[click here for a
version without abstracts]
Basil, M. D. (1990). Primary news source changes: Question wording, availability, and cohort effects. Journalism Quarterly, 67, 708-722.
Abstract: A study
examined the shift of the United States public's primary news source from
newspapers to radio and then to television between 1937 and 1987 to determine the
validity of the generally accepted explanation that people have shifted media
(displacement). Two alternative processes were discovered that could also
account for this phenomenon: (1) the wording of the question has changed, and
(2) people have grown up with different media -- a "cohort" effect. A
cohort analysis of the original Roper Poll data collected between 1937 and 1987
revealed that question wording differences, differences across cohorts, and
displacement effects within cohorts were each responsible for some of this
change in primary news source. The results also suggest that television has
displaced radio more than newspapers, compatible with the concept of a
functional equivalence between the two electronic media.
Basil, M.,
Schooler, C. & Reeves, B. (1991). Positive and negative political
advertising: Effectiveness of ads and perceptions of candidates. In Biocca, F.
(Ed.), Television and Political Advertising, Volume 1: Psychological
Processes (pp. 245-262). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Abstract: Political candidates
attach increasing importance to negative television advertising. This
experiment used 24 paid participants between the age of 23 and 72. It found
that the effects of positive and negative ads differ depending on the context
in which the ad appears and the criterion used to assess effects. Ads were more
influential when they matched the surrounding context. Ads were better
recalled, however, when they contrasted with the surrounding context. Because
vote intention was related to liking, it appears that negative ads may indeed
alienate voters.
Basil,
M. D., Schooler, C., Altman, D. G., Slater, M., Albright, C. L., & Maccoby,
N. (1991). How cigarettes are advertised in magazines: Special messages
for special markets. Health Communication, 3, 75-91.
Abstract: Tobacco companies
have the ability to target their products to segmented audiences by advertising
in specialty magazines. Segmentation is a means of providing audiences with ads
appropriate to their behavioral, demographic, and psychological
characteristics. Through a content analysis of cigarette advertising in 10
popular magazines, a study examined how advertising strategies vary depending
on characteristics of the primary readership of different popular magazines.
The analysis demonstrated that black and youth-oriented publications have
received an increasing number of cigarette ads since 1965. Compatible with
segmentation approaches, an analysis of ad content indicated that groups with
high smoking rates are often encouraged to switch brands, while groups with low
smoking rates are enticed to smoke by the depiction of attractive models having
fun. A logistic regression of romantic content that compared trends over time
to the general growth of specialized magazines indicated that the incidence of
horseplay and coy model poses has increased over time, while the incidence of
eroticism has remained relatively stable. In accord with psychographic
theories, significant content differences are found in magazines read by
different market segments: horseplay is usually targeted at women, poorer, and
younger readers; and overtly sexual appeals and coy model poses seem to be
targeted at women, black, and poorer readers more often than at men or general
audiences. Knowledge of the tobacco industry's segmentation techniques may help
health professionals design smoking prevention and cessation programs to
counter cigarette advertising more effectively.
Altman, D. G., Schooler, C. &
Basil, M. D. (1991). Alcohol and cigarette advertising on
billboards. Health Education Research, 6, 487-490.
Abstract. We report a study
of 901 billboards in San Francisco, California. Using neighborhood census data,
we assessed how billboard advertising of tobacco products differed in Asian,
black, Hispanic, and white neighborhoods. The data illustrate that: (1) across
all billboard advertising of products and services, tobacco (19%) and alcohol
(175) were most heavily advertised; (2) black neighborhoods had the highest
rates of billboard per 1000 population; (3) black and Hispanic neighborhoods
were proportionately more likely than other neighborhoods to have billboard
advertising of menthol cigarettes and malt liquor while advertising of beer and
wine was proportionately higher in Hispanic neighborhoods.
Reeves, B.,
Newhagen, J., Maibach, E., Basil, M., & Kurz, K. (1991). Negative and
positive television messages: Effects of message type and context on attention
and memory. American Behavioral Scientist, 34, 679-694.
Abstract: An
intuitive strategy that message designers use for impressing television
audiences is to say that terrible things will happen if people do not change
their ways. This study compared positive and negative appeals. A second factor
examined the context of those messages. Negative messages work, if message
success is defined cognitively. It is also true, however, that negative
messages are disliked.
