Mere Exposure Effect Research Articles

The effect of repetition in Internet banner ads and the moderating role of animation

Many advertising repetition studies have demonstrated wear-out effects, and found several moderating variables. In the context of Internet banner ads, this study examines the effects of repetition on attention, memory, and attitude, and identifies the moderating role of animation. By analyzing data on users’ actual visual attention, we found attention wear-out occurs with static but not with animated banner ads, which consequently influences the downstream effects: Compared to a static banner ad, an animated ad barely attracts consumers’ attention initially, resulting in worse memory performance and attitude in the beginning. However, with repeated brief exposures, animated banner ads eventually catch up with the static ads on memory and generate even better performance in terms of attitude. To summarize, animations signal the users the existence of ads and lead to ad avoidance behavior, but after repetitive exposures they induce positive user attitude through the mere exposure effect. Both the theoretical and practical implications are explored for using animation on the banner ads.

Mere exposure effect and the unconscious: Where does liking come from？

Mere exposure effect and the unconscious: Where does liking come from？

ESTADO AFECTIVO Y PARADIGMA DE MERA EXPOSICIÓN SUBLIMINAL: EL ROL DEL ESTADO DE ÁNIMO INDUCIDO EN LA MANIFESTACIÓN DEL EFECTO DE MERA EXPOSICIÓN ANTE EXPOSICIONES SUBLIMINALES DE LOGOS

Relationship between induced mood, and frequency of short visual expositions was explored using the mere exposure paradigm. A factorial design 4 X 3 was used with 120 undergraduate students who took part in the experiment voluntarily. Participants were assigned to each experimental condition randomly. Results showed interaction between induced mood and exposition, suggesting that mere exposure effect depends on type of mood, participants are experiencing during exposition.

Effects of Subliminal Mere Exposure on the Study Time Allocation

Effects of Subliminal Mere Exposure on the Study Time Allocation

Application of Instance Theory to Real-World Professional Vision: A Randomized Controlled Parallel Design in Clinical Psychology Education

We aimed to extend instance theory into the domain of real-world professional vision development, examining the effects of explicit rules and exemplars on development of professional vision in a randomized controlled fashion. Participants were novice therapists (N = 48) attending accredited clinical psychology programs in Japan and were randomly divided into four training groups, which received (1) declarative knowledge-based and exemplar-based training, (2) declarative-based training only, (3) exemplar-based training only, and (4) no training. Before, during, and after the training, participants watched an authentic solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT) video and had five minutes to write down their notices regarding the video. Three expert therapists independently evaluated these notices in terms of relevance to SFBT. As hypothesized, novices who received both types of training showed increases in notice relevance during and after the training. In contrast to our hypothesis, novices who received exemplar-based training only showed increased notice relevance during the training. Declarative knowledge with exemplars could provide the best approach for the development of professional vision. Still, many self-motivated learners might learn professional vision in the absence of explicit teaching of declarative knowledge. Future studies should examine the link between participants’ motivation and training effects of mere exposure to exemplars.

The mere exposure effect with portraits

The mere exposure effect with portraits

The influence of frequency change and exposure sequence on mere exposure effect

The influence of frequency change and exposure sequence on mere exposure effect

The Mere Exposure Effect Is Modulated By Selective Attention But Not Visual Awareness

Repeated exposures to an object will lead to an enhancement of evaluation toward that object. Although this mere exposure effect may occur when the objects are presented subliminally, the role of conscious perception per se on evaluation has never been examined. Here we use a binocular rivalry paradigm to investigate whether a variance in conscious perceptual duration of faces has an effect on their subsequent evaluation, and how selective attention and memory interact with this effect. Our results show that face evaluation is positively biased by selective attention but not affected by visual awareness. Furthermore, this effect is not due to participants recalling which face had been attended to.

Cardiovascular change during encoding predicts the nonconscious mere exposure effect.

These studies examined memory encoding to determine whether the mere exposure effect could be categorized as a form of conceptual or perceptual implicit priming and, if it was not conceptual or perceptual, whether cardiovascular psychophysiology could reveal its nature. Experiment 1 examined the effects of study phase level of processing on recognition, the mere exposure effect, and word identification implicit priming. Deep relative to shallow processing improved recognition but did not influence the mere exposure effect for nonwords or word identification implicit priming for words. Experiments 2 and 3 examined the effect of study-test changes in font and orientation, respectively, on the mere exposure effect and word identification implicit priming. Different study-test font and orientation reduced word identification implicit priming but had no influence on the mere exposure effect. Experiments 4 and 5 developed and used, respectively, a cardiovascular psychophysiological implicit priming paradigm to examine whether stimulus-specific cardiovascular reactivity at study predicted the mere exposure effect at test. Blood volume pulse change at study was significantly greater for nonwords that were later preferred than for nonwords that were not preferred at test. There was no difference in blood volume pulse change for words at study that were later either identified or not identified at test. Fluency effects, at encoding or retrieval, are an unlikely explanation for these behavioral and cardiovascular findings. The relation of blood volume pulse to affect suggests that an affective process that is not conceptual or perceptual contributes to the mere exposure effect.

