Exploring the Influence of Positive Imagery on Consumer Perception

Abstract

One of the most significant challenges in marketing is how consumers like or dislike a product or service. Though, there is a possibility that consumer behavior is linked to their mind- which is affected by something they perceive as positive. This study used twenty females, eighteen male and one classed as other. The experiment aimed at evaluating if the DE100 IPTV logo pairing with a positive picture of happy graduates -experimental condition, would make more participants to like the DE100 IPTV Logo than those in the participants in the control condition. In the results, 70 % of the total participants in the study -IPTV paired with a positive photograph, liked the Logo. On the other hand, about 45% of participants in the control group liked the Logo. This supports the principle of evaluative conditioning where an individual like an item when they want it in their mind or something with positive anesthetic feelings.

Discussion

This current study was aimed at examining if DE100 IPTV logo pairing with a happy graduate image ‘the experimental condition’ would result in more participants liking the Logo than those in the control experiment. As per the outcome, higher participant’s percentage in the experimental team liked the Logo compared to those who were in the control group. 70 % of the total participants in the study -IPTV paired with a positive photograph, liked the Logo. On the other hand, about 45% of the total participants who were in the control group, which did not involve the coupling of the positive image with the Logo, liked the Logo. This supports the principle of evaluative conditioning where an individual like an item when they like it in their mind or something with positive anesthetic feelings (The Open University, 2014).

This principle of evaluative conditioning was first suggested by Brace, who suggests that individuals associate whether negative or positive when they are transferred. To explain this condition, Brace attempted to explain why people dislike other people’s names. As per the model, this condition of liking or disliking is caused by a like or dislike to a particular name. The explanation was, however, associated with a certain person. This condition also has a great impact on people's attitudes and behavior without them being aware of it. Chen et al. (2012) tried to suggest this condition by showing similarities with findings to those that were discovered in the DE100 module group. The study by Chen et al., (2012), the author was concerned with assessing if or not the outcome of the study differed when pairing the sporting event with a celebrity in the sporting sector compared to a celebrity who is not involved in sports. The study discovered in the experimental condition participants developed a positive attitude compared to participants in the control condition where no sporting celebrity and sports. Therefore, it is evident that evaluating conditioning has a great influence on the participant’s attitudes as well as behaviors. The Open University (2014) also showed similar results in the influence of evaluative conditioning, where the study seem to suggest that, evaluative conditioning impact individual attitudes and behaviors towards eating unhealthy snacks. The study also suggests that another example of this condition is seen in health care, where the packaging of cigarettes in plain wrappings indicated negative pictures of cancer in smokers in order to deter smoking and in promoting healthier lifestyles. Therefore, the results collected in this study are valid and reliable.

The method used in data collection for this experiment- DE100 module teams, was simple and straightforward, which indicates that future replications of the methodologies can be easy to conduct. Secondly, the study utilized an average study population, which gives the correct balance between size and effectiveness. Furthermore, the study uses primary data collection methods, which allows the researcher to use various statistical techniques in determining the reliability, validity, as well as statistical significance, which includes the ability to analyze various variables (Adams & Lawrence, 2018). This supports the validity of the collected data and the results. In contrast, the participant of the study was familiar to the experimenter, which may suggest that there was a possibility that they might have felt pressured into deciding on liking the Logo when they did not. This, therefore, increase the chances of errors. Consequently, to reduce bias and error in the study, the experiment could be done anonymously, which could have generated more honest answers. Moreover, the study could be more appropriate to adopt a street experiment, and a closed-ended questioned which has a yes/no answer and a scale with several options to choose from like immensely liked to extremely dislike. This setting would have generated a richer set of data for the Logo. Lastly, the study failed to allow participants to give details of their response i.e., in explaining their response in sentence form.

Consequently, the image used in the experiment cannot be used in life activities, which is also a limitation to the study. Therefore, future studies in the same area can interrelate satisfactory or daily life activity and such as smoking, etc. This study can be applied to various events in real life, such as in health care, to deter or promote particular behavior. Therefore, other than just experiment, the study might be useful if used in changing people's behavior and addressing education and the health sector challenges. Additionally, future studies might include other factors such as age, education level, gender, etc. while evaluating evaluative conditioning for effective results.

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References

Adams, K.A. and Lawrence, E.K. (2018). Research Methods, Statistics, and Applications. Sage Publications.

Brace, N. (2014). ‘Measuring and Manipulating Variables’ in McAvoy, J. and Brace, N. (eds) Investigating Methods, Milton Keynes.

The Open University (2014). ‘Evaluative conditioning and the DE100 IPTV logo.’ The Open University.