Date of Award

Spring 2011

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Communication

First Advisor

Griffin, Robert J.

Second Advisor

Wolburg, Joyce

Third Advisor

Byers, Stephen

Abstract

Following the postulation of motivation propelled message processing brought up by Chaiken, Giner-Sorolla and Chen (1996) within the framework of the heuristic-systematic model (HSM) (Chaiken, 1980; 1987; Chaiken, Liberman, & Eagly, 1989), this study attempts to explore the extent to which individuals' environmental concern can affect persuasion via systematic information processing. The study examines the comparative effectiveness of a product-based informational approach versus a social norm-based transformational approach regarding individuals with varied levels of environmental concern. A mixed model design is conducted to test the relationship between environmental concern, ad type, systematic processing of information and advertising effectiveness. The regression analysis performed on the results of 167 students' responses to the study shows no interaction effects between environmental concern and ad type. Nevertheless, students' environmental concern is found to be an important predictor of systematic processing of ad information, their perception of advertising message featuring ecological benefits, their evaluation of the brand performance and their propensity to purchase green.

COinS