Howard-Pitney,
B., LaFromboise, T. D., Basil, M., September, B., & Johnson, M. (1992). Psychological and social indicators of suicide ideation and suicide
attempts in Zuni adolescents. Journal of Consulting and Clinical
Psychology, 60, 473-476.
Abstract:
Suicidal behavior is prevalent among the American Indian communities although
little is known about the factors leading to such. The adolescents of the Zuni
tribe are studied because of the high frequency of suicide attempts in this
pueblo contrary to set social taboos. Psychosocial factors in the causation of
suicidal behavior are determined using surveys on 83 adolescents in the area. A
high rate of suicide attempts was determined (30%) with girls having higher
incidences. There is also a strong correlation with drug use and family
concerns of the adolescent.
Brown, W. J.
& Basil, M. D. (1993). Celebrity appeal for AIDS prevention:
Lessons for Japan from the U.S. news media. Human Communication Studies
(Communication Association of Japan), 21, 64-90.
Abstract: The
present study addresses the important lessons learned from an analysis of how
celebrity appeal and cultural orientation affect the impact of mass media
messages about AIDS. The shocking announcement by Los Angeles Lakers'
basketball star "Magic" Johnson that he tested positive for HIV
infection received extensive media coverage throughout the world. An analysis
was conducted to determine how the AIDS-related beliefs and sexual behaviors of
heterosexuals with Asian and North American cultural orientations were affected
by exposure to the news about Johnson. Results indicated that respondent who
had a greater parasocial relationship with Johnson were more likely to change
the personal concern about AIDS, their concern about the risk of AIDS to
heterosexuals, their interpersonal communication about AIDS prevention with
others, and their high-risk sexual behaviors. Asian-Americans were less
affected by the news than North Americans, indicating cultural orientation may
affect the success of AIDS prevention appeals by celebrities.
Aune, R. K.
& Basil, M. D. (1994). A relational
obligations explanation for the foot-in-the-mouth effect. Journal of
Applied Social Psychology, 24, 546-556.
Abstract. An earlier
study by Howard (1990) employed a "foot-in-the-mouth" approach (FITM)
to increase the frequency of compliance with charitable requests. This effect
was explained through consistency theory -- people are more likely to comply
with a request for a charitable donation if the person making the request first
asks the potential donor how he or she is feeling, and then acknowledges the
donor's response. The potential donor was expected to behave in accordance with
his or her publicly stated feeling- state. However, some of the compliance in
Howard's study may be attributable to an increased perception of relationship
between the requester and donor (Roloff, 1987). Not only was the donor required
to be consistent with his or her publicly stated feeling state, but the donor
had to behave in a manner consistent with the relationship implied by the
requester. Two studies examined this possibility. The first study found a FITM
approach that manipulated only relational obligations consistency resulted in
higher rates of compliance than both the standard and feeling state FITM
approach. A second study examined the mechanism for this increased compliance.
Results show that while both FITM approaches produced more positive relational
perceptions between the requester and donor than the standard approach, the
relational obligations approach produced more positive relational perceptions
than did the other FITM approach.
Basil, M. D. (1994). Secondary reaction time measures. In A. Lang (Ed.), Measuring
Psychological Responses to Media Messages (pp. 85-98). Hillsdale, NJ:
Lawrence Erlbaum.
Abstract. One of the
current foundations of communication research is that people operate as
information processors. People take in information from their environment,
cognitively process that information, and store it away for later reference.
One critical feature of this approach is that people are only able to handle a
limited amount of information at a time. As a result, this approach stresses
the importance of understanding the nature and extent of mental limitations.
Applied to the study of mass media messages, previous studies indicate that
listening, watching, and thinking require mental resources (Clark & Clark,
1977). People need to perform these processes in understanding media messages.
One of the measures that has been used in this area is
secondary reaction tasks. This approach asks people to perform an additional
task while processing messages. People, for example, are asked to press a
button at specific points while watching, listening, or reading the message in
question. Their performance on these secondary tasks is believed to provide
insight into remaining resources. Indirectly, this should provide information
on the effort being devoted to processing the message. Performance on the
secondary task, therefore, provides clues about how much capacity is being used
up by the message. This chapter is a short primer in secondary reaction tasks.
