Effects of Imagery-Eliciting Strategies on Imagery Processing, Memory, Beliefs, Attitudes, and Intentions From Print Advertisements.

The dissertation research examined four research questions. First, the question of whether or not imagery processing could be measured was addressed. It was assumed that mental imagery does exist and can be measured in three dimensions: quality, quantity, and elaboration. Support for this assumption is provided by the psychometric properties of the scale developed to measure imagery processing in concert with the support toward nomological validity of the construct that was provided by applying the scale in an experiment. Second, antecedents to mental imagery were examined, namely, the imagery-eliciting strategies of pictures and instructions to imagine, and their effects on consequence variables of memory, beliefs, attitudes, and intentions. A range of pictures was examined instead of simple pictures versus words. Also, it was shown that including instructions to imagine within message stimuli was more effective than not including instructions to imagine within message stimuli for several consequence variables studied. Pictures included in a print advertisement enhanced brand attitudes; more specifically, concrete pictures resulted in greater brand attitudes than either abstract or no pictures. More positive attitudes toward the advertisement were evident from concrete pictures as opposed to abstract pictures. Instructions to imagine enhanced inferred beliefs and attitudes. Third, the moderating role of processing preference on relationships between imagery-eliciting strategies and consequence variables and between imagery-eliciting strategies and dimensions of imagery processing was examined. This hypothesis was not supported. Fourth, the mediating role of imagery processing on relationships found between imagery-eliciting strategies and consequence variables was examined. When the mediating role of imagery processing, specifically elaboration and quality, was examined, relationships between imagery-eliciting strategies and consequence variables were completely or partially explained by those dimensions. Thus, further understanding of the effects of imagery-eliciting strategies in a print advertising context is provided