CONSUMER RESPONSE TO SEX ROLE PORTRAYALS IN ADVERTISEMENTS

Effects of Incongruity and Prejudices on Emotions and Attitudes

Ulrich R, Orth and Denisa Holancova
ABSTRACT: This study investigates how male and female consumers in the Czech Republic respond co sex role portrayals
in advertisements for a fictional cell phone service. Special emphasis is placed on integrating consumer prejudices and
emotions into an incongruity-resolution framework. Prejudices were found to moderate effects of sex role incongruity on
the emotional dimensions approval and disapproval. Surprise, the chird emotional dimension, was directly affected by role
incongruity. Downstream effects included positive (approval) and negative (disapproval, surprise) influences on attitude
toward the ad. Extensions into other cultural settings and more in-depth examinations of the elaboration and processing
paths, including effects on memory, are suggested for future research.

Congruity theory (Osgood and Tannenbaum 1955) has been

successfully applied in social psychology for explaining attitude formation. According to the underlying principle of cognitive consistency, people value harmony among their thoughts,
feelings, and behaviors, and they are motivated to maintain
uniformity among these elements (Solomon 1996). Advertising researchers have applied schema congruity to a variety of
contexts, including pictorial and verbal ad components (Houston, Childets, and Heckler 1987), brand names (Meyers-Levy,
Louie, and Curren 1994), and message appeals (Hong and
Zinkhan 1995). While much theory and research have been
directed at understanding the role of reason, or systematic
ptocessing, in the "central" route to persuasion (Kirmani and
Shiv 1998; Petty et al. 1988), prior research also provides
evidence that executional cues in advertising, such as pictures,
may influence high-involvement consumers' evaluations as
well, in the form of peripheral-route ptocessing via emotions
(Maclnnisandjaworski 1989)- In addition, congruity researchers suggest that emotions may arise from consumer categorization and processing activities (Garbarino and Edell 1997),
and Alden, Mukherjee, and Hoyer (2000) empirically demonstrated that reactions to stimulus-schema incongruity involve surprise as an emotional dimension. The role of emotions
in shaping attitudes, in turn, is well established (Brown and
Stayman 1992).
Within the large number of studies on sex role portrayals,
researchers have tended to emphasize cognitive influences and
processes in their examinations of sex role portrayal effects on
Ulrich R, Orth (Prof Dr. hahil., Munich University of Technology,
Germany) is a professor of agribusiness and food marketing, Oregon State University.
Denisa Holancova is a Ph.D. candidate at Mendel University Brno,
Czech Republic.

consumer attitudes (Debevec and Iyer 1988; Leigh, Rethans,

and Reichenbach Whitney 1987). Sex role portrayal herein
refers to the characterization of females and males in advertising, as well as their setting relative to other characters (Wortzel
and Frisbie 1974). No study could be found examining consumer response to sex role portrayals within a congruity framework. For instance, it is unclear whether advertisements
featuring sex role portrayals that are congruent with consumers' self-concepts and beliefs are likely to be more effective
than ones featuring incongruent portrayals. Although it has
been suggested that sex role portrayals evoke emotions (Batra
and Ray 1986; Schmitt, Leclerc, and Dube-Rioux 1988), there
appears to be no prior research integrating consumer emotions and their relationship with the "cold" cognitive processing of sex role portrayals. For example, will sex role
portrayals that are congruent with consumer schema elicit
more approving emotions than portrayals thar are perceived
as incongruent? Does incongruity correlate with viewer feelings of surprise? And how do the emotions evoked affect consumer attitudes?
One problem in interpreting the results of studies within
both streams of research on incongruity and sex tole portrayals is that the conceptual bases of cognition and affect are not
clearly identified. Although cognition has been clearly distinguished from affect, researchers have been less than specific in defining affect and distinguishing it from the closely
related, although not identical, concepts of attitude and emotion. Eagly and Chaiken (1993) define affect as experiential
The authors thank Boris W. Becker, Oregon State University, for his
comments on previous draft.s of the manuscript. They also thank Ronald
Faber and three dnonymousJourt/al vj AJvertising reviewers for their
insightful comments and guidance, which helped improve the
presentation of this research. Financial support from Eurotel and Metra
for parts of the research is gratefully acknowledged.
Journal of Adi'ertiiing, vol. 32. no, 4 (Winter 2003-4). pp. 77-89.
2004 American Academy ot Atlverrising. All rights reserved.
ISSN OOyi-3367 / 3004 $9-50 - 0.00

