Graduation Year

2024

Date of Submission

4-2024

Document Type

Open Access Senior Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

Psychology

Reader 1

Piercarlo Valdesolo

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© 2024 Zachariah C.M. Schlichting

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to explore the effects of sexual imagery in advertisements on consumers’ perceptions of brand competence and agency. The effect of a brand’s expected agency was also manipulated between two groups, high expected agency (e.g., tech companies) vs low expected agency (e.g., alcohol companies). 167 participants (M=22.48, 54% women) were recruited through Sona Systems and social media to partake in an online survey conducted through Qualtrics. Participants were randomly assigned to one of four experimental groups and shown seven fictional advertisements; four target advertisements and three deception advertisements. They were then asked to rate their perceptions of competence for both the brand itself and the endorsers appearing in the advertisement. Results suggest a main effect of sexualization such that models whose face and body were shown in the advertisement were perceived as being less competent than models showing only their face. There was also a main effect of expected agency on perception of brands, such that high agency brands were perceived as having less agency. Further analyses showed that perception of models significantly mediated the relationship between sexualization and perceived brand agency. This study sheds light on the negative consequences of utilizing sexual appeal in advertisements. It also provides more insight into the antecedents of objectification and the cognitive biases that arise from seeing sexualized bodies.

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