events. Moreover, by items like: “I think that life is an awesome mystery” or “it is okay as mentioned before, Freud was fascinated by the notion that his to daydream a lot”) or by classicism (measured by items like “I have theory could one day be validated by neurological research, whereas a scientific outlook on most problems”) and that women in general Jung was not at all interested in a biological foundation for his are more attracted by romanticism. These findings could lead to theory and declared instead: “Anyone who wants to know the assumptions that on the one hand, females are more attracted by human psyche will learn next to nothing from experimental psy- romantic archetypes than male persons and, on the other hand, that chology. He would better be advised to abandon exact science” individual levels of romanticism or classicism, or in a broader sense (quoted in Boeree 1997, 1). personality factors, also influence the perceived appeal of different Even though Jung clearly does not recommend experimental archetypes. research (and would perhaps turn in his grave if he could read our In this context, self-concept clarity and self-esteem may also study), we wish to investigate the role of archetypes in advertising play an important role. Self-concept clarity can be defined as the and movies by an experiment measuring test persons’ responses to “extent to which self-beliefs are clearly and confidently defined, archetypal presentations. We deliberately asked male and mainly internally consistent, and stable” (Campbell et al. 1996, 141). Self- female students in all faculties at our university to participate in our concept clarity demonstrates whether or not an individual has a experiment so as to guarantee that test persons with different clear “conception of his or her life”. Self-esteem characterizes the outlooks on life (e.g., focus on career or on family) are involved. extent to which individuals have well-articulated positive or nega- However, since many students probably know about the function- tive beliefs about themselves. People with either high or low self- ing of Cinderella-stereotypes as well as feminist resistance to these esteem differ in their appreciation of their own individual achieve- myths, we must be aware of the problem of social desirability ments in life (Campbell et al. 1996). We propose that self-concept response bias. In particular, female students might be attracted by clarity and self-esteem also impact on the evaluation of typical maiden fairy tales, but not dare to admit this (because they are afraid archetypes and we assume that individuals who have not yet dealt to violate an unwritten “feminist student philosophy”). Therefore, with questions like “who or what am I?” or “how do I feel about test persons’ attitudes were measured not only by verbal scales, but myself?“ and thus have unclear self-concepts, will be more at- also by phasic arousal reactions to detect their unconscious re- tracted by maiden archetypal figures, because these fairy tales give sponses towards the media. Furthermore, arousal can be used as an a source of hope, or an anchor as to how life could improve, either indicator of the biological and activating function of archetypes. as the hero (male perspective) or the rescued maiden (female perspective). In contrast to self-concept clarity, the relevance of Psychophysiological Perspective and the Relevance of Arousal self-esteem is not that clear. We hypothesize that, on the one hand, in Advertising females with high self-esteem will be less attracted by Cinderella or From a psychophysiological perspective, arousal is a funda- Sleeping Beauty stereotypes and more attracted by powerful female mental feature of behavior. It can be defined as the basic neuro- heroes, because self-confident women regard themselves as suc- physiological process underlying all processes in the human organ- cessful. Thus, there is no need to wait for gallant princes who will ism. Thus, arousal is the basis of emotions, motivation, information rescue them and master all problems (this is a more feminist processing, and behavioral reactions (Bagozzi, Gopinath, and Nyer argument, as mentioned above). On the other hand, females who are 1999; Öhman et al. 1993). Arousal can vary from deep sleep fascinated by Cinderella-stories presumably also have at least a through moderate increases to panic. Basically, a distinction can be minimum level of self-esteem, because they would otherwise never made between tonic and phasic arousal. Tonic arousal refers to a believe they could attract a prince one day. Consequently, without relatively long-term state of consciousness that changes slowly due self-esteem, identification with a maiden archetype would go to long-lasting or extremely intensive stimuli. Phasic arousal arises beyond their wildest dreams. Men also need a minimum of self- in response to specific stimuli, resulting in short-term variations in esteem, because they would otherwise not be able to identify with the arousal level. It indicates a ready state of the body for reaction the hero. To summarize, we hypothesize that, in general, all and is closely related to attention, that is, enhanced sensitivity of the individuals are attracted by archetypes, but that different degrees of organism to relevant stimuli and stimuli processing, while irrel- attraction are associated with different personality types. evant stimuli are filtered and not processed. Both internal (thought/ metabolic processes) and external stimuli can cause arousal Research Perspective (Boucsein 1997). In consumer behavior, there are already some