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Effects of Culture, Gender, and Moral Obligations on Responses to Charity Advertising Across Masculine and Feminine Cultures
Author(s) -
Nelson Michelle R.,
Brunel Frédéric F.,
Supphellen Magne,
Manchanda Rajesh V.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
journal of consumer psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.433
H-Index - 110
eISSN - 1532-7663
pISSN - 1057-7408
DOI - 10.1207/s15327663jcp1601_7
Subject(s) - obligation , masculinity , moral obligation , femininity , psychology , social psychology , individualism , perception , morality , preference , individualistic culture , collectivism , law , political science , neuroscience , psychoanalysis , economics , microeconomics
Two studies investigated the effects of charity advertising on perceptions of moral obligation to help others and gauged ad evaluation. This was done in cultures that were similar in individualism but differed in either masculinity (United States and Canada) or femininity (Denmark and Norway). Participants read appeals that solicited donations to charity by focusing on either egoistic or altruistic motives. In masculine cultures, men preferred the egoistic ad and women preferred the altruistic one. In feminine cultures, where women are agentic and men are allowed to be nurturing, the opposite was the case. Exposure to both types of ads activated a sense of personal obligation among men in feminine nations and women in masculine nations. However, their opposite‐sex counterparts reacted against these ads. Implications of these findings for an understanding of culture and sex differences in advertising effectiveness are discussed.