Abstract
Despite research on the influence of homophone priming on consumer judgments and behaviors in adults (e.g., the homophone bye primes purchase; target: buy), there is no research to date on the effectiveness of homophone priming on children’s judgments and behaviors. We examine the priming effect of homophonous devices in advertising on children’s (aged six to 13) judgments and behaviors (i.e., the use of the word meet in advertising primes children’s desire to eat chicken; target: meat). Across three studies we provide evidence that homophonous priming effects decrease with age, whereby younger and less skilled child readers focus on the phonology of words, which results in homophone priming. We show that older and more skilled child readers are better able to process the orthography (spelling) of a word and the meaning of the prime, resulting in homophone priming suppression. We illustrate that facilitating, or prompting, spelling verification in younger children results in their ability to disambiguate the word’s meaning and, subsequently, suppress the irrelevant homophone. This research has implications for advertisers in terms of the execution of their advertisements to influence young children’s judgments and behaviors.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 378-394 |
| Number of pages | 17 |
| Journal | Journal of Advertising |
| Volume | 47 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2018 |
Cite this
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To meet or meat? Homophones in advertising encourage judgments and behaviors in children. / Ilicic, Jasmina; Baxter, Stacey M.; Kulczynski, Alicia.
In: Journal of Advertising, Vol. 47, No. 4, 2018, p. 378-394.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
TY - JOUR
T1 - To meet or meat? Homophones in advertising encourage judgments and behaviors in children
AU - Ilicic, Jasmina
AU - Baxter, Stacey M.
AU - Kulczynski, Alicia
PY - 2018
Y1 - 2018
N2 - Despite research on the influence of homophone priming on consumer judgments and behaviors in adults (e.g., the homophone bye primes purchase; target: buy), there is no research to date on the effectiveness of homophone priming on children’s judgments and behaviors. We examine the priming effect of homophonous devices in advertising on children’s (aged six to 13) judgments and behaviors (i.e., the use of the word meet in advertising primes children’s desire to eat chicken; target: meat). Across three studies we provide evidence that homophonous priming effects decrease with age, whereby younger and less skilled child readers focus on the phonology of words, which results in homophone priming. We show that older and more skilled child readers are better able to process the orthography (spelling) of a word and the meaning of the prime, resulting in homophone priming suppression. We illustrate that facilitating, or prompting, spelling verification in younger children results in their ability to disambiguate the word’s meaning and, subsequently, suppress the irrelevant homophone. This research has implications for advertisers in terms of the execution of their advertisements to influence young children’s judgments and behaviors.
AB - Despite research on the influence of homophone priming on consumer judgments and behaviors in adults (e.g., the homophone bye primes purchase; target: buy), there is no research to date on the effectiveness of homophone priming on children’s judgments and behaviors. We examine the priming effect of homophonous devices in advertising on children’s (aged six to 13) judgments and behaviors (i.e., the use of the word meet in advertising primes children’s desire to eat chicken; target: meat). Across three studies we provide evidence that homophonous priming effects decrease with age, whereby younger and less skilled child readers focus on the phonology of words, which results in homophone priming. We show that older and more skilled child readers are better able to process the orthography (spelling) of a word and the meaning of the prime, resulting in homophone priming suppression. We illustrate that facilitating, or prompting, spelling verification in younger children results in their ability to disambiguate the word’s meaning and, subsequently, suppress the irrelevant homophone. This research has implications for advertisers in terms of the execution of their advertisements to influence young children’s judgments and behaviors.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85060102624&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/00913367.2018.1539361
DO - 10.1080/00913367.2018.1539361
M3 - Article
VL - 47
SP - 378
EP - 394
JO - Journal of Advertising
JF - Journal of Advertising
SN - 0091-3367
IS - 4
ER -