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The Journal of Advertising

feelings directed toward attitude objects. Yet emotions are

unique vis-a-vis affect in that they are valenced, and can therefore be classified as positive or negative (Vanden Abeele and
MacLachlan 1994); they are spontaneous, temporary states
(Murry, Lastovicka, and Singh 1992); and they can be classified by individuals according to a number of directions or
orientations, such as happy, sad, angry, or mad (Oliver 1992).
In contrast, attitudes have been defmed as relatively stable
Opinions containing a cognitive element and an emotional
element (Wade and Tavris 1996). More important, attitudes
include a cognitive and behavioral component not present in
the conceptual definition of emotion (Fishbein and Ajzen
1975).
In a related stream of research. Haddock and Zanna (199.^)
applied this concept of attitude to the domain of intergroup
attitudes and found that evaluations of advertising stimuli
could be biased by neglecting differences in consumer prejudices. Lysonski and PoUay (1990) report that both female and
male sex role stereotyping occuts, and may lead to the development of prejudices. And consumer prejudices, in turn, have
been found to affect consumer evaluation of advertisements,
particularly emotions (Bhat, Leigh, and Wardlow 199H). Given
further evidence that incongruity does not perfectly correlate
with consumer emotional response but rather depends on consumer predispositions (Meyer, Rudolph, and Schutzwohl
1991), it seems reasonable to assume that sex role portrayals
in advertisements may elicit different responses depending
not only on stimulus-schema incongruity, but also on consumer prejudice.
Building on these studies, this paper extends tesearch on
consumer response to sex role portrayals in advertising in at
least three ways: First, it demonstrates how congruity theory
is useful theoretically for explaining both women's and men's
response to sex role portrayals in advertising. Second, it integrates consumer emotional responses, and hence develops the
linkages between cognition and emotions as key variables in
an incongruity-resolution framework. Third, it incorporates
consumer prejudices as an individual difference variable and
moderator of incongruity effects. The choice of the country
settingthe Czech Republicwas primarily motivated by
the researchers' academic and national affiliation.
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
Perceived Sex Role Incongruity
To examine individual responses of both females and males to
sex role portrayals in advertising, this study adopts a congruity perspective. Congruity theory predicts both the degree
and direction of attitude change, postulating that this change
occurs in the ditection of increased congruity within the
subject's cognitive schema (Meyers-Levy, Louie, and Curren

1994). Results of congruity research demonstrate that when

information is^ somehow incongruent with prior expectations,
effects occur on consumer attitudes (Alden, Mukherjee, and
Hoyer 2000; Meyers-Levy and Tybout 1989), and also on the
processing of information (Kirmani and Shiv 1998; Stayman,
Alden, and Smith 1992). Researchers used a variety of terminologies interchangeably, such as congruent/incongruent, expected/ unexpected, and consistent/inconsistent (Heckler and
Childers 1992).
In the current context of magazine advertising, (in)congruity,
as the term is used here, refers to the extent to which (no)
structural correspondence is achieved between the entire configuration of a sex role portrayal and the configuration specified by a person's schema or beliefs. Adopting an incongruity
perspective entails recognizing that individuals' understanding of nonverbal cues varies (Burgoon 1994), and consumers
may thus perceive pictorial role portrayals differently. More
specifically, one part of an audience may perceive portrayals
of a female boss and a male secretary as congruent with theit
schema and beliefs, whereas another part of the audience may
perceive this portrayal as incongruent. According to congruity theory, sex role portrayals that are congruent with consumer self-schema and beliefs are then likely to generate more
favorable attitudes toward the brand than portrayals that are
incongruent with consumer schema.
Schema Incongruity and Consumer Emotions
Researchers have argued that focusing on cognitive ptocesses
and failing to understand the role of emotions impedes understanding of various consumer behaviors (Allen, Machleit,
and Kleine 1992). Past research in social psychology (see, e.g.,
Fiske 1982) and advertising (see, e.g., Alden, Mukherjee, and
Hoyet 2000) indicates that congruity theory may be a particularly useful framework for understanding the process of
the generation of emotions. Fiske (1982) suggested that if an
item is congruent with an existing schema, it will receive the
feelings linked to that schema.
More recent research provides evidence that emotions may
arise not only as a result of che evaluation ot information, but
also from consumer categorization and processing activities
(Garbarino and Edell 1997). Whether the stimulus is evaluated more positively or more negatively depends on how much
effort is involved in resolving the incongruity. Alternatives
that require more effortful processing are less preferred than
alternatives that tequire less effortful processing because of
the ptocess-induced negative feelings generated (Garbarino
and Edell 1997).
Cohen and Basu (1987, p. 470) add another perspective:
"Since categotization produces a reduction in uncertainty,
positive affect may result from a successful fit and negative
affect from an inability to categorize an item." As a result.

