A Theory of Belief, Attitude, Intention, and Behavior Extended to the Domain of Corrective Advertising

Abstract

The literature on corrective advertising is replete with conflicting reports on its effectiveness in changing attitudes and/or behavior. Part of the ambiguity in the published literature is due to lack of theoretical specificity and conceptual clarity about the potential outcomes associated with mass media efforts to correct deception in commercial advertisements. Moreover, the published research suffers from methodological imprecision in measuring the social impacts of corrective advertisements that make cross-study comparisons difficult, if not impossible. This chapter develops a prepositional calculus to explain corrective advertising effects based upon a significantly modified version of Fishbein’s theory of belief, attitude, intention, and behavior. It is argued that while Fishbein’s theory provides impetus for a theoretical formulation of corrective advertising effects, the model suffers from a major logical deficiency in explaining how corrective advertisers attempt to have limited impact in revising attitudes about previously misrepresented products, which demonstrates the inadequacy of a modified Fishbein model as a predictor of the social effects of corrective advertising. A new theoretic model, specifically developed for the corrective advertising situation, dramatically alters the predictions made in prior research and offers propositions about a new component of source sequence deception that cannot be derived from the original or extended Fishbein models. Implications are discussed for corrective advertising research, regulatory agencies, and theoretical development in the general area of social influence.

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