Articles week 1

Question 1

Is this review believable? A study of factors affecting the credibility of online consumer reviews from an ELM perspective (Cheung, Sia, and Kuan)

What are the four information cues used to evaluate the credibility of online reviews?

Answer 1

1. Argument quality
2. Source credibility
3. Review consistency
4. Review sidedness

Question 2

Is this review believable?

Which cue was the primary factor affecting review credibility in the study?

Answer 2

Argument quality (central cue) was the primary factor affecting review credibility.

Question 3

When do individuals rely on peripheral cues when evaluating online consumer reviews?

Answer 3

Individuals rely on peripheral cues (source credibility, review consistency, and review sidedness) when evaluating online consumer reviews.

Question 4

Is this review believable?

In what situation did review sidedness have a stronger impact on review credibility?

Answer 4

Review sidedness had a stronger impact when the recipient had low involvement and high expertise.

Question 5

Elaboration likelihood model (ELM)

Answer 5

It’s about understanding how people process messages that are intended to be persuasive; there are two routes including a central route (= high level of elaboration) and peripheral route (=low level of elaboration). The degree of elaboration through the central or peripheral route depends on the individual’s ability and motivation.

Question 6

Is this review believable?

Central cue on argument quality

Answer 6

The audience’s subjective perception of the arguments in the persuasive message as strong and cogent on the one hand versus weak and specious on the other.

Determines one’s attitude towards a message primarily through careful deliberation about the merits of the arguments presented; a message with stronger arguments is expected to yield more favourable responses.

Question 7

Is this review believable?

Peripheral cues

Answer 7

Source credibility => recipient’s perception of the credibility of a message source; it is not concerned with the message itself; has a positive effect on message credibility.

Review consistency => the extent to which information in a review is consistent with information in other reviews; information consistency is a heuristic cue that affects knowledge adoption.

Review sidedness => whether a review is one sided (= contains either positive or negative product comments) or two sided (= contains both positive and negative comments on a product); a two-sided message is often perceived as more believable

Question 8

Is this review believable?

What does the degree of influence that results from the central or the peripheral cues depend on?

Answer 8

The recipient’s ability and motivation.

Recipient’s expertise => the recipient’s prior knowledge about the issue.

Recipient’s involvement => the personal relevance of the issue.

Question 9

When do central cues have a greater influence on judgment?

Answer 9

Central cues have a greater influence when the recipient is able and motivated to consider the information in a message, especially when they have high expertise and involvement.

Question 10

When do peripheral cues play a greater role in shaping judgment?

Answer 10

Peripheral cues play a greater role when the recipient is unable or not motivated to consider the information, particularly when they have low expertise and involvement.

People without the relevant expertise cannot assess the quality of the message.

Question 11

Is this review believable?

What is the most influential factor in the evaluation of online consumer reviews?

Answer 11

Argument quality

Question 12

Does the influence of argument quality vary across different levels of expertise and involvement in the context of online consumer reviews?

Answer 12

No, it does not vary.

Question 13

Why do people typically visit online consumer review sites?

Answer 13

They visit these sites to search for information to facilitate their decisions and are somehow motivated to elaborate.

This explains why argument quality is the most influential factor in the evaluation of online consumer reviews.

Question 14

What level of expertise is required to understand the information in online reviews?

Answer 14

The information in online reviews does not require exceptionally high levels of expertise.

This explains why argument quality is the most influential factor in the evaluation of online consumer reviews.

Question 15

What do people rely on to evaluate online consumer reviews, and does the degree of reliance depend on expertise and involvement levels?

Answer 15

People rely on peripheral cues, and the degree of reliance depends on the recipient’s expertise and involvement levels. The moderation effects of involvement and expertise are complex and situation-dependent.

Question 16

What do people with high expertise and involvement rely more on when evaluating online consumer reviews?

Answer 16

They rely more on central cues, specifically, argument quality.

Question 17

What do people who are not involved or knowledgeable tend to rely more on when evaluating online consumer reviews?

