‘Forced empathy’: Manipulation, trauma and affect in virtual reality film

Exploring two recent examples of virtual reality (VR) short films designed to produce visceral experiences (on solitary confinement and on seeking asylum), we call into question claims that assign normative value and even transformative power to the VR medium – imagined as so-called ‘empathy machines’. Drawing on a growing body of literature that seeks to contest such claims, we point to and problematise both the manipulative intent of such projects and the liberal-humanitarian logic, which underpins them. Based on such a logic, advocacy through immersive technologies supposes that if only individuals can be made to ‘feel’ something they will be changed by it and so will their behaviour. Whatever progressive motivations of the content producers, the emphasis on empathetic identification threatens to by-pass critical engagement and raises wider questions about the potentially de-politicising effects of seeking technological solutions to effect social change.

Straight eye for the queer ad: attitudes, skepticism, inferences of manipulative intent and willingness to buy

PurposeThis study aims to provide a conceptual framework to investigate the effects of consumer attitudes toward brands and attitudes toward a series of fashion oriented print advertisements with and without homosexual themes, on consumer willingness to buy from brands. The influence of consumer skepticism and inferences of manipulative intent (IMI) as moderators between these variables is also investigated. This study also closes various research gaps identified within the literature.Design/methodology/approachA self-administered survey instrument was designed using established scales to collect data through an online questionnaire. Fashion advertisements namely one advertisement representing homosexual content and one heterosexual advertisement were used in the study within subjects (e.g. male and female) design. Statistical techniques, specifically factor analysis, regressions and multiple regressions are used to analyze the data.FindingsThe findings indicate significant and positive relationships between attitude toward the brand and advertisement as well as willingness to buy for both males and females. The moderation analyses noted that consumer skepticism enhanced the relationship between attitude toward the brand and attitude toward the advertisement, but weakened the relationship between attitude toward the advertisement and willingness to buy, only for the female cohort. Similarly, a weakening effect of IMI was noted on the relationship between attitude toward the advertisement and willingness to buy.Research limitations/implicationsThe current study contributes to the literature on homosexual imagery in advertising. In applying the persuasion knowledge model, the current study demonstrates the applicability of the model to homosexual themes in fashion advertising while accounting for the effects of consumer skepticism and IMI.Practical implicationsThe current research highlights the importance of accounting for gender differences when introducing homosexual themes in fashion advertisements. Heterosexual males and females differ in their attitudes toward homosexual themes in fashion advertising, as well as how skeptical they are with regards to the motives of the advertiser. While a great deal of acceptance is already present in today's society, these differences still need to be accounted for in future fashion advertising campaigns.Originality/valueThe present study represents an examination of consumer responses to a series of fashion advertisements in Australia and provides useful implications to marketers of fashion products. The study further contributes to the literature on consumer skepticism and IMI with regards to cause-related advertising.

Using numbers in CSR communication and their effects on motive attributions

Purpose This study aims to investigate how judgments of firms’ underlying motives are affected by corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication which features percentages of profit allocations to CSR causes. It also examines how firm size interacts with CSR spending allocations affecting motive attributions for firms of different sizes. Design/methodology/approach Two experiments were carried out manipulating CSR spending allocations (smaller vs larger percentage of profit) and firm size (small vs large firm). Findings A larger percentage of profits allocated to CSR enhanced value-driven motives and inhibited inferences of manipulative intent, which produced lower egoistic-driven motives. Large firms allocating smaller percentages to CSR were judged as less value-driven and were more prone to elicit manipulative intent. Originality/value Two routes of motive attributions were identified – a direct route, contingent on CSR spending allocations and firm size; and an indirect route via inferences of manipulative intent, which inhibited favorable motives and prompted unfavorable ones. Both routes resulted from numerical cognition associated with the processing of numbers. Managerial implications include suggestions for firms wishing to overcome negative consumer bias arising from communication featuring CSR spending allocations and firm size.

