Advances in Consumer Research, Provo, UT: Association for Consumer Research, Vol 28</p

Han, Jin K.

Tavassoli, Nader T.

Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University

Singapore Management University Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business Lee Kong Chian School of Business 2001 On the Interaction of Alphabetic and Logographic Words with Sounds and Images Nader T. Tavassoli Jin K. Han Singapore Management University, jkhan@smu.edu.sg Follow this and additional works at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/lkcsb_research  Part of the Business and Corporate Communications Commons, and the Marketing Commons Citation Tavassoli, Nader T. and Han, Jin K.. On the Interaction of Alphabetic and Logographic Words with Sounds and Images. (2001). Advances in Consumer Research. 29, 186-187. Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business. Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/lkcsb_research/1960 This Conference Proceeding Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Lee Kong Chian School of Business at Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business by an authorized administrator of Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University. For more information, please email libIR@smu.edu.sg. "ON THE INTERACTION OF ALPHABETIC AND LOGOGRAPHIC WORDS WITH SOUNDS AND IMAGES" Nader T. Tavassoli, MIT Sloan School of Management Jin K. Han, Singapore Management University  Advances in Consumer Research, 2002,  Volume 29, Pages: 185-187 eds. Susan M. Broniarczyk and Kent Nakamoto, Valdosta, GA: Association for Consumer Research It is well established that reading alphabetic words is dominated by phonological (sound-based) processes, whereas phonological processes do not appear to dominate the processing of Chinese logographs, where visual processes are more pronounced (for reviews, see Tavassoli, in press; Zhou & Marslen-Wilson, 1999). Most previous demonstrations of these linguistic differences have relied on low-level processes that potentially do not involve short-term memory. For example, they have attempted to assess differences in the speed (measured in milliseconds) by which phonological and semantic information get activated in the brain. Our research adds to a growing stream of consumer behavior research that has shown these low-level processing differences to have profound implications for higher-order processes such as recall and attitude formation (Pan & Schmitt 1996; Schmitt, Pan & Tavassoli 1994; Tavassoli 1999, 2001). Specifically, we examine the interactive processing of words with sounds and images, and the flexibility bilingual and biscriptal consumers show in their processing styles (Tavassoli & Han, 2001; Tavassoli & Han, 2002). In experiment 1, we examine interference from nonverbal information. We propose that auditory distractors should interfere more with the processing of an alphabetic script because this relies primarily on phonological processes, whereas visual distractors should interfere more with the processing of a logographic script because this relies more on visual mental processes. We presented the same words written either in the alphabetic Hangul or the logographic Hancha, two scripts that can be used interchangeably for a large subset ofKorean words. Each word was preceded and followed by sounds or simple graphics. Participants were asked to remember the words and the distractors. We found that auditory distractors impaired memory performance for Hangul more than for Hancha, whereas visual distractors showed the reverse pattern. This suggests that consumers’ processing differs based on the writing system used and that, for example, irrelevant background music would be relatively more distracting in Hangul (English) ads, whereas irrelevant graphics would be more distracting in Hancha (Chinese) ads. In the next 3 experiments, we examined the integration in memory of words with nonverbal information which is the reciprocal effect of interference (Tavassoli, 1998). In contrast to interference, integration should be stronger the greater the processing overlap. We tested this prediction by presenting alphabetic Hangul or logographic Hancha words paired either with brand logos or with auditory icons, similar to the MGM lion’s roar. We found that memory for pairings with auditory icons was better when these were paired with brand names written in Hangul. In contrast, we found that memory for pairings with visual logos was better when these were paired with brand names written in Hancha. We replicated this interaction effect with native speakers of English and Mandarin, and bilingual speakers of English and Cantonese. In other words, the integration of verbal with non-verbal information differs based on the writing system used to present the same information by the same consumer. In summary, this paper extends previous research on the processing of words to the interactive processing of words with nonverbal sounds and images. Moreover, it demonstrates that differences in processing language are flexible and a single bilingual or biscriptal consumer can exhibit contrasting processing styles in ways similar to native speakers of different languages. References Pan, Y., & Schmitt, B. (1996). Language and brand attitudes: Impact of script and sound matching in Chinese and English. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 5, 263-277. Schmitt, B. H., Pan, Y., & Tavassoli, N. T. (1994). Language and consumer memory: The impact of linguistic differences between Chinese and English. Journal of Consumer Research, 21, 419-431. Tavassoli, N. T. (1998). Language in multimedia: Interaction of spoken and written information. Journal of Consumer Research, 25, 26-37. Tavassoli. N. T. (1999). Temporal and associative memory in Chinese and English. Journal of Consumer Research, 26, 170-181. Tavassoli, N. T., & Han, J. K. (2001). Scripted thought: Processing Korean Hancha and Hangul in a multimedia context. Journal of Consumer Research, 28 (December). Tavassoli, N. T., & Han, J. K. (2002). Auditory and visual brand identifiers in Chinese and English. Journal of International Marketing,forthcoming. Tavassoli, N. T. (2001). Color memory and evaluations for alphabetic and logographic brand names. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 7 (June), 104B111. Zhou, X., & Marslen-Wilson, W. (1999). Phonology, orthography, and semantic activation in reading Chinese. Journal of Memory and Language, 41, 579-606.  

On the Interaction of Alphabetic and Logographic Words with Sounds and Images

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On the Interaction of Alphabetic and Logographic Words with Sounds and Images

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