qualitative Empirical studies emphasize the relevance of phasic arousal in approaches to understanding the meaning of archetypes in advertis- marketing communication. Kroeber-Riel (1979) investigated the ing (e.g., Hirschman 2000; Veen 1994; Walle 1986). Furthermore, impact of weak, medium, and high arousal potential of advertise- we found many articles analyzing the role of male or female ments on recall and attitudes towards the ad and brand. He found stereotypes in advertising (Artz and Venkatesh 1991; DeYoung and support for the hypothesis that highly arousing stimuli exert a Crane 1992; Fenell 1984; Johar, Moreau, and Schwarz 2003; Orth positive impact on advertising efficiency. Empirical studies at the and Holancova 2004). However, there seem to be no experimental point-of-sale established that perceived arousal leads to more or positivistic studies exploring the effect and efficiency of arche- shopping enjoyment, more time spent for browsing and exploring, types used in commercials and movies. One probable reason for this as well as to a higher probability of returning to the store and/or to lack of research is that Jung –in contrast to Freud, whose theory was the tendency to spend more money (Donovan and Rossiter 1982; linked to the natural sciences and who tended to believe that things Groeppel-Klein 1997; Groeppel-Klein and Baun 2001; Tai and work through cause and effect– believed in a “synchronicity” of Fung 1997; Van Kenhove and Desrumaux 1997). Thus, arousal is events that cannot be explained by a mechanistic perspective or an important factor in predicting approach behavior. Furthermore, typical experiments. Synchronicity is the (unexpected) occurrence since consumers cannot willingly influence their arousal reactions, 166 / Pretty Woman or Erin Brockovich? it is either a valid indicator of unconscious reactions or a detection EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN mechanism for social desirability articulation biases (Behrens and Neumaier 2004). Study 1 Hypotheses. To summarize, we investigate the following The first study was conducted in October and November 2004 hypotheses in our studies: in a lecture room at our university. First, students were chosen randomly and asked if they were interested in participating in an H1: If a TV-commercial uses a typical fairy tale archetype, advertising experiment. Then, the participants (arranged in groups it will evoke higher phasic arousal reactions than com- of two to four) completed a general questionnaire about their mercials without this archetype. personal attitudes towards career, family and typical male/female H2a: Movies presenting typical maiden archetypes as charac- stereotypes. Furthermore, items of the Romanticism-Classicism ters will, in general, evoke higher phasic arousal and be Index (Holbrook and Olney 1995) and statements measuring self- evaluated more positively than films presenting brave, concept clarity and self-esteem (Campbell et al. 1996) were valued aggressive (in the sense of not merely accepting one’s on 5-point-rating scales. Before presenting six different TV-com- fate passively) and selfish female characters. mercials and the movies, one member of the group was attached to H2b: However, females with high ratings on self-clarity and the EDR-electrodes and asked to relax and to watch the film just as low ratings on romanticism will be less attracted by in a cinema or at home. In contrast to all other commercials, only the maiden archetypes than females with the converse per- third used an archetypal myth- the story takes place in a typical sonality traits. enchanted “fairy tale castle”. The prince wants to rescue and wake up Sleeping Beauty, but all kissing attempts fail. Only the flavor of Measurement of Arousal a cookie (named “Prinzenrolle”) works, so that Sleeping Beauty is Various verbal methods have been used to measure perceived finally enraptured by her rescuer. During EDR registration, mark- arousal. However, the results derived from these scales are contro- ers were set on the registered data whenever a new commercial versial and the discriminant validity has been criticized (Van started and another when the scene from the movie began. Thus, the Kenhove and Desrumaux 1997; Vitouch 1997). Basically, there are arousal reaction of each commercial and of the movie could be three reasons for these criticisms: (1) selection of inappropriate registered. After presenting the TV-commercials, half the sample items to represent perceived arousal, (2) verbal reports require (randomly chosen) was presented with the last scene of “Pretty some form of cognitive evaluation of perceived arousal by the Woman” whereas the other half watched a sequence from “Gone individual, who might (in a non-measurement condition) not even With The Wind”. Students were told that we wanted to arrange a be aware of the arousal (thus, verbal scales can only measure typical advertising situation, in which films are normally inter- conscious reactions), (3) the fact that verbal measures are made rupted by TV-commercials. Actually, we chose these two films, some time later than the actual experience of the situation (Groeppel- because the Cinderella-“archetype has shaped movies such as Klein and Baun 2001). In contrast to these methods, psychophysi- Pretty Woman” (Waters 2003), and Scarlett O’Hara (as we estab- ological measures such as heart rate, electroencephalogram (EEG) lished through an internet search) is characterized as a “woman, and Electrodermal Activity (EDA) are the most valid indicators, who fought with her sweat and blood to keep her family’s