First, a background on mental resources is presented. Next, there is a brief
review of the use of secondary reaction tasks and experimental findings. A
description of the procedure is also provided. How secondary reaction times are
measured is explained. Finally, considerations about this procedure and
suggestions for further exploration are considered.
Basil, M. D. (1994). Multiple resource
theory I: Application to television viewing. Communication Research, 21,
177-207.
Abstract.
Comprehending television is a complex process. Multiple
Resource Theory proposes that the necessary resources are limited.
Limitations, however, depend on four separate factors. First, resources are
used by three different tasks -- attention, meaning-level processing, and
memory. Demands arise from individual tasks and combinations. The consequences
of reaching limitations are different for each task. Second, television's
auditory and visual modalities use different symbol systems. Audio information
may be more difficult to process and require more resources. Third, television
stimuli may contain the meaningful information in either the auditory or visual
modality. Meaningful information may require more processing and resources, and
should result in resource shifts. Fourth, television programs use varying
levels of redundancy. Although processing two modalities generally requires
additional resources, actual demands depend on the level and nature of the
redundancy. As a result of these four factors, resource limitations can inhibit
one process, modality, or attribute or can inhibit comprehension and memory
through overall resource limitations. Systematic study of these outcomes is
necessary.
Basil, M. D. (1994). Multiple resource
theory II: Empirical examination of modality-specific attention to television
scenes. Communication Research, 21, 208-231.
Abstract. Multiple
Resource theory proposes that attention is a process of resource allocation.
These resources may be shifted among different modalities and information processing
tasks. This study investigated whether selective attention to a particular
television modality results in different levels of attention to the visual and
auditory modalities. Two independent variables manipulated selective attention
-- the modality with the most information (audio or video) and viewers'
instructed focus (audio or video). These variables were fully crossed in a
within-subjects experimental design. Attention levels were investigated by
measuring reaction times to cues in each modality (audio tones and color
flashes). All five manipulation checks suggest that subjects were able to focus
on a particular message channel. Reactions to cues were faster, however, when
the audio channel contained the most information and when viewers focused on
the audio channel. These results suggest a common pool of limited resources and
bimodal attention.
Basil, M. D.
& Brown, W. J. (1994). Interpersonal communication in news
diffusion: A study of "Magic" Johnson's announcement. Journalism
Quarterly, 71, 305-320.
Abstract: A
meta-analysis of thirty-four news diffusion studies shows that the general
importance of a story is positively associated with the level of diffusion and
likelihood of hearing the news interpersonally, but not the rate of telling
others. A second study examined the spread of the news of "Magic"
Johnson's positive HIV test. Results indicate that personal importance affected
whether a person tells others. These findings identify the important role of
individuals and the importance of the news in the diffusion process. News that
is personally relevant to an individual is more likely to be discussed with
others.
Brown, W. J.
& Basil, M. D. (1995). Media celebrities and public health:
Responses to "Magic" Johnson's HIV disclosure and its impact on AIDS
risk and high risk behaviors. Health Communication, 7, 345-370.
Abstract. Exposure to
celebrities through the media can have an important influence on the public's
health- related attitudes, beliefs, and behavior. The announcement by Los
Angeles Lakers basketball star "Magic" Johnson that he tested
positive for HIV infections was intended to promote HIV and AIDS prevention,
particularly among adolescents and young adults. The present study analyses how
previous knowledge of Johnson acquired through the mass media affected the
public's responses to his announcement and appeal for HIV and AIDS prevention.
The study also assesses how emotional involvement with Johnson through
parasocial interaction affected the public perceptions of HIV and AIDS risk.
Results indicate that those who had a greater degree of emotional involvement
with Johnson were more likely to show an increase in their personal concern
about AIDS, concern about the risk of AIDS to heterosexuals, and intention to
reduce high risk behaviors. In contrast, simply knowing about Johnson had no
measurable impact on the public's responses to his HIV disclosure. Implications
of these findings suggest involvement with a celebrity through media exposure
is an important mediating variable in persuasive communication, and celebrities
can effectively endorse health-related messages.
Basil, M. D. (1996). The use of
student samples in communication research. Journal of Broadcasting and
Electronic Media, 40, 431-440.
