Conditioning Implicit and Explicit Brand Attitudes Using Celebrity Affiliates

Abstract

Implicit attitudes may be important in understanding and predicting consumer behavior, especially in situations where consumers are cognitively constrained. Based on automatic affective associations, these attitudes guide behavior and may be resistant to persuasion. This article explores changes in implicit and explicit attitudes with Pavlovian conditioning using an emergent model of attitude change. Results suggest that Pavlovian conditioning with real brands and celebrities as conditioned and unconditioned stimuli, respectively, can have an effect on implicit attitudes. The article demonstrates a method for measuring implicit attitudes towards a single brand and discusses implications for implicit attitudes in consumer research