planta- since deliberately influencing the test results obtained from these tion, a woman who overcame every war and obstacle” (unknown methods is almost impossible. In addition, EDA is generally “re- reviewer, www.target.com) and “her incredible tenacity makes her garded as a sensitive and valid indicator for the lower arousal range” a contender” (Isaacs 2004, 4). Thus, viewing the movie was also (Boucsein 1992, 263). Electrodermal Reaction1 (EDR shows phasic arousal) is recommended as an indicator for measuring arousal that is manifest in the third system of the 3-dimensional arousal 1Former expression: Galvanic skin response model of Boucsein (1997). This so-called “preparatory activation” 2Phasic electrodermal amplitude, as measured here, can serve as an system basically encompasses motivational aspects of arousal. indicator of the third dimension. The second dimension, the Expectations are transformed into a ready state for reaction. This “affect-arousal”-system, comprises primarily emotional compo- part of the system interacts especially with motor and pre-motor nents of arousal. The physiological outcome results in phasic activation of behavior, and with positive emotions (Groeppel-Klein cardiovascular (heart rate) and / or tonic electrodermal variations. and Baun 2001). It is assumed to be responsible for (conscious and When it comes to behavior and perception, processes within this unconscious) approach behavior (Boucsein 1997).2 Contrary to the second dimension lead to defense and negative emotions (Boucsein heart rate, EDR indicates even the very smallest psychological 1997, Groeppel-Klein and Baun 2001). change (Boucsein 1992). It is thus considered the most sensitive 3For registration purposes, we chose an exosomatic approach indicator of arousal that could be relevant to behavior and can be applying DC (0.4 V) and measuring skin conductance. The tech- recorded simultaneously with the perception of a stimulus. Due to nical equipment runs with a 12-bit analog-to-digital (A / D) these advantages, we employed EDR as indicator.3 Two EDR converter. We used two Ag / AgCl electrodes filled with a 0.5% parameters are of particular relevance: 1) The amplitude describes NaCl electrode cream. Electrodes were attached to the left palm of the strength of each phasic arousal reaction (Boucsein 1992; right-handers and vice versa. Cacioppo, Marshall-Goodell, and Gormezano 1983).4 According 4In order to calculate amplitudes, for all studies, we chose a to Steiger (1988), the intensity of perceived arousal over a certain minimum amplitude criterion of 0.01µS, so as to exclude record- period of time can be received by summing all single amplitudes so ing artifacts from the signal-to-voice ratio (Boucsein 1992; as to obtain the total amplitude which is the most important phasic Venables and Christie 1980). While registering EDR, overlapping arousal parameter in experiments. 2) The second important param- amplitudes may occur, that is, a second amplitude follows a first eter is the so-called “frequency” of responses, which sums all one, although the original baseline has not yet been reached. For individual reactions. Each skin-conductance response demonstrates our data analysis, overlapping amplitudes were evaluated, each by the particular attention of the individual towards an object in its means of its own baseline, regardless of the recovery time of the environment (Steiger 1988). preceding amplitude (Boucsein 1992). Advances in Consumer Research (Volume 33) / 167 part of the experiment, although participants were not aware of it (randomly chosen) was presented with the last scene of “Pretty and were already attached to electrodes. Afterwards, EDR-test Woman”, whereas the other half watched a (typical) sequence from persons were detached from the electrodes, and together with the “Erin Brockovich”. In our first study, we chose the movie “Gone rest of the group, completed the second part of the questionnaire, With the Wind”, because Scarlett O’Hara is probably one of the including items measuring attitude towards the ad, the brand, and most prominent examples of a fearless female character. However, the movie (reduced version of the statement-list of Edell and Burke “Gone With The Wind” was shot before World War II and is set in 1987) as well as socio-demographic variables. Since attitude mea- the American Civil War, whereas “Pretty Woman” was produced in surement relating to all commercials would have taken too much 1990 and features a modern “zeitgeist”. Furthermore, Julia Roberts time and we were interested mainly in assessments of the third is one of the most popular actresses in Hollywood and the arousal commercial that used a typical fairy tale archetype, we decided only reaction to “Pretty Woman” might simply be due to her still-fresh to measure the ratings for this particular spot. To conceal our special charisma. Therefore, in the second study, we wanted to control a interest, we arranged a kind of lottery and told the participants that potential “Julia Roberts-artifact”, and compared “Pretty Woman” by drawing lots, we wanted to randomly select which commercial to another movie starring Julia Roberts, this time not in a had to be evaluated. However, we manipulated the lottery in such “Cinderella”-role, but as “Erin Brockovich” who is characterized as a way that the lot always drew our archetypal commercial. 