We’re All in This Together! Self-Construal Pride and Guilt Appeals in Health Advertising

Abstract

This study examines the interplay between the emotional appeals of guilt and pride with one’s accessible self-construal (independent, relational interdependent, and collective interdependent) in the context of mask wearing. Our findings demonstrate a compatibility effect between an interpersonal guilt appeal and a relational-interdependent self-construal and show that pride appeals are effective regardless of one’s accessible self-construal but may be particularly effective when combined with an ad that highlights a collective-interdependent self-construal. Further, findings suggest that evoking a collective-interdependent self-construal is particularly effective when it comes to behavioral intention (mask-wearing intention) because it elicits greater intention with both guilt and pride appeals. In addition, this work is the first to investigate collective-interdependent self-construal in advertising. Both theoretical contributions and practical implications are discussed.