Winter 2003^

79

researchers have begun building a theory that incorporates

both the cognitive and the emotional components that help
explain how incongruity of advertising cues affects attitude
toward the ad and brand attitude (Alden, Mukherjee, and
Hoyer 2000). Examining effects of different levels of perceived
humorousness in advertising, the authors reported that ad
content incongruity generates surprise. Although this finding confirms the existence of a link between incongruity and
consumer emotion, the study focuses on a single emotion and
does not examine the linkages with a broader range of emotions tor an important social issue.

the results of Alden, Mukherjee, and Hoyer's 2000 study, it is

further hypothesized that sex role portrayals that are incongruent with consumer self-concept and beliefs will generate
surprise.

Generally, the role of emotions as affective responses to

advertisements, as well as their impact on attitudes, are well
established {Brown and Stayman 1992). Emotions have been
found to influence the evaluation of both attitude toward an
ad and toward rhe adverrised brand (Edell and Burke 1987;
Holbrook and Batra 19H7). Considering further evidence thar
emotions are evoked by means of executional cues in ads (Barra
and Ray 1986), such as role portrayals, it is surprising that no
study could be found examining consumer emotional response
to sex role portrayals in advertising. Instead, prior research on
the processing of ads featuring sex role portrayals focused on
how content and imagery affect cognitive responses and attitude toward the ad, which in turn affect attitude toward the
brand and purchase intention (Jaffe 1994; Whipple and
Courtney 1985).
The studies cited reflect a diversity of theoretical domains
and research contexts. Common throughout them, though, is
a fundamental result: stimulus-schema incongruity appears
to be a particularly useful framework for understanding the
linkages between "cold" cognitive processing and emotions.
This raises the question of how to measure emotional response
to advertisements featuring sex role portrayals.
Emotional responses to advertising are complex and multidimensional in their scope. Typologies have been created
including numerous feelings, such as Holbrook and Batra's
(1987) Standard Emotional Profile. A variety of empirical studies, however, indicates that those batteries of emotions could
be pared down to two or three core emotional dimensions.
Eot example, in their study on the effect of consumer prejudices on ad processing, Bhat, Leigh, and Wardlow (1998) reduced Holbrook and Batra's 29-item emotional battery by
means of principal component analysis to three general emotional dimensions: approval, disapproval, and surprise.
Given rhe findings of the literature review, it is assumed
that sex role portrayals that are incongruent with consumer
self-schema are likely to arouse strong emotional responses.
Assuming several dimensions of emotional response, such as
approval, disapproval, and surprise, leads to the hypothesis
that the presence of sex role portrayals in ads that are incongruent with consumer self-schema will result in less approving and more disapproving emotional response. Building on

The Moderating Role of Consumer Prejudices

HI: The incongruity of an ac/pertisernent's sex ro/e portrayal

will affect the strength and type of consumer emotional response.
(In)congruent sex role portrayals will result in approving
(disapprm'ing) responses. Higher levels of incongruity will result
in stronger surprise.

As mentioned before, stimulusschema incongruity is a useful framework for examing consumer response to sex role portrayals in advertising. However, incongruity is unlikely to
perfectly correlate with consumer emotional response. A strong
correlation may occur, for example, when the emotion evoked
is surprise {Meyer, Rudolph, and Schutzwohl 1991). In such
cases, consumers may have no well-formed a priori attitudes
toward the sex role portrayal issue due to lack of awareness.
Alternatively, an advertisement might elicit strong emotional
reactions of approval or disapproval when consumers are more
aware and prejudiced toward the sex role portrayal issue. Eor
example, consumers with a strong negative attitude toward
stereotyped role portrayals in advertising may exhibit strong
emotions of disapproval when shown a portrayal incongruenr
with their self-schema and beliefs. Thus, an advertisement
might generate different emotions depending on consumers'
prior exposure and prejudices. The effect of incongruity is
likely to be magnified as prejudices increase.
Strong support for this proposition is provided by past research indicating that neglecting differences in consumer
prejudices could bias consumer evaluarions (Haddock and
Zanna 1993; Lysonski and PoUay 199{)) and that a priori attitudes correlate with diminished effectiveness of a particular
ad {Bhat, Leigh, and Wardlow 1998). A series of studies examined consumer general perception of sex role portrayals in
advertising and reported stereotypes being reflected. Women
were found to be primarily depicted in conformity with traditional gender roles, relationships, and situations {Ferguson,
Kreshel, and Tinkham 1990; Wiles, Wiles, and Tjernlund
1995). Similarly, stereotypes were reported for the portrayals
of men. Most male models were shown in conformity with
traditional gender roles {e.g., as businessmen, sportsmen, authority and father figures) (Kolber and Albanese 1996;
Wolheter and Lammers 1980).
In their landmark study, Lundstrom and Sciglimpaglia
{1977) introduced a scale for measuring respondents' general
attitudes toward sex role portrayals in advertising. The instrument was employed in subsequent studies and generally
was found to be useful for assessing overall issue awareness