59 male “an inspirational reminder of the power of the human spirit. Her and 126 female test persons participated in our experiment. passion, tenacity and steadfast desire to fight for the rights of the underdog defied the odds” (www.erinbrockovich.com). In addition Study 2 to Study 1, we used statements from the sympathy/empathy scale of The second study was conducted in February 2005, with an Escalas and Stern (2003) to establish whether the movies evoke improved experimental design and questionnaire similar to those of weaker or stronger reactions due to test persons’ different levels of Study 1, in order to control additional influences (famous brand identification with the characters. name, product category, actress popularity, order effects). This After excluding the artifacts (e.g., pressure on the electrodes– time, however, only female students were interviewed.5 In contrast for details, see Boucsein 1992), we obtained 92 valid EDR data sets to our first study, half the sample (randomly chosen) was exposed and 91 additional questionnaires for Study 1 and 62 valid EDR data to the archetypal TV-commercial “Sleeping Beauty” (“Prinzenrolle”, sets and questionnaires for Study 2. There are no significant see Study 1), whereas the other half was exposed to a more differences between the “Pretty Woman” and “Gone With The informational TV-commercial of “Prinzenrolle”, that shows a group Wind” or “Erin Brockovich” samples with regard to socio-demo- of cooks (called the “cookie-experts”) with white coats and long graphic variables (age, personal disposable income, study pro- chef’s hats preparing hot chocolate sauce for their delicious cook- grams). However, it should be emphasized that we only presented ies. This experimental design was chosen in order to find out a nine-minute key-scene from each movie in both studies. There- whether the archetypal TV-commercial of “Prinzenrolle” was fore, we also controlled whether arousal reactions differ between really more effective than a more informational spot for the same participants who had already seen the movies and those who did not brand. Furthermore, the water softener commercial (see Table 2) know them. There were no significant differences, neither in the was replaced by a spot also advertising cookies (with the brand experimental nor in the control groups, between the numbers of name “Hanuta”). This clip shows a female fencer fighting with one participants who had already seen the entire film (Study 1: Gone of the famous Three Musketeers. She wins and gets the “Hanuta”. With The Wind: n=16, Pretty Woman: n=37, Study 2: Erin This commercial was chosen for two reasons, firstly to present a Brockovich: n=17, Pretty Woman: n=28) and those who only tough and fearless female actor and, secondly to show an additional watched the sequence for the first time. The TV-commercials were “sweets“-spot to examine whether arousal reactions were evoked all familiar to the audience. only by this special product category. As in the first study, during EDR registration, a “marker” was set on the registered data again EMPIRICAL RESULTS whenever a new commercial started and when the movie scene In both studies, we first applied exploratory factor analyses to began. After presenting the TV-commercials, half the sample the statements measuring attitudes towards career, family, romanticism, self-concept clarity and self-esteem, as well as to the items measuring attitude towards the ad, brand, and movie. The state- 5In Study 1, we analyzed whether there were gender differences ments load clearly on the postulated dimensions. with respect to attitudes towards career, family, romanticism, self- concept clarity and self esteem. Referring to 4 (of 20) statements, Results for Hypothesis 1 our study revealed that there are significant differences (p<.05) Hypothesis 1 analyzes whether a TV-commercial using a between male and female students, demonstrating that typical typical fairytale archetype evokes higher phasic arousal reactions male / female stereotypes can be found even today (Facts are more than commercials without such an archetype. Therefore, in both important than feelings: Mmale=+.287, Mfemale=-.119 / I think studies, six commercials were presented to the respondents, with that even today, it is more important for a man to have positive the intention of simulating a typical commercial-break. The first career prospects than for a woman: Mmale=+.330, Mfemale=- commercial served solely as an “ice-breaking-spot” to ensure that .157 / I believe in love at first sight: M male=-.207, Mfemale=+.104 test persons had become used to and familiar with the EDR- / My beliefs about myself seem to change very frequently: electrodes, and was therefore excluded from further analysis. As Mmale=-.225, Mfemale=+.109). In a second step, we analyzed mentioned before, only the third spot used a typical archetype whether there were also significant differences between male and (“Sleeping Beauty”, see Table 2). female viewers with respect to their phasic arousal reactions Study 1. To investigate Hypothesis 1, we conducted a non- towards the archetypal commercial and the movie. Here, we found parametric Friedman-test (due to the small sample sizes) compar- no significant differences, which might indicate that either men ing frequency and total amplitude evoked by each of the five TV- are attracted by the hero-image of the male character and women commercials. Table 3 shows the highest ranks for the archetypal by the Cinderella-image of the female character or they are not. In spot with regard to both frequency and total amplitude. Further- Study 2, we only investigated female arousal reactions. more, we used a nonparametric Wilcoxon-test for connected samples 168 / Pretty Woman or Erin Brockovich? TABLE 2 CONTENT OF THE INVESTIGATED TV-COMMERCIALS IN BOTH STUDIES

