Heads you win, tails I lose : the case of positioning along counterstereotypic dimensions

Abstract

In this paper, we study the effect of providing information along one dimension that is counterstereotypic with information provided along another dimension on the persuasiveness of claims made along both dimensions. Based on the literature on stereotyping and inferencing, we theorize and demonstrate that when a product is positioned along two dimensions perceived to be counterstereotypic to each other -- health and taste -- the inclusion of infomation along a counterstereotypic secondary dimension diminishes the unfavorable inference regarding the secondary attribute as compared to when such information is missing, but the counterstereotypic secondary claim is not as persuasive as it would have been had it been presented without the primary claim. Further, the inclusion of a counterstereotypic sencondary claim reduces the persuasiveness of the primary claim. Results from a laboratory experiment are discussed in terms of how consumers maintain and modify their existing product stereotypes in the face of counterstereotypic product information. Implications for advertising a product along counterstereotypic dimensions are discussed