Effects of Self-Control Resources on the Interplay between Implicit and Explicit Attitude Processes in the Subliminal Mere Exposure Paradigm

Recent studies have shown that the mere exposure effect under subliminal conditions is more likely to emerge for implicit attitudes than explicit attitudes. We tested whether the implicit effects of subliminal mere exposure could spill over to the explicit level by depleting self-control resources. Participants were subliminally exposed to a novel female photograph. Then, implicit and explicit attitudes toward an exposed and an unexposed photograph were measured. This basic design was crossed with a cognitive load manipulation, which should deplete the capacity of self-control resources (low cognitive load vs. high cognitive load). Results showed that the subliminal mere exposure effect occurred for not only implicit attitudes but also explicit attitudes when participants’ cognitive resources were depleted in the high cognitive load condition. In contrast, when cognitive resources were not depleted, the subliminal mere exposure effect only emerged for implicit attitudes. These findings support the contention that self-control failures could facilitate implicit effects of subliminal mere exposure toward the explicit level.

How do implicit effects of subliminal mere exposure become explicit? Mediating effects of social interaction

Recent studies have shown that the mere exposure effect under subliminal conditions is more likely to occur for implicit attitudes than for explicit attitudes. We tested whether the implicit effects of subliminal mere exposure could spill over to the explicit level through social interaction. Preliminary experiment replicated the findings that the subliminal mere exposure effect occurs only for implicit attitudes, and not for explicit attitudes. Main experiment showed that this implicit effect could become explicit through discussion between two individuals who had been subliminally exposed to the same stimuli. However, this transformation of attitudes through social interaction did not occur when the two individuals were exposed to different stimuli. Implications were discussed in terms of justification through social interaction.

The Gender Gap

<h3>ABSTRACT</h3> Prior research suggested that males are more selective information processors and females are more detailed processors, but effects on advertising attention and attitudes have been largely unstudied. In particular, mere-exposure effects (more favorable attitudes with little or no advertising attention) are expected to be more pronounced for males than for females, due to less comprehensive heuristic processing by males. Furthermore, gender differences in hemispheric (brain) processing are predicted, with males expected to have more favorable attitudes from advertisements on the left of the page and females expected to have more favorable attitudes from advertisements on the right of the page. Hypothesized marketing outcomes are generally supported. Management implications are discussed.

Pupil Response and the Subliminal Mere Exposure Effect

The subliminal mere exposure effect (SMEE) is the phenomenon wherein people tend to prefer patterns they have repeatedly observed without consciously identifying them. One popular explanation for the SMEE is that perceptual fluency within exposed patterns is misattributed to a feeling of preference for those patterns. Assuming that perceptual fluency is negatively correlated with the amount of mental effort needed to analyze perceptual aspects of incoming stimuli, pupil diameter should associate with SMEE strength since the former is known to reflect mental effort. To examine this hypothesis, we measured participants’ pupil diameter during exposure to subthreshold stimuli. Following exposure, a preference test was administered. Average pupil diameter throughout exposure was smaller when the SMEE was induced than when the SMEE was not induced. This supports the hypothesis that increasing perceptual fluency during mere exposure modulates autonomic nervous responses, such as pupil diameter, and eventually leads to preference.

The impact of online word-of-mouth on television show viewership: An inverted U-shaped temporal dynamic

This article examines the dynamic impact of online word-of-mouth (WOM) on US television show viewership. With WOM data collected from the Internet Movie Database website, we find that the cumulative volume of online WOM has significant explanatory power for viewership over time. Consistent with the mere exposure effect theory, the dynamic impact of the volume of online WOM over time varies according to a curvilinear, inverted U-shaped curve. Due to an initial floor effect, the volume of WOM is not significant in the early episodes. The impact of volume increases over time, before peaking and starting to decrease in the latter part of a show’s life. This article demonstrates the differential effects of online WOM over time and thereby suggests that firms’ online marketing strategies, such as media planning, must adjust with the product life cycle.