80

The Journal nf Advertising

(Ford, LaTour, and Lundstrom 1991; Lundstrom, White, and

Chopoorian 1999)- Lundstrom and Sciglimpaglia (1977) further reported thar some groups of female consumers, usually
defined by demographic variables (i.e., income, education),
were more aware of stereotyped role portrayals in advertising
than others and that corresponding prejudices influenced
women's attitudes toward firms and products. Their findings
were complemented by more recent research demonstrating
that females who were more prejudiced toward stereotyped
sex role portrayals in advertising were more likely to exhibit
negative attitudes toward firms or products associated with
stereotyped role portrayals (Lysonski and Pollay 1990). At
this point, it is importatit to note that whereas this stream of
research examined primarily female consumer perceptions and
attitudes at an aggregated level, the Lundstrom and Sciglimpaglia (1977) scale is getierally considered a useful tool for
assessing consumer prejudices on the issue of sex role portrayals in advertising.
Given the results of these studies, it is expected that consumers vary considerably in their self-reported prejudices
toward sex role portrayals because of differences due to experience, family values, or education. It also seems reasonable to expect consumer prejudices, as an individual
difference variable, to interact with sex role incongruity to
strongly influence emotional responses, with subsequent
effects on consumer attitudes. In other words, it is proposed
that consumers' emotional and attitudinal responses to an
ad incorporating sex role imagery will be moderated by their
prejudices:
H2: Effects of sex role portrayal incongruity on consumer
emotions will be moderated hy an individual's prejudtce toward
sex role portrayals. The more (less) prejudiced an individual
is, the stronger (weaker) his or her emotional response to an
incongruent sex role portrayal will be.

Given the range of prejudices among consumers and in the

light of earlier findings of a direct effect of sex role portrayals
on brand attitude (Leigh, Rethans, and Reichenbach Whitney
1987), it is further hypothesized that sex role incongruity, as
moderated by consumer prejudices, influences brand attitude.
Considering the findings of previous mediational models
(Burns, Biswas, and Babin 1993), emotional response and attitude toward the ad are expected to mediate the effect of sex
role incongruity on brand attitude. Given the findings of
Holbrook and Batra's (1987) research on the role of emotions
in shaping attitudes, it is hypothesized that role incongruity
influences attitude toward the ad, with the effect moderated
by consumer prejudices. Moreover, the effect of role incongruity on attitude toward the ad is expected to be attenuated
when emotional response is included in the model as an additional predictor (Batra and Ray 1986; Holbrook and Batra
1987):

H3: Effects of the incongruity of an advertisement's sex role

portrayal on consumer emotional response are moderated by
consumers' prejudices and, in turn, mediate effects on attitude
toward the advertisement.

Figure I summarizes the postulated relationships.

METHOD
Subjects and Design
The data was collected at two mall and two city center locations in Brno, Czech Republic. To obtain a balanced gender
quota, the selection process combined quota sampling with a
systematic approach in which every third person who passed
the interviewer was asked to participate. Three hundred and
twenty adults (161 females and 159 males) were selected randomly within a narrow age bracket (18 to 35 years) to exclude as many potentially distorting effects of personal
variables as possible. Respondent profiles at the sampling locations showed no significant differences.
Consumers were assigned randomly to one of eight stimulus schemes. Each individual was given an envelope containing the relevant experimental ad treatment and a questionnaire
measuring emotional responses, attitudes, prejudices, and
demographic characteristics.
Translation and back-translation techniques were used in
the development of the instrument to ensure cultural equivalence. The questionnaire was written in English, translated
into Czech by a bilingual graduate student, back-translated
into English by a bilingual faculty member, and then compared with the original questionnaire to check for congruence.
Some rewording of questions was necessary to accommodate
phraseology commonly used in Czech, and after minor revision, the questionnaire was printed in Czech.
Stimuli
To classify and choose the specific ads used in the experiment,
established procedures were followed (Bhat, Leigh, and
Wardlow 1998; Jaffe 1994). A cell phone service was selected
as an item popular with the target group; it appealed to both
female and male consumers and there was frequent use of sex
role portrayals in recent advertisements. The cell phone service was given a fictional brand name to remove influences of
prior brand evaluation and knowledge.
A focus group of ad practitioners in the Czech Republic
was asked to suggest types of images that could plausibly be
used in advertising to portray sex roles. Based on the focus
group recommendations, a portfolio of storyboards (settings
and role portrayals) was developed. Colored magazine-style
advertisements were created as the experimental stimuli be-

