At this point, my comp project has taken a number of different turns. Most of these changes deal with logistical issues (i.e. time lines for experimental projects in the fall) that are simply not practical right now. However, I have not changed my methodological approach for the project very much. Thus, I am still looking at persuasion and attitude formation.
A study by Olsen and Thjomoe (2003) looked at advertising brand processing on mere exposure and additional elements of exposure within low involvement groups. The goal of the study was to discern which route of persuasion (central or peripheral) would be triggered as a result of the conditions. Participants consisted of undergrad business students who viewed slide shows of advertisements varying in detail. One of the greatest strengths of this study was that the brands shown were fictional and realistic and the information in the ads also varied with little or a lot of information. Results showed that mere exposure to a brand created a more favorable opinion of the brand with participants in low involvement. In order to trigger peripheral processing, additional information was added to each of the brands. Participants used this information as a cue for inference when evaluating a brand.
A methodological concern with this study I had was that the sample only included college students and did not include any part of the population. In addition, the study was set up specifically for low involvement with the brand; however, I would be interested to see how a high involvement study would have turned out. Nevertheless, the study is an excellent piece of literature for my ongoing research project into ELM and attitude formation.
Olson, E., & Thjomoe, H. (2003). The effects of peripheral exposure to information on brand preference. European Journal of Marketing, 37(1), 243-255.