The Effects of Consumers’ Affect on Attention and Reaction to Ads A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA BY Xinyu Lu IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Jisu Huh June 2019 © Xinyu Lu 2019 i Acknowledgements Writing a dissertation and completing a doctoral program can be likened to building a house. While I used to naively fantasize about the beautiful mansion that I will have built upon graduation, I have realized till now that it can only be built through strategically laying one brick after another day by day Without giving up. Throughout this challenging process, I am truly lucky to have been supported, guided, and encouraged by a number of people to whom I owe sincere gratitude. First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest appreciation to my advisor Dr. Jisu Huh for her unparalleled support throughout the years. I am one of the luckiest advisees in the world to have been guided and nurtured by an advisor who truly cares about my academic and personal growth. I enjoyed all the thought-provoking questions in her seminars, her invaluable and insightful comments and suggestions on my research ideas, and her helpful teaching advice. Her diligence and dedication to work and research and caring for students had deeply influenced me and I cordially admire her as a mentor, scholar, instructor and leader in the field. As a person who lacks self-confidence, I also cannot thank her enough for alWays believing in me, trusting me and encouraging me. The joyful memories I had with her during the past five years Will be forever treasured in my heart. I also Would like to extend my sincere thanks to my committee members, Drs. Mark Snyder, Vladas Griskevicius, and Claire Segijn, for their willingness to serve on my committee and their invaluable feedback. Their thoughtful comments and kind encouragements help me feel even more confident about my dissertation and inspire me to further improve my work. ii In addition, I would like to acknowledge the faculty members who have taught me over the years as well as my wonderful and supportive (past and present) colleagues and friends at HSJMC, especially Michelle Chen, Ida DarmaWan, Chuqing Dong, Lanhuizi Gan, Debra Kelley, Eunah Kim, Hyejin Kim, Jisu Kim, Michaele Myers, Alexander Pfeuffer, Fernando Severino, Weijia Shi, Hao Xu, Yiran Zhang, and Xuan Zhu. They are alWays there to provide much needed, happy distractions from stressful graduate study. With their constant accompany and emotional support, my graduate school life could not have been more enjoyable. I would also like to thank my Minnesota friends who have supported me throughout this journey and tolerated my emotional ups and downs: Hui Zhang (the one and only bassoonist), Yuchen Chen (future finance professor), and Yingjie Ma (ambitious risk analyst). Finally, I am extremely grateful to the tWo most important people in my life, Whose love and guidance are with me forever. My mother Weifang Chen has been the role model of my life for her dedication to work and unconditional caring for the family. It is from her that I have learned the importance of independence and self-reliance. Whenever I felt discouraged and hopeless, she was there to comfort and encourage me. My father Weizhong Lu has also been a great influence on my academic and personal growth. His perseverance and endless seek for self-improvement inspires me to improve myself and work hard. His great sense of humor also cheered me up whenever I felt upset. I am fortunate to be supported by their unconditional love. They are my ultimate role models. iii Dedication To my mother, Weifang Chen, and to my father, Weizhong Lu, for their unconditional love and endless support. iv Abstract This dissertation examined (1) the influence of affective states on consumers’ selective attention to different types of ads that are categorized based on theoretically- derived attention-inducing characteristics; and (2) the influence of affective states on consumers’ ad processing style and evaluation of the ads that received attention. A computational research approach Was used cross-analyzing proxy measures of real-time affective fluctuation of TV vieWers during the 2018 and 2019 Super Bowl broadcast and their tWeets regarding the ads aired during the Super Bowl broadcast. The results demonstrated some supports for the linkage betWeen consumers’ temporary affective states, induced by the performance of the team they cheer for, and their selective attention to different types of ads even when they are exposed to the same set of ads during commercial breaks. Consistent with Mood Management Theory and prior psychology research evidence connecting affective states to visual attention, consumers in a negative affective state tend to pay more attention to positive ads and ads With emotional appeals than do those in a positive affective state. Furthermore, consumers in a positive affective state tend to pay more attention to exciting ads, compared to those in a negative affective state. However, this study’s data did not show significant relationship betWeen consumers’ affective state and their selective attention to ads with different semantic affinity levels, nor any significant effects of affective state on ad processing style or evaluation of ads. The study contributes to advancing the ad attention and mood management research by testing the largely untested effects of consumers’ temporary affective states on selective attention and reactions to ads. The computational research approach v developed in this study also offers significant methodological contributions to advertising scholarship, opening neW avenue of research to apply the computational research approach to advertising theory building, especially theory regarding the role of consumers’ affective factors. Additionally, this study provides useful practical implications for ad targeting and ad placement strategies based on consumers’ temporary affective states. This study’s findings suggest a neW promising way to target consumers and personalize ads based on individual consumers’ real-time, temporary affective states that can be captured by appropriate proxy measure data. vi Table of Contents List of Tables ..................................................................................................................... ix List of Figures ......................................................................................................................x CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................1 1. Research Purpose and Focus .....................................................................................3 2. Dissertation Chapters and Organization ....................................................................5 CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE REVIEW .............................................................................6 1. Research on Attention to Ads and Influencing Factors ............................................6 Conceptualization of Attention ....................................................................6 Operationalization and Measurements of Attention ....................................8 Research on Influencing Factors of Attention to Ads ................................13 2. Research on the Influence of Affect on Attention ..................................................16 Conceptualization and Operationalization of Affect .................................16 Research on the Influence of Affect on Selective Attention ......................25 3. Mood Management Theory Explaining the Influence of Affect on Ad Attention .......................................................................................................32 Mood Management Theory (MMT) ..........................................................32 Application of MMT and Research Findings ............................................35 4. Research on the Influence of Affect on Ad Processing and Ad Evaluation .........................................................................................................38 Influence of Affect on Ad Message Processing .........................................38 Influence of Affect on Ad Evaluation ........................................................41 CHAPTER 3. HYPOTHESES ...........................................................................................44 vii 1. Impact of Consumers’ Affective State on Selective Attention to Ads ...................46 2. Impact of Consumers’ Affective State on Ad Processing and Ad Evaluation .........................................................................................................48 CHAPTER 4. COMPUTATIONAL RESEARCH METHOD ..........................................50 1. Data Collection and Analysis Procedures ..............................................................51 Content Analysis Approach for Mood-Impacting Characteristics of Ads ................................................................................53 2. Variable Computations ............................................................................................56 Independent Variable: Consumers’ Affect ................................................56 Dependent Variables: Attention to Ads, Ad Processing and Ad Evaluation ............................................................................................60 CHAPTER 5. RESULTS ...................................................................................................68