Winter 2005^

81

FIGURE 1
Study Variables and Expected Linkages

Consumer
Prejudices
Emotions
Disappntval

iPREJ)
Role Inicongruity
(Rl)

HI

H2
r

Approval
Surprise
H3

H3

Attitude
Toward the Ad

Attitude
w Toward the Brand

(^aa)

cause magazine ads were commonly used to promote the selected service.
Past research (Linville and Carlston 1994) suggests that a
person's self-concept is accessed through the social situation,
which is defmed as the (1) physical aspects of the situation
(e.g., places) and (2) social surroutidings (e.g., other people
present in the situation, their traits, and their roles). In addition, sex role portrayal researchers frequently employed the
setting as a nonverbal cue for conveying sex roles (Belkaoui
and Belkaoui 1976; Wagner and Banos 1973). This praxis
acknowledges that nonverbal cues are fundamental in understanding interpersonal interactions and are frequently being
used in the information processing of social interaction between men and women (Burgoon 1994). Accordingly, role
portrayal was manipulated in this study by modifying the
characterization and setting of the models relative to each
other.
Following the guidelines on selecting pictorial ad elements
(Phillips 1997), a total of six storyboards were created, three
in an occupational setting and three in a nonoccupational setting, with four different sex role schemes each. A panel of
local independent judges (marketing faculty, ad professionals, target audience members) then rated the pretest ads on
their ability to capture a range of responses to sex role portrayals. Eight advertisements within the two storyboards that
generated a wide range of responses were used as the ad stimuli
in this study (see Appendix). In the occupational setting, the
two models were placed in an office with "the boss" sitting to

the left at his or her desk while talking on a cell phone and
"the secretary" serving coffee from the right. In the nonoccupational setting, the two models were in a house that was
being renovated. While "the leader" was talking on the cell
phone, "the follower" was sweeping the floor. The ad copy,
size, and layout were made identical to control for potential
confounds. Text was limited to the brand's logo and a single
catchphrase to enhance realism and minimize text as a confound. For the occupational setting the catchphrase was "You
want reliable employees-" You definitely want our service,"
and for the nonoccupational setting it was "Your partner may
dump youOur signal will stay with you."
Measures
Attitudes
The attitudes examined were consumer prejudices, attitude
toward the ad, and brand attitude. The survey instrument for
consumer prejudice was identical to the one used in the
Lundstrom and Sciglimpaglia (1977) study and follow-up
research (Ford, LaTour, and Honeycutt 1997; Lundstrom,
White, and Chopoorian 1999; Lysonski and Pollay 1990).
Response to ten attitude statements pertaining to the general
perception of advertising role portrayals was measured using
a seven-point Likert-style scale tanging from 1 = strongly
disagree to 7 ^ strongly agree. To avoid response set problems, some items were reversed in the actual questionnaire.

82

The Journal of Advertising

TABLE I
CFA Results for the Emotions Scale: Revised Mode)
Exogenous construct

Variable

Disapproval

Standard factorial loading

t values

Angry
Contemptuous
Disgusted
Distrustful
Irritated
Revolted
Scornful
Skeptical
Uneasy
Worried

.66
.75
.65
.60
.66
.60
.79
.66
.79
.63

8.90
10.43
9.34
9.44
9.86
6.43
12.69
8.46
11.43
8.45

Approval

Curious
Envious
Excited
Interested
Involved
Stimulated
Wishful

.64
.70
.66
.68
.59
.73
.75

9.54
10.64
8.92
9.14
6.24
12.64
10.05

Surprise

Surprised
Astonished

.75
.64

9.91
9.69

Disapproval

Approval

Surprise

Correlations among latent

constructs (t values)

Disapproval

Approval
Surprise

1.000
-.661 (-5.94)
.233 (2.43)

1.000
-.129 (-1.83)

LOOO

Note: CFA = confirmatory t^accor analysis.