S2tudy 1 Study

1t"ice-breaking"-spo 2)Calgon (water softener Jever (beer) Story: A woman has problems with her Story: A man stands alone at the coastline, enjoys the landscape and washing machine because of calcification. sky and thinks about drinking a beer. The technician explains and recommends a certain water softener. 3 Prinzenrolle (cookie): Archetypal spot Prinzenrolle (cookie) Story: A prince tries to wake up Sleeping Archetypal spot: Sleeping Beauty (50 %) Beauty, all kissing attempts fail, only the Story: see Study 1 aroma of a cookie works. Sleeping Beauty is Informational spot: Cookie experts (50 %) rescued and enraptured by the gallant prince. Story: Some cooks (called "cookie experts") with white coats and chef's hats are preparing hot chocolate sauce for delicious cookies.

4)Lycos (internet search engine Story: Some dogs, dressed up as members of a jury at an ice skating competition, make fun of different web pages. 5)Jever (beer Hanuta (cookie): Tough, fighting woman Story: A man stands alone at the coastline, Story: A female fencer fights one of the Three Musketeers. She wins enjoys the landscape and sky and thinks about and gets the cookie. drinking a beer.

6)D2 (mobile phone Story: In an office, two women spread a rumour and wait to see how long it takes before this message is published as "official information" via mail and phone.