Coins Are Cold and Cards Are Caring: The Effect of Pregiving Incentives on Charity Perceptions, Relationship Norms, and Donation Behavior

Charities often include low-value monetary (e.g., coins) and nonmonetary (e.g., greeting cards) pregiving incentives (PGIs) in their donation request letters. Yet little is known about how donors respond to this marketing strategy. In seven studies, including two large-scale field experiments, the authors demonstrate that the effectiveness of PGIs depends on the organization’s goals. People are more likely to open and read a letter containing a monetary PGI (vs. a nonmonetary PGI or no PGI). In addition, monetary PGIs increase response rates in donor acquisition campaigns. However, the return on investment for direct mail campaigns drops significantly when PGIs are included. Furthermore, average donations for appeals with a nonmonetary PGI or no PGI are similar, while those with a monetary PGI are actually lower than when a nonmonetary PGI or no PGI is included. This is because monetary PGIs increase exchange norms while decreasing communal norms. This effect remains significant when accounting for alternative explanations such as manipulative intent and the anchoring and adjustment heuristic.

Feeling Manipulated: How Tip Request Sequence Impacts Customers and Service Providers?

Technology is changing frontline service scripts. Businesses are now using mobile point-of-sale applications (e.g., Square) and mobile technology (e.g., iPad) to prompt customers for tips. Tip requests are occurring more frequently at the start of service transactions, before any service has been provided. This research examines how requesting a tip either before or after service completion affects customers and service providers. We test the effects of preservice versus postservice tip sequence in four studies (a natural experiment in the field and three controlled experiments) across food and beauty service contexts. Findings reveal that requesting a tip before (vs. after) completing a service leads to smaller tips, reduced return intentions, diminished word-of-mouth intentions, and lower online ratings. Inferred manipulative intent is revealed as the psychological mechanism underlying the harmful effects of requesting a tip before service. Findings suggest that emphasizing the benefits of automated point-of-sale systems can reduce, but not eliminate, the negative effects of preservice tip requests. Contrary to norms within the service industry, we find that service providers should avoid requesting tips before serving customers.

Influence of scarcity claims on product evaluation: The role of reversibility of decision

Marketers often employ scarcity messages to attract consumers. In this study, we showed that consumers make inferences about the truth or falsity of scarcity claims. When consumers interpret scarcity as a value signal, scarcity will positively influence product evaluation. In contrast, when scarcity is interpreted as a signal with manipulative intent, the positive effect of scarcity on product evaluation is reduced. Accordingly, we identified reversibility of decision as a moderating factor in the positive effect of scarcity on product evaluation. Results showed that scarcity had a positive effect on product evaluation only when reversibility of decision was high. Further, this effect was mediated by an inference process, whereby consumers perceived scarcity claims to be either a signal of product value or of manipulative intent. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

The ad format-strategy effect on comparative advertising effectiveness

Purpose Extant research on comparative advertising has focused only on “market leader” comparisons (a brand targeting the market leader), whereas in the marketplace, “multi-brand” comparisons are more prevalent (Kalro et al., 2010). Moreover, most research focuses on direct comparisons only. Hence, this research aims to investigate the interplay between comparison ad strategy (“market leader”/“multi-brand” comparisons) and comparison ad format (direct/indirect comparisons) on the effectiveness of comparative advertising. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses four 2 × 2 fully crossed factorial designs (comparison ad format: direct vs indirect and comparison ad strategy: market leader vs multi brand) with established and new brands in two categories: powdered detergents and smart phones. All studies were conducted in metropolitan cities of India. Findings By and large, the experiments indicated that direct (indirect) comparisons lowered (heightened) perceived manipulative intent and enhanced (reduced) attitude-toward-the-ad for multi-brand (market leader) comparisons. Practical implications Findings suggest that when advertisers use comparative advertising, they may use direct ads when using multi-brand comparisons and use indirect ones when using market leader comparisons. It could also be argued that when advertisers use multi-brand comparisons because of fragmentation in the marketplace, they may directly compare against these multiple brands. When advertisers need to compare against a market leader, they may do so indirectly. Originality/value This research is among the first to investigate multi-brand comparisons that are widely used in the industry and that too in the context of both direct and indirect comparison formats.