Title:
EMBODIED SIMULATION EFFECT OF FITTED VISUAL PERSPECTIVE AND ADVERTISING MESSAGE

Authors:
Chung-Lin Toung

Abstract:
In this study, we hypothesize that when imagining from different visual perspectives, individuals prefer different product benefit messages. The experiment was performed in two phases. In the first phase, the subjects were primed to generate different visual perspectives, which resulted in different cognitive focuses. In the second phase, the carry-over effect of the primed cognitive focus in the first phase was used to assess product advertisements. The experimental stimuli were smartphone advertisements with different product benefit messages, and 196 college students were recruited as subjects. The results show that if an individual imagines from the actor’s perspective, the advertisement message should emphasize the product’s experiential benefits, whereas if the individual imagines from the observer’s perspective, the advertisement message should emphasize the product’s symbolic benefits. This study also confirms that the persuasiveness realized through fitting the visual perspective and advertising message is mediated through embodied simulation.

Keywords:
mental imagery, visual perspective, embodied simulation, actor’s perspective, observer’s perspective