Abstract

This meta-analysis examines the effectiveness of subliminal advertising on consumer attitude, building the controversial groundwork laid by James Vicary’s 1957 experiment, which claimed that subliminal messages significantly increased sales of popcorn and Coca-Cola during the break time of a movie theater. Despite Vicary’s audacious assertions, the only previous meta-analysis by Trappey (1996) found little support for the impact of subliminal advertising.

In this meta-analysis, 26 empirical studies were analyzed to determine whether Trappey’s conclusion is still consistent or is there any influence of subliminal advertising on consumer attitudes. The analysis revealed modest but positive effect size (Cohen’s d = 0.36), 0.27 after removing two outlier studies that significantly skewed the results, indicating that subliminal advertising does have a subtle influence on consumer attitudes.

Additionally, the study analyzed four moderators including geographic origin (US vs. Non-Us), type of subliminal stimuli (Text/Pic vs. Video), popularity of the advertised brand (popular vs. unpopular) and, temporal comparisons (studies before vs. after Trappey’s meta-analysis) and identified geographic origin and type of stimuli as significant moderators, with studies conducted outside the USA and those using video stimuli showing slightly stronger effects.

Abstract

Although topic-focused opinion leaders have been studied for decades, it remains unclear whether they are best conceptualized based on a narrow topic (e.g. vaccines) or a broader topic (e.g.  health). Two studies were conducted to contribute to this discussion. The first (N = 397) examined the issue in terms of vaccine knowledge, tendency to promote vaccines, and trust in science. Results favored the vaccine maven over the health. The second study (N = 400) studied the issue by looking at self-other congruence in terms of perceptions of opinion leadership and advice seeking. Results were more equivocal.

Keywords: opinion leadership, vaccines, mavens, superdiffusers

Abstract

        This study examines the relationship between employee perceptions of organizational culture and levels of employee identification. Building on Cheney and Tompkins' (1987) argument that organizational identification is a continuous process, the study hypothesizes that organizational culture may have an impact on employee identification. The increasing implementation of concerted control practices in organizations and their alignment with the culture of the organization provides a basis for the relationship. The study aims to identify the cultural aspects of the organization that have the greatest impact on employee identification. By examining the connection between organizational culture and employee identification, organizational managers may better understand the importance of creating a positive and engaging workplace culture. The study also explores the impact of informal culture focusing on workplace fun on employee organizational identification.