to establish whether there is a significant difference between the tive “Hanuta” cookie spot, at least for the comparison of total archetypal and second ranked commercial. Again, we found a amplitudes (Table 5). significant difference between the two spots with respect to frequency (p=.011). The difference between the total amplitudes of Results for Hypothesis 2a the two best ranked spots was not significant (p=.081) at a .05 level, Hypothesis 2a assumes different arousal responses and atti- only at a .10 level. However, our results point in the postulated tudes towards the movies “Pretty Woman”, showing typical direction, and we found support for Hypothesis 1, at least for the Cinderella archetypes as characters and “Gone With The Wind” or frequency. “Erin Brockovich”, which present brave, aggressive and selfish The results of our first study confirm the high arousal potential female characters. ANOVA supports our hypothesis, at least for the of the archetypal spot. To emphasize the relevance of arousal, we comparison of total amplitudes (Table 6). first standardized and then recoded our metric variable “total We used ANOVA to compare attitudes towards the movie. amplitude evoked by the archetypal commercial” in a nominal- The results (Table 7) support Hypothesis 2a with respect to the scaled variable to ensure highly-aroused (HA=above average) and question of whether the movie has touched personal desires. In minimally-aroused (LA=low level of arousal, below average) test Study 2, we used the sympathy/empathy scale of Escalas and Stern persons. Consumers who were highly aroused by the archetypal (2003) in order to control whether “Pretty Woman” or “Erin commercial were significantly (p<.05) more attracted by the spot Brockovich” evoke high arousal because test persons identify more than those who had a low level of arousal with respect to attitude or less with the character. There were no significant differences towards the ad: entertaining spot (MHA=+.527, MLA=-.287), atti- between the two movies, neither for sympathy nor for empathy. tude towards the ad: valuable spot (MHA=+.475, MLA=-.133), Thus, the results indicate that “Pretty Woman” seems to touch on intention to buy the product (MHA=+.643, MLA=-.381), and inten- innate (unconscious?) desires. tion to recommend the product (MHA=+.413, MLA=-.312). Study 2. In our second study, we controlled whether the brand Results for Hypothesis 2b name or the product category might be responsible for the arousal Hypothesis 2b investigates the relationship between personal- reactions. Table 4 (results of the “robust” Welch-test used because ity types and responses towards the movie and proposes that female of non-homogeneous variances) shows that the archetypal spot of test persons with high ratings on self-clarity and low ratings on “Prinzenrolle” evokes a significantly higher total amplitude than romanticism will be less attracted by maiden archetypes than the informational spot of the same brand. Furthermore, the arche- females with the converse personality traits. This hypothesis will be typal cookie spot leads to higher arousal reaction than the competi- investigated mainly for Study 1. In order to identify different female Advances in Consumer Research (Volume 33) / 169 TABLE 3 AROUSAL DIFFERENCES BETWEEN COMMERCIALS–STUDY 1

Mean Friedman-test Commercial: Wilcoxon-test EDR (for Brand name / product n (Commercial B and Parameters illustra- Mean category Statistics E) tion)c Rank A2: Calgon / water softener 93287.9 2.7

B: Prinzenrolle / cookies a 922 455.7 3.6 Chi-Square 48.336 Z-value b -2.532 Frequency C2: Lycos / search engine 90334.2 3.1 Sign. .000 Sign. .011 D2: Jever / beer 94271.5 2.1 E2: D2 / mobile phone 95376.3 3.2

A2: Calgon / water softener 9715397.9 2.8

B: Prinzenrolle / cookies a 972 22092.2 3.7 Total Chi-Square 45.002 Z-value b -1.743 Amplitude C2: Lycos / search engine 9216769.1 2.9 Sign. .000 Sign. .081 (in η-Siemens) D2: Jever / beer 9412126.9 2.2 E2: D2 / mobile phone 9126060.9 3.2 a Commercial B was the archetypal one; b based on positive ranks c Since Friedman-Test is based on mean ranks, the means are used only to depict the distribution of answers.

TABLE 4 AROUSAL DIFFERENCES: ARCHTETYPAL VS. INFORMATIONAL SPOT–STUDY 2

Homogeneity of AtNOVA Welch-Tes EDR Variances Pnnairs of TV-commercials Mea Parameters Levene- SFign. SFign .A.sympt. Sign Statistic

Sleeping Beauty: 342 38.4 archetypal Frequency 111.852 .100 31.65 .606 37.81 .05 Cookie-experts: 330 21.2 informational Sleeping Beauty: 342 1921.9 Total archetypal Amplitude 120.247 .700 47.52 .703 45.75 .03 η Cookie-experts: (in -Siemens) 300 987.4 informational

TABLE 5 AROUSAL DIFFERENCES: RESCUED VS. BRAVE WOMAN–STUDY 2

Mean EDR Friedman-test Pnairs of TV-commercials (for Parameters illustration) Mean Rank C.hi-Square Sign P2rinzenrolle: “ Sleeping Beauty” 34348.4 1.6 Frequency 26.613 .10 H2anuta: “ Brave Woman” 34361.4 1.3

Total Prinzenrolle: “ Sleeping Beauty” 342 12921.9 1.7 Amplitude 63.125 .01 (in η-Siemens) Hanuta: “ Brave Woman” 312 18585.3 1.2 170 / Pretty Woman or Erin Brockovich? TABLE 6 AROUSAL DIFFERENCES BETWEEN MOVIES IN BOTH STUDIES