Abstract. Potter,
Copper, & Dupagen (1993) have argued that the
field of communication is "prescientific" because of our use of
student samples in research. This essays argues that
despite protests to the contrary, students are valid sources of data for
communication research. All other social sciences make use of student samples.
Further, we can know in advance whether there is any reason to be concerned
about generalizability. A priori criteria are proposed to assess whether
student samples threaten the validity of research findings.
Basil, M. D. (1996). Identification as a mediator of celebrity effects. Journal
of Broadcasting and Electronic Media, 40, 478-495.
Abstract. Considerable
research has been devoted to the effects of celebrity endorsers on consumer
behavior. Most of the research has examined credibility or attractiveness as a
determinant of message effectiveness. A review of Burke, Kelman,
and Bandura's theories suggests that there may be another critical factor
underlying celebrity effects -- identification. A review of previous research
results suggests that identification may be a viable explanation for the
effectiveness of celebrity endorsers. A test of the identification effect was
probed by examining people's personal concern, perceived risk, and sexual
behaviors a year after Magic Johnson's announcement that he tested positive for
HIV. The results of this study indicate that identification mediates message
effects. This finding has important implications for media campaigns. It suggests
that a spokesperson with whom the audience identifies
insures the greatest likelihood of achieving lasting attitude or behavior
change.
Basil, M. D. (1996). Tobacco:
Co-opting our public health. Journal of Health Communication, 1,
399-413.
Abstract. Communication
is a tool that can be used to promote public health. The case of tobacco
illustrates, however, that we can only advocate behavior change, not insure it.
In this case, the tobacco industry has focused on individual- and
societal-level actions that effectively sabotage anti-smoking campaigns. Health
communication researchers should pay special attention to how politics is
subverted, the principle of freedom of speech is abused, message framing
encourages the continued marketing of cigarettes, and tobacco advertising
swamps public health messages in both quantity and style. The field of health
communication should do two things to help counter this campaign. First, we
should make a concerted effort to refute the arguments offered by the tobacco
companies. Second, we should continue to take action on four levels -- as
individuals, as responsible citizens, in support of organizations, and to
create societal changes that will reduce the use of tobacco.
Schooler, C.,
Basil, M. D., & Altman, D. G. (1996). Alcohol and cigarette
advertising on billboards: Targeting with social cues. Health Communication,
8, 109-129.
Abstract. This study
reports an analysis of 901 billboards in San Francisco, California. The study
examines how billboard advertising of alcohol and tobacco products uses the
social aspects of smoking and drinking to promote positive product attributes.
We suggest that the modeling of social cues can serve to motivate product use,
disinhibit behavioral restraints, and reinforce existing habits. The data
suggest that alcohol and cigarette advertisements are more likely than ads for
other products to depict people, use models of the same race as the audience,
use social modeling cues such as anticipated rewards, and make use of
attractive models. This understanding of social influence and modeling on
billboards can provide health professionals with information regarding the
strategies of alcohol and tobacco advertisers that has important implications
for prevention and cessation interventions.
Basil, M. D. (1997). The danger of cigarette "special placements" in film and
television. Health Communication, 9, 191-198.
Abstract. The popular press
has alleged that tobacco companies are placing de-facto cigarette advertising
in feature films. An investigation of Brown and Williamson documents finds
evidence that these "special placements" are indeed used as cigarette
ads to circumvent federal regulations and sidestep voluntary advertising
agreements made by the company. Special placements allow tobacco companies to
show celebrities using their product, to get these ads shown on television, and
to avoid the mandated warnings on advertising. Evidence shows that these
placements can be seen in films and on television in ways that can clearly be
viewed as "advertising." Research into identification suggests that
we should be very concerned about the use of special placements, especially when
the product use is by a celebrity. Finally, public policy options are
discussed.
Vincent, R.
C., & Basil, M. D. (1997). College students' news media
gratifications, print and electronic media use, and current affairs knowledge. Journal
of Broadcasting and Electronic Media, 388-392.
Abstract. This study
tests uses and gratifications theory with 1209 college students. The results
find that students' media use and surveillance needs increase with year in
college. Consistent with uses and gratifications theory, demographic
differences and the gratifications sought drive news media use. More precisely,
increasing surveillance needs results in increased use of all news media, while
entertainment needs result in television news and CNN viewing. Only print media
and CNN use, however, are related to current events knowledge.
