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Information that support the consistency theories
Consistency theories are a set of psychological theories that explain how people strive for consistency in their attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors. In advertising management, consistency theories are often used to develop persuasive messages that are consistent with the target audience’s existing attitudes and beliefs.
Information that supports consistency theories includes:
Cognitive dissonance theory: This theory suggests that people are motivated to reduce the discomfort or dissonance that arises when they hold conflicting attitudes or beliefs. Advertising messages that appeal to existing beliefs or attitudes can be effective in reducing cognitive dissonance and promoting consistency.
Balance theory: This theory suggests that people seek balance or consistency in their relationships and social interactions. Advertising messages that reinforce positive relationships or social connections can be effective in promoting consistency.
Self-perception theory: This theory suggests that people infer their attitudes and beliefs from their own behavior and the context in which it occurs. Advertising messages that encourage a desired behavior or highlight the positive outcomes of a behavior can be effective in promoting consistency.
Social identity theory: This theory suggests that people derive their self-concept and identity from their social groups and affiliations. Advertising messages that appeal to a target audience’s social identity or group affiliation can be effective in promoting consistency.
Selected Exposure can be explained with the help of consistency theory. Leon Festinger states that human beings at times, act in such a way which is against their wishes & knowledge. They know that their actions have certain advantages and disadvantages even though they keep the balance between knowledge & action, which are quite against each other. In other words, dissonance exists and an individual will try to have a balance by changing behavior or if behavior cannot be changed, opinions will be changed. After making the decision, persons tend to expose themselves to information that they perceive as likely to support the choice and to avoid information that may favor the reject alternatives.
Process of dissonance reduction explains why few justify the action of others. It implies that people are quite receptive to message that help reduce dissonance and resistant to one that might increase it.
Cognitive Dissonance causes frustration and anxiety. There are certain devices called Defense Mechanisms that are used to protect the person from frustration and anxiety. These are,
- Repression: means denial of a motive or goal anything involved in any anxiety situation, exerting control over the motive.
- Sublimation: means substitution of an activity to satisfy a motive. E.g. through music, religion.
- Compensation: offsetting failure or loss of self-esteem in one activity by fruitful efforts in another area of endeavor.
- Rationalization: A person accepting less real motive and thus rationalizing his motive.
Cognitive dissonance theory is useful in the planning and designing of different advertising programme. It is the advertiser who must know the behavior of consumers. If he is frustrated and is not able to satisfy his needs through existing goods and services, advertiser should develop his product or introduce a new product which meets the requirement. Such introduction is made to the public through advertising.
Involuntary Exposure: Selective exposure should tend to increase when an individual’s position is threatened by involuntary exposure to non supportive information. E.g. A man wants to buy a car. He is confused and is researching. He reads a newspaper article that says government will deregulate diesel prices. He might get affected by this news and his buying decision might get affected by this involuntary exposure. An advertiser might therefore, stand ready to respond immediately to any negative information his or her customers are likely to receive. Such a campaign would capitalize on selectivity and could be very effective. To combat selective exposure, the advertiser should use rewards, contest or premiums to get people to read his material. He can indirectly make an effort by using opinion leaders to generate a positive word of mouth.
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