Effects of exposure frequency and background information on preferences for photographs of cars in different locations

This study examined the influence of familiarity and novelty on the mere exposure effect while manipulating the presentation of background information. We selected presentation stimuli that integrated cars and backgrounds based on the results of pilot studies. During the exposure phase, we displayed the stimuli successively for 3 seconds, manipulating the background information (same or different backgrounds with each presentation) and exposure frequency (3, 6, and 9 times). In the judgment phase, 18 participants judged the cars in terms of preference, familiarity, and novelty on a 7-point scale. As the number of stimulus presentations increased, the preference for the cars increased during the different background condition and decreased during the same background condition. This increased preference may be due to the increase in familiarity caused by the higher exposure frequency and novelty resulting from the background changes per exposure session. The rise in preference judgments was not seen when cars and backgrounds were presented independently. Therefore, the addition of novel features to each exposure session facilitated the mere exposure effect.

Generalization of the mere exposure effect through peculiarity of handwriting

Generalization of the mere exposure effect through peculiarity of handwriting

Implicit structured sequence learning: an fMRI study of the structural mere-exposure effect.

In this event-related fMRI study we investigated the effect of 5 days of implicit acquisition on preference classification by means of an artificial grammar learning (AGL) paradigm based on the structural mere-exposure effect and preference classification using a simple right-linear unification grammar. This allowed us to investigate implicit AGL in a proper learning design by including baseline measurements prior to grammar exposure. After 5 days of implicit acquisition, the fMRI results showed activations in a network of brain regions including the inferior frontal (centered on BA 44/45) and the medial prefrontal regions (centered on BA 8/32). Importantly, and central to this study, the inclusion of a naive preference fMRI baseline measurement allowed us to conclude that these fMRI findings were the intrinsic outcomes of the learning process itself and not a reflection of a preexisting functionality recruited during classification, independent of acquisition. Support for the implicit nature of the knowledge utilized during preference classification on day 5 come from the fact that the basal ganglia, associated with implicit procedural learning, were activated during classification, while the medial temporal lobe system, associated with explicit declarative memory, was consistently deactivated. Thus, preference classification in combination with structural mere-exposure can be used to investigate structural sequence processing (syntax) in unsupervised AGL paradigms with proper learning designs.

Gamma oscillations distinguish mere exposure from other likability effects

Repeated exposure to neutral stimuli enhances liking for those, which is called mere exposure effect (MEE) (Zajonc, 1968). Its behavioral effects have been extensively investigated. However, the mechanism by which it is generated remains unclear. To elucidate the neural mechanism of the MEE, we recorded electroencephalograms while subjects indicated their preferences for face stimuli with and without MEE induction. According to behavioral data, participants were divided into two groups, one with, and one without MEE tendency. In participants with an MEE tendency, gamma activity (40–60 [Hz]) in the parieto-occipital area was significantly weaker for exposed faces than unexposed ones, indicating a repetition-suppression effect. Gamma activity from sites exhibiting peak repetition-suppression effects was significantly weaker in theoretically genuine MEE trials than non-MEE trials, indicating that emotion processing might influence the MEE. These results suggest that existing theories regarding mechanisms underlying the MEE, namely, fluency misattribution and apprehensiveness reduction might not be mutually exclusive. Moreover, gamma activity might be a potential indicator to distinguish the MEE from other likability effects, at least in the case of human face stimuli.

Exposure Is Not Enough: Suppressing Stimuli from Awareness Can Abolish the Mere Exposure Effect

Passive exposure to neutral stimuli increases subsequent liking of those stimuli – the mere exposure effect. Because of the broad implications for understanding and controlling human preferences, the role of conscious awareness in mere exposure has received much attention. Previous studies have claimed that the mere exposure effect can occur without conscious awareness of the stimuli. In two experiments, we applied a technique new to the mere exposure literature, called continuous flash suppression, to expose stimuli for a controlled duration with and without awareness. To ensure the reliability of the awareness manipulation, awareness was monitored on a trial-by-trial basis. Our results show that under these conditions the mere exposure effect does not occur without conscious awareness. In contrast, only when participants were aware of the stimuli did exposure increase liking and recognition. Together these data are consistent with the idea that the mere exposure effect requires conscious awareness and has important implications for theories of memory and affect.

Mere exposure effect can be elicited in transient global amnesia

Transient global amnesia (TGA) is one of the most severe forms of anterograde amnesia seen in clinical practice, yet patients may show evidence of spared learning during the amnesic episode. The scope of spared learning in such a severe form of amnesia remains uncertain, and it is also unclear whether findings from single-case studies hold up in group studies of TGA patients. In this group study, we found evidence that extended the domain of spared learning in TGA to include the mere exposure effect, whereby enhanced preference is primed by prior exposure to stimuli. We demonstrate this effect during an acute episode in a group of TGA patients, where they showed enhanced preference for previously exposed faces, despite markedly impaired performance on standard anterograde memory tests.