In this study, a prejudice toward sex role portrayal would be

indicated through consistently low values. Six corresponding
items that exceeded the threshold factor loading of .5 were
assigned to a single common factor by factor anaiysis {KMO
[Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin} = .881, explained percentage of variance ^ .597). Reliability of the scale of selected items was
sufficient (Cronbach's a = .791). A single measure for consumer prejudice was calculated for each respondent as the average score on six items of the scale.
The measures for attitude toward the ad and brand attitude were two three-item, seven-point semantic differential
scales adapted from previous operationalizations (MacKenzie
and Lutz 1989). Corresponding items were assigned to common factors by a confirmatory factor analysis (Hair etal. 1998).
Factor loadings and / values for attitude toward the ad were
both significant and positive (bad/good = .751, / ^ 12..37,
[un}favorable - .657, r - 9.19, tdisjliked - .655,/ - 10.18),
as were the parameters for brand attitude (bad/good ^ .702,
/ = 12.17,[un}favorable = .637,? = 10.44, [dislliked = .660,
/ ^ 11.57). Both constructs were highly correlated (/? = 720,
t = 14.17), indicating an A^^ effect consistent with prior research (Brown and Stayman 1992). With fit statistics indi-

cating an acceptable fit of the structural equation model to

the data (x'[7] - 13.15, p - .110, GFI [goodness-of-fit index] = .994, AGFI [adjusted goodness-of-fit index} = .968,
NFI tnormed fit index] = .970, RMSR [root mean square residual] ^ .081), the mean scores of the ratings were used as
aggregated measures for attitude toward the ad and brand
attitude in the further analysis.
Emotions

The disapproval/approval/surprise scale (Bhat, Leigh, and

Wardlow 1998) was employed for measuring consumer emotional response. To ensure construct equivalence in the selected cultural context, the validity of the measurement model
was examined through confirmatory factor analysis. Since the
initial model fit statistics indicated that the model proposed
by Bhat, Leigh, and Wardlow (1998) could be improved, the
loadings (consistency within and across constructs) and correlations were examined to determine which exogenous variables should be dropped (Hair et al. 1998). In the revised
model, the variables happy and loving were removed, with
19 remaining variables loading on three constructs (Table 1).

83

FIGURE 2
Alternative Models

Model 1
Emotions

Incongruity

Model 2

Consumer
Prejudices
Emotions

Incongruity

Model 3

Consumer
Prejudices

Incongruity

The fit statistics for the revised model were considered satisfactory: X'(149) - 215,p = .057,GFI = .9\d,AGFl = .898,
NFl = .891, RMSR = .073. Accordingly, the revised model
was accepted for use of the constructs disapproval, approval,
and surprise in the subsequent analysis.
RESULTS
Manipulation Check
To check the role incongruity manipulation, respondents were
asked the extent to which they either agreed or disagreed with
the following statement: "The sex roles portrayed in the advertisement are congruent with what I believe are appropriate
roles for men and women in society" (scale from 1 = strongly
disagree to 7 - strongly agree). To test the effectiveness of the
manipulation, data was analyzed by using an analysis of variance (ANOVA) model in which incongruity was the dependent variable and the setting and scheme treatments were the
independent variables. Results indicate that incongruity scores
were significantly affected by the selected sex role portrayals
(F ^ 14.843;/J ^ .001; X^= .275). Across genders, consumers
exposed to ads portraying women in roles superior to men
(stimuli 3 and 5) reported higher incongruity, whereas consumers exposed to ads featuring men in superior roles (stimuli
4 and 8) reported lower incongruity.

Emotions

Test of H I and H2: Effects of Role Incongruity

on Emotions
Before examining effects of role incongruity on respondents"
attitudes, it first appeared to be necessary to determine how
consumer prejudice, a presumably moderating variable, interacts with sex role incongruity in influencing emotional
response. An adequate model for the interaction of the variables had to be identified. Three alternative models were evaluated (see Figure 2): Model (1): Role incongruity is the only
variable affecting consumer emotional response; Model (2):
Both role incongruity and consumer prejudices jointly affect
emotions; and Model (3): Consumer prejudices moderate the
effect of role incongruity on emotions.
To identify the most likely constellation, three regression
analyses were conducted. Since the models hold different degrees of freedom, the most appropriate model could be identified considering (high) R^^^ and (low) Akaike Information
Criterion (AIC; Akaike 1987). Approval, disapproval, and
surprise were regressed separately against incongruity,
incongruity + prejudice, and incongruity + incongruity prejudice (see Table 2).
Significant effects were found for all emotional dimensions,
with relatively high values for the explained variance. Considering R\^ and AIC, Model 3, representing a moderating
role of consumer prejudices, proves to be the superior model

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The Journal of Advertising

TABLE 2
Results of the Regression Analyses on Effects of Role Incongruity (ft/)
and Consumer Prejudices (PREJ) on Emotional Dimensions
R/
(Model I)

Independent variable
Dependent variable

R/ + PRE/
(Model 2)

R/ + fi/ PREy
(Model 3)