Homogeneity of AtNOVA Welch-Tes EDR Pairs of TV- Variances nnMea Parameters commercials Levene- SFign. SFign .A.sympt. Sign Statistic Study 1

P9retty Woman 35673.0 Frequency .3108 .274 37.45 .--06 G9one With The Wind 34463.4

Total P9retty Woman 3838719.5 Amplitude .7758 .538 39.98 .--04 (in η-Siemens) G9one With The Wind 3824852.0 Study 2

Fnrequency P1retty Woma 34651.8 65.293 .--01 35.84 3.05 E0rin Brockovich 30397.1

Total P1retty Woman 3438058.8 Amplitude 65.309 .--01 45.68 6.03 (in η-Siemens) E0rin Brockovich 3321336.5

TABLE 7 ATTITUDE TOWARDS THE MOVIE IN BOTH STUDIES Homogeneity of Mean AtNOVA Welch-Tes (z- Variances Feactor/Item Mnovi standard- Levene- SFign. SFign .A.sympt. Sign ized) Statistic Study 1

General attitude P7retty Woman 98.28 38.133 .--07 107.90 9.00 towards the movie G1one With The Wind 97-.30

Movie touched P7retty Woman 93.46 39.110 .--07 505.96 0.00 personal wishes G1one With The Wind 93-.49 Study 2

General attitude P1retty Woman 30.01 towards the movie .4373 .654 .900 .--93 E0rin Brockovich 30-.01

Movie touched P1retty Woman 36.25 26.860 .909 44.21 .-04 - personal wishes E0rin Brockovich 34-.23

personality types (and derive our independent variable), a two- segment are characterized by romanticism (they enjoy daydream- stage clustering-approach was conducted. The Elbow-Criterion ing and believe in love at first sight). They want to be protected by (Timm 2002) of a prior Ward’s hierarchical cluster method with their future husband and yearn for a life without worries. Although squared Euclidean distances indicates a three cluster-solution. The they are quite self-confident, they still have an unclear self-concept. final cluster solution was conducted with Quick Cluster. The final This segment will be referred to as “optimistic daydreamers”. The cluster centroids are shown in Table 8. second group considers it important to believe in facts rather than According to the results of our cluster analysis, female test dreams, and always to keep a cool head. They have a clear self- participants can be segmented into three groups. Women in the first concept and high self-esteem. Thus, they will be described as “cool Advances in Consumer Research (Volume 33) / 171 TABLE 8 FINAL CLUSTER CENTROIDS–STUDY 1

CAluster ANOV

1)(n=40) 2)(n=45 3 (n=36 Factors students with optimistic "cool" self-made F.-value Sign low self- daydreamers women confidence C4lear-cut logical personality -.2547 .41172 -2.46601 100.28 .00 Desire to be protected by .069209 -9.9324 .2400 609.440 .00 “ broad-shoulders” Desire to have a less exciting, -5.13521 .51767 .60941 17.45 .23 but predictable life Romanticism .52714 -9.10732 -9.4550 100.87 .00 C1areer-orientation .62877 .2352 -.54508 101.107 .00 D8esire for luxury -4.0277 .51676 -6.0072 .347 .62 Resistance against traditional -8.18988 -5.1214 .00553 .465 .52 values R0eliance on intuition .33483 .30430 -9.0021 11.35 .26 Unclear self-concept .976117 -.4552 -9.19208 205.27 .00 H4igh self-esteem .54359 .2494 -1.00675 400.562 .00

TABLE 9 AROUSAL DIFFERENCES BETWEEN PERSONALITY TYPES: COMMERCIAL

Mean Kruskal-Wallis-H-tests EDR (for Pnersonality types Parameters illustra- Mean Chi- Sign. Sign. Sign. Sign. tion) Rank Square 1-2 1-3 2-3

17) optimistic daydreamers 13554.5 41.8 Frequency: archetypal 24) cool self-made women 23229.3 25.9 72.635 .502 .900 .207 .37 commercial 3) students with low self- 262 421.3 31.0 confidence

