Fluency of Consumption Imagery and the Backfire Effects of Imagery Appeals

Petia K. Petrova and Robert B. Cialdini

Journal of Consumer Research, 2005, vol. 32, issue 3, 442-452

Abstract: Existing research and widespread commercial usage suggest that appeals urging consumers to imagine the product experience have powerful effects on product preferences. Three studies examined the mediating role of imagery accessibility and demonstrated that the difficulty of imagery generation can reverse the generally observed positive effects of imagery appeals. When participants were low in imagery abilities or when the product was not presented in a vivid way, imagery appeals were not only ineffective but even had a negative effect on product preferences. Providing evidence for its subjective nature, this imagery fluency effect was more likely for individuals attuned to their internal experiences. (c) 2005 by JOURNAL OF CONSUMER RESEARCH, Inc..

Date: 2005
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Journal of Consumer Research is currently edited by Bernd Schmitt, June Cotte, Markus Giesler, Andrew Stephen and Stacy Wood

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