Parameters

Approval

2.435***
.045

,079

AIC

N0.43

Disapproval

1.624***
.188***
.306**
.288
82.55

2.842***

1.596***

1.588***

-.028

-.194**

-.194***

-.340**
.179

-.461***
,317

168.16

Surprise

162.15

1.428***
-.113***

.267

AIC

.137
102.15

-.029

AiC

1.282***
.185***
253***

317.87

136.39

1.953***
-.014*

1.291***
-.262**

- . 116**
,084

-,194**

389.22

,108
387.37

* p< .10.
**;>< .05.
***/- < .01.

for effects on disapproval and approval (comparatively smallest AIC and highest R\J. For surprise, a different mechanism was identified: According to the quality parameters, role
incongruity has a direct effect on surprise. These findings support H1 and H2, and are consistent with prior research (Alden,
Mukherjee, and Hoyer 2000; Garbarino and Edell 1997).
Test of H3: Effects of Role Incongruity and
Emotions on Attitude Toward the Ad
Direct and mediating effects of role incongruity were evaluated by perfotming additional regression analyses. This procedure follows Baron and Kenny (1986, p. 1177), who state,
"There is no need for hierarchical or stepwise regression or the
computation of any partial or semipartial correlations." Subjects of the evaluation were as follows: the effect of the independent variable (incongruity) on the dependent variable A
(Model 1), the effect of the mediator variable (emotions) on the
dependent variable (Model 2), and effects of the independent
variable and the mediator on the dependent variable (Model 3).
A significant, but weak, direct effect of role incongruity on
attitude toward the ad was found (Model 1). In addition, the
emotional dimensions directly infiuenced consumer attitude
toward the ad, strongly in the case of disapproval and approval (Model 2). More detailed role incongruity and approval

affected attitude toward the ad positively, whereas disapproval

and surprise yielded negative effects. Again, these fmdings
are in line with previous research (Alden, Mukherjee, and
Hoyer 2000).
Mediating effects of emotions on A^^^ could be proved by
demonstrating that(l) incongruity, moderated by prejudices,
affects emotions; (2) the emotional dimensions affect attitude
toward the ad; and (3) the effect of incongruity on attitude
toward the ad is attenuated when attitude is regressed on both
emotions and incongruity (Baron and Kenny 1986). The first
two conditions have already been established in the previous
section. In addition. Table 3 shows effects of incongruity on
attitude toward the ad with four independent variables (Model
3) and in combination with one emotional dimension at a
time (Models 3a, b, c). The corresponding parameters indicate that the effect of incongruity on attitude toward the ad is
reduced when attitude is regressed on the emotional dimensions and incongruity simultaneously, hence satisfying the
third condition. Since the infiuence of incongruity and surprise on attitude toward the ad appears to be relatively small,
two additional regression analyses were conducted to examine the predictive power of these variables more closely (Models
4 and 5). The results indicate that dropping both variables
from the set of predictor variables in each case leads to a decrease in R~^^. Hence, Model 3, which includes incongruity

Winter 2005^

85

TABLE 3
Evaluation of Direct and Mediating Effects of Role Incongruity (R/) and Emotions on AttitudeToward the Ad
Parameter

Model

Rl

Approval

Disapproval

Surprise

3.487***
.093***
.107
1.311***

lla: A^^= f(approval)

lib: A^^ = f(disapproval)
lie: A^^ = /"(surprise)
III: A^^ = f{RI, approval, disapproval,
surprise)

Ilia: A = f{Rl, approval)

Illb: A = f"(R/, disapproval)

Illc: A = f(R/, surprise)

7 1 1 ^ ^ ^

.275

.470***

-.620***

2.254***
-.093*
.159

522***
.064**

.877**
.061**

.867***
.069*

.705***
.277

-.050***
.595

-.860***
.490

3.860***
.083

1.113***
.411***

IV: A = f(approval, disapproval, surprise)

= f(R/, approval, disapproval)

1 484***
-.863***
.486

1.352***
.075**

.527***

-.645"^

-.687***
.509

-.084^.1 13

045***
.515

* / - < .10.
**/j

<

.05.

***/> < . 0 1 .

and all three emotional dimensions, emerges as the model

with the highest explanatory power.
The findings further suggest a (relatively small) direct effect of incongruity on attitude toward the ad, as well as a
(stronger) indirect effect through emotions. A moderating
effect of consumer prejudices was not evident for the emotional dimension surprise. In addition, the contribution of
surprise to the overall explained variance was relatively small.
The major effect appeared to be with approval and disapproval mediating the effect of incongruity, moderated by
prejudices, on attitude toward the ad.
The hierarchy of advertising effects has been examined repeatedly (Brown and Stayman 1992). Hence, it was not a major
objective of this study to provide additional evidence for effects of attitude toward the ad on attitude toward the brand.
A simple regression analyses confirmed effects consistent with
prior research (MacKenzie and Lutz 1989). The correlation
between attitude toward the ad and brand attitude was high
and significant (/3 - .437; /?\j. - .453;;' < .001).