Answer 17

They tend to rely more on peripheral cues, such as source credibility and review consistency.

Question 18

What is the difference in the perception of two-sided reviews between people with high and low expertise levels?

Answer 18

People with high expertise levels perceive two-sided reviews more favorably, while those with low expertise levels prefer one-sided reviews.

Question 19

Why are two-sided reviews useful for knowledgeable users when making purchase decisions?

Answer 19

Two-sided reviews are useful because knowledgeable users can judge the significance of the pros and cons and make a final decision independently.

Question 20

What are the results of the article on review credibility?

Answer 20

Consistent with previous research, the results reveal that argument quality, a central cue, was the primary factor affecting review credibility. Review sidedness had a stronger impact on review credibility when the recipient had a low involvement level and a high expertise level. However, the other interaction effects were not significant.

Question 21

The effectiveness of brand placements in the movies: levels of placement, explicit and implicit memory, and brand-choice behaviour (Yang & Roskos-Ewoldsen)

What were the three different levels of visual brand placements focused on in the study?

Answer 21

The three levels were in the background, used by the main character, and as a story connection.

Question 22

The effectiveness of brand placements in the movies: levels of placement, explicit and implicit memory, and brand-choice behaviour (Yang & Roskos-Ewoldsen)

What did the study explore regarding brand placements?

Answer 22

The study explored the influence of brand placements using both explicit and implicit measures of memory.

Question 23

The effectiveness of brand placements in the movies: levels of placement, explicit and implicit memory, and brand-choice behaviour (Yang & Roskos-Ewoldsen)

What did the study’s findings indicate about the influence of brand placements?

Answer 23

The findings indicated that levels of brand placements influence recognition of the target brand and attitudes towards the brand. Simple placement of the brand within the movie influenced implicit memory and the implicit choice task.

Question 24

The effectiveness of brand placements in the movies: levels of placement, explicit and implicit memory, and brand-choice behaviour (Yang & Roskos-Ewoldsen)

What is the definition of “brand placements” in the context of the study?

Answer 24

Brand placements refer to the paid inclusion of branded products or brand identifiers, through audio and/or visual means, within mass media programming.

Question 25

What does the “landscape model” focus on?

Answer 25

The landscape model looks at the relationship between online processing of a story and the memorial representation of that story.

Question 26

What is the prediction of the landscape model regarding brand placements?

Answer 26

The prediction is that during the comprehension process, background brand placements have minimal activation, brand placements used by a main character have moderate activation, and brand placements integral to the story have the highest activation.

Question 27

What findings support the prediction of the landscape model?

Answer 27

Individuals recognized the brand more when the brand was used by the main character or when the brand was integral to the story than when it was featured as a background.

Question 28

What finding is contrary to the prediction of the landscape model?

Answer 28

There was no significant difference in recognition between the main character using the brand and when it was related to the unfolding of the story.

Question 29

How do levels of brand placement influence memory?

Answer 29

Levels of placement influence explicit memory but do not influence implicit memory.

Question 30

What is the key difference between explicit and implicit measures of memory with regard to brand placements?

Answer 30

Explicit and implicit measures of memory are sensitive to different influences of brand placements on memory.

Question 31

How do people’s attitudes toward the brand relate to their choices in the study?

Answer 31

People’s attitudes toward the brand had a reliable influence on their choices, but brand placements did not influence choice behavior. People who saw the target brand in the movie were more likely to choose that brand.

Question 32

In what situations is it recommended to use a brand placement to gain recognition for a brand?

Answer 32

If the intention is to gain recognition of the brand, it is recommended to have the brand used by a main character or play a role in the unfolding story.

Question 33

In what situation is it adequate to simply place the brand in a movie for increasing viewers’ sense of familiarity with the brand?

Answer 33

If the intention is to increase viewers’ sense of familiarity with the brand, simply placing the brand in the movie is adequate because implicit memory is not influenced by the level of placement within the movie.