Gender Identity and Congruence

Aston Business School

Aston University

THE IMPACT OF GENDER IDENTITY CONGRUENCE ON DIFFERENTIAL RESPONSES TO UTILITARIAN AND HEDONISTIC APPEALS

Submitted by: Ramneak CHAUHAN

Submitted on: July 2006

MSC in Marketing Management 2005-2006

Supervised by Dr. Amanda J. Broderick

Name: CHAUHAN, Ramneak

Course: MSc Marketing Management

Student No: 011914512

DECLARATION FORM

I declare that I have personally prepared this report and that it has not in whole or in part been submitted for any other degree or qualification. Nor has it appeared in whole or in part in any textbook, journal or any other document previously published or produced for any purpose. The work described here is my own, carried out personally unless otherwise stated. All sources of information, including quotations, are acknowledged by means of reference, both in the final reference section, and at the point where they occur in the text.

Signed ÐŽ­ÐŽ­ÐŽ­ÐŽ­ÐŽ­ÐŽ­ÐŽ­ÐŽ­ÐŽ­ÐŽ­ÐŽ­ÐŽ­ÐŽ­ÐŽ­

Date ÐŽ­ÐŽ­ÐŽ­ÐŽ­ÐŽ­ÐŽ­ÐŽ­ÐŽ­ÐŽ­ÐŽ­ÐŽ­ÐŽ­ÐŽ­ÐŽ­

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Dr. Amanda J. Broderick for her help and support throughout the year. I would like to thank my parents for all the continuous support and encouragement, and special thanks go to all my friends for all the help, support and ÐŽocreative endeavoursÐŽ±.

Abstract

Previous research in the area of consumer behaviour has looked at how the different genders process information when making a purchase decision. However most of the present research has looked at gender as a biological factor and has not really taken in to account the psychological differences that exist between men and women. As the current wave of shifting gender roles continues and the emergence of such terms as ÐŽometro-sexualÐŽ± are emerging marketers are finding new ways to communicate to this new group of people. Copious research has stated that attitude formation is multi dimensional and Dube et al (2003) concluded that ÐŽothe bundle of attributes that shape ones attitude, choice, and behavior, can be reduced to these two (affective and cognitive) basic dimensions without a significant loss in informative value.ÐŽ±

This research looks to examine the gender identity assumed by men in Britain and how this will affect their responses to advertising appeals, specifically hedonic (affective) and utilitarian (cognitive) appeals.

Table of Contents

Declaration Form 2

Acknowledgements 3

Abstract 4

Table of Contents 5

Chapter 1 Introduction

1.1 The Research Initiative 8

1.2 Literature Gap 10

1.3 Aim and Objectives of the Project 11

1.3.1 Aim of the Project 11

1.3.2 Objective of the Project 12

Chapter 2 Literature Review

2.1 Introduction 14

2.2 Gender and Sex Roles 14

2.2.1 Measurement of Gender Identity 19

2.3 Gender Salience 20

2.3.1 Activation of Gender Identity 21

2.3.2 Product Congruence 23

2.4 Self Concept 23

2.4.1 Self Enhancement 27

2.5 Gender and Advertising 29

2.6 Gender and Information Processing 30

2.6.1 Involvement 33

2.7 Hedonic and Utilitarian Appeals 35

2.8 Self Regulatory Focus Theory 37

2.9 Conceptual Model and Hypothesis 40

2.10 Conclusion 41

Chapter 3 Methodology

3.1 Introduction 43

3.2 Objectives of Research 43

3.3 Key Findings from Literature review 43

3.4 Conceptual Model and Hypothesis 46

3.5 Methodological Approach 47

3.5.1 Quantitative Research 47

3.5.2 Questionnaire 47

3.5.3 Method of Distribution 50

3.5.4 Sample and Sample Size 51

3.6 Reliability and Validity 52

3.7 Limitations of Research 53

Chapter 4 Research Results

4.1 Introduction 55

4.2 Data Entry and Cleaning 56

4.3 Reliability 56

4.4 Stimuli Validation 56

4.5. Profile Sample 57

4.6 Testing Hypothesis 61

4.6.1 Those men with a high level of masculinity (HM/LF) will show more involvement toward ad with utilitarian appeals

61

4.6.2 Those