DISCUSSION
The objective of this research was to examine effects of sex role
incongruity on consumer emotional and attitudinal response,
with consumer prejudices as a moderator variable. The findings advance advertising theory and practice in several ways.
First, role incongruity affected consumer emotional response both directly (surprise) and indirectly (approval, disapproval), with consumer prejudices moderating effects. The
fmding of significant effects is in line with past congruity
research, suggesting that stimulus-schema incongruity elicits emotions (Garbaritio and Edell 1997), particularly surprise
(Alden, Mukherjee, and Hoyer 2000). Overall, incongruity
theory was found to be a useful concept for examining consumer response to sex role portrayals in advertising. In addition, identifying linkages between sex role incongruity and
consumer emotions adds a new perspective to the existing
body of sex role portrayal literature, which has heretofore tocused on cognitive processing.

86

The Journal of Advertising

Second, consumer prejudices were found to moderate effects of sex role incongruity on consumer emotional response,
with downstream effects extending on consumer attitudes.
The identification of consumer prejudices as a moderating
variable on advertising effectiveness is consistent with prior
research (Bhat, Leigh, and Wardlow 1998). It is interesting
to note that the moderating role could not be observed for the
surprise dimension, which appeared to be directly affected by
role incongruity. Yet this finding is consistent with the idea
thiit portrayals that were perceived as incongruent with individual beliefs elicit surprise (Alden, Mukherjee, and Hoyer
2000), an effect that does not requireand in fact precludes
the existence of consumer prejudices.
Third, the importance of emotions in the ad response process was underscored, particularly in the context of strong
consumer prejudices on an emotionally charged social issue.
Indeed, this study confirms earlier suggestions that affective
consumer responses to sex role portrayals may exist (Batra
and Ray 1986; Jaffe and Berger 1994). A variety of emotional
dimensionsapproval, disapproval, and surprisewas generated and mediated effects of role incongruity on attitude
toward the ad. The emotional response scale developed by
Bhat, Leigh, and Wardlow (1998) was found to have satisfactory properties.
Probably the most relevant implication of this study for
advertising practitioners is that disapproval had a stronger
(absolute) impact on consumer attitudes than did approval.
Accordingly, eliciting disapproving responses is relatively
more effective than eliciting positive reactions. This finding
could be exploited most beneficially in comparative advertising. Given sufficient insight into consumer prejudices, advertisers could discredit competitors" offers by employing
incongruent portrayals rather than using congruent portrayals for their client's offer. Caution is advised, however, due to
prior research indicating that incongruent information is better
remembered (Hong and Zinkhan 1995; Stangor and McMillan
1992). Clearly, more research is needed extending the role
incongruity perspective on memory.
The current study has another limitation that needs to be
mentioned. Pairs of female and male individuals were employed to portray sex roles in one occupational setting and in
one nonoccupational setting. Although the study controlled
for model gender, it did not control for model. The female
boss, secretary, leader and follower pairs were the same woman.
This was not true for the men. Not only were the male models changed, but their positioning in the nonoccupational ads
was changed with respect to the temale leader and between
the two male followers. While focusing on role incongruity
should have precluded biased results, future studies need to
control for models to exclude this potential source for study
bias.
Future research should also extend this work into other

cultural settings. The Central European context of this study

could raise concern with readers about methodological issues
because differences among countries have been reported in
attitudes toward appropriate roles for women and men
(Hawkins and Coney 1976), in consumer attitudes toward
sex roles in advertising (Lysonski and Pollay 1990), and in
advertisers' use of sex role portrayals (Wiles and Tjernlund
1991). However, these concerns have been allayed by adapting an incongruity perspective, an approach that some researchers have found useful for overcoming cross-cultural
differences (Quester, Karunaratna, and Goh 2000). There are
other studies, however, suggesting that the way individuals
solve information incongruity may be culture-specific (Aaker
and Sengupta 2000), and past research more specifically indicates an impact of national culture on the processing of sex
role portrayal ads (Ford, LaTour, and Honeycutt 1997). Hence,
examining the sex role incongruity concept and its effects
on samples from contrasting cultural backgrounds would
contribute to a better understanding of consumer evaluation of advertisements.

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Winter 2003-4
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89