17) optimistic daydreamer 1723480.0 42.5 Total Amplitude (in η-Siemens): 24) cool self-made women 2419368.2 26.2 87.176 .301 .800 .205 .58 archetypal 3) students with low self- commercial 222 19930.6 30.0 confidence

self-made women”. The third cluster has an extreme negative score Due to the small sample sizes (< 30) within the subgroups, we on “high self-esteem”. These women perceive themselves as fail- used a nonparametric Kruskal-Wallis-test. With respect to the ures and have no self-confidence at all. They are neither energetic archetypal commercial both, total amplitude and frequency differ nor career-oriented, nor do they have any optimistic daydreams as significantly between the groups (Table 9). However, the results of to how they could change their lives. However, they too, want to be the arousal responses with respect to “Pretty Woman” yielded no protected in life. This cluster will be called “students with low self- significant differences between the three clusters. Unfortunately, confidence”. With respect to Hypothesis 2b, we are mainly inter- there were too few test persons to compare the arousal effects of ested in comparing the first and second clusters, because they can “Gone With The Wind” between the three clusters. be differentiated by opposing values on self-clarity and romanti- Thus, we found only partial support for Hypothesis 2b that cism. female characters with high ratings on self-clarity and low ratings 172 / Pretty Woman or Erin Brockovich? TABLE 10 DIFFERENCES IN AAD AND ABR BETWEEN PERSONALITY TYPES

ANOVA

Fsactors Pnersonality type Mean (z- Sign. Sign. Sign. Sign. standard- F-value (all 1-2 1-3 2-3 ized) groups)

18) optimistic daydreamers 33.48 Attitude towards the archetypal 21) cool self-made-women 42-.05 37.394 .803 .502 .502 .89 ad: 3) students with low self- Relevance 345 -.08 confidence

17) optimistic daydreamer 33.33 Attitude towards 23) cool self-made-women 42-.12 the brand: 37.139 .704 .702 .203 .99 Relevance 3) students with low self- 305 -.12 confidence

TABLE 11 DIFFERENCES IN AMOVIE BETWEEN PERSONALITY GROUPS

Mean Kruskal-Wallis-H-tests (for Sign. Fsactors Pnersonality type illustra- Mean Chi- Sign. Sign. Sign. (all tion) Rank Square 1-2 1-3 2-3 groups)

11) optimistic daydreamer 27.375 39.4 Attitude towards the movie 24) cool self-made women 29.320 29.8 90.241 .201 .307 .900 .15 (archetypal, 3) students with low self- Pretty Woman) 196 -9.10 21.6 confidence

19) optimistic daydreamer 18-5.18 30.4 Attitude towards the movie 21) cool self-made women 23.110 34.3 34.086 .821 .644 .028 .09 (non-archetypal, 3) students with low self- GWTW) 129 -9.62 24.7 confidence

on romanticism (self-made women) are less activated by maiden The results (see Table 11) show that optimistic daydreamers have archetypes than females with opposite personality traits (day- a significantly more positive attitude towards the movie than dreamers). Does this mean that even “cool-headed women” cannot members of the other two groups (p=.010). Here, we also found avoid being unconsciously affected by the “Pretty Woman” story? support for Hypothesis 2b. Among those subjects who watched the Or do these students have both a well-developed anima and animus? “Gone With The Wind” sequence (which, in contrast to the Cinderella We also measured “conscious” responses to test Hypothesis archetype, shows an independent woman), the cool self-made 2b. ANOVA revealed significant differences between the groups women sympathized more with the movie than members of the with respect to assessing the commercial’s perceived relevance and other two groups. However, this difference is not significant the relevance of the brand. Post-hoc-tests revealed that these results (p=.214). are caused mainly by differences between the optimistic daydream- Due to the small sample size for Study 2, we did not conduct ers and the cool self-made women. No significant differences could a segmentation analysis. However, we found a moderate, but still be found for other attitude dimensions. Thus, we again found partial significant positive correlation (Pearson coefficient) between high support for Hypothesis 2b with respect to the archetypal commer- ratings on romanticism and a positive evaluation of the archetypal cial (Table 10). commercial of “Prinzenrolle” (p=.038, r=.362, n=32). Further- To test the influence of cluster membership on the attitude more, we found a positive correlation between self-esteem and towards the movie, we used a nonparametric Kruskal-Wallis-test. liking “Pretty Woman” (p=.008, r=.461, n=32). 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