Basil, M. D.,
Basil, D. Z., Maibach, E. W. & Slater, M. D. (1997). Dieting, low
fat eating, and exercise: A cluster analysis. Proceedings
of the 1997 Innovations in Social Marketing Conference.
Abstract. This study
assesses people's health behaviors and perceptions in the domain of low fat
eating, dieting, and exercise. From a social marketing perspective an important
question is whether there is a relationship within these lifestyle factors. The
data for this study were collected from two surveys -- DDB Needham's 1995
Lifestyles survey and the Porter/Novelli's 1995 Healthstyles survey -- a total
of 2,967 respondents. Twenty-four questions asked about low fat eating,
dieting, and exercise behaviors, social norms, and individual perceptions. The
cluster analysis revealed five clusters. The segments constitute poor, fair,
and good nutrition behaviors among both exercisers and non-exercisers. The
results suggest a general "eating" factor. The relationship between
low fat eating and exercise is less circumscribed. Older and more affluent
people are more likely to eat a low-fat diet, women are more likely to diet,
and men are most likely to exercise.
Basil, M. D.
& Brown, W. J. (1997). Marketing AIDS prevention: The
differential impact hypothesis versus identification effects. Journal of
Consumer Psychology, 6, 389-411.
Abstract. Social
marketing may be used to change people's AIDS risk perceptions. Two competing
hypotheses address those perceptions. First, the impersonal impact hypothesis
proposes that mass communication affects judgments of societal risk while
interpersonal communication affects judgments of personal risk. Second, the
differential impact hypothesis proposes that the media affect personal risk
judgments when the message involves a personalized depiction. Identification is
proposed as the mechanism. These predictions were investigated in two studies
of Magic Johnson's announcement that he was HIV positive. The first study
compared the effects of naturally occurring mass and interpersonal
communication. The second study assigned students to watch tapes of the news
story or to participate in interpersonal discussion. The results are generally
inconsistent with the differential impact hypothesis. Because respondents'
identification with Magic Johnson was a determinant and mediator of social and
personal concern in both studies, the results support the importance of the
identification process.
Lang, A. &
Basil, M. D. (1998). Attention, resource allocation, and secondary
task reaction times in communication research: What do secondary reaction task
reaction times measure, anyway? In M.E. Roloff (Ed.), Communication
Yearbook, Volume 21 (p. 443-473). Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.
Abstract. Attention is
an important concept in psychology and communication. Increasingly,
communication research has used Secondary Task Reaction Times (STRTs) in an
attempt to measure attention. This paper examines the communication literature
to find four frequently stated theoretical definitions of what STRTs measure:
1) the resources required by a message; 2) the resources allocated to the
message; 3) the capacity available for processing, or 4) the remaining capacity
not being used by the message. We proposes a new theoretical interpretation of
secondary task reaction times during the processing of complex communication
messages not as one of the above definitions of capacity but as a more specific
"piece" of capacity -- the capacity available for sensory monitoring.
Sensory monitoring capacity is determined by two things: the automatic
allocation of resources to sensory monitoring and the difficulty of the sensory
monitoring -- indexed by the STRT. Remaining resources can then be allocated to
the meaning processing of the message content - - indexed by memory measures.
This model accurately predicts 17 out of the 20 (85%) of the tests of the
reaction time data, and 11 out of 13 (85%) of the tests of the memory performance
data found in the literature.
Basil, M. D. (1998). Cigarette
advertising: Speculation on a theory and some empirical support. In M. C. Campbell and K. A. Machleit
(Eds.), 1998 Winter Conference Proceedings of the Society for Consumer
Psychology, 78-84.
Abstract:
Psychological theories suggest possible mechanisms for how cigarette
advertising can affect primary demand. A combination of three theoretical
approaches -- classical conditioning, biasing estimates of prevalence, and
stages of development -- suggest how cigarette advertising may attract children
and adolescents toward this harmful product.
Basil, M. D. (1998). Cigarette
warning labels: Detection, risk perceptions and advertising effects. In
A. Andreasen, A. Simonson & N. C. Smith (Eds.), 1998 Marketing and Public
Policy Conference, 8, 54-61.
Abstract: Some studies
have found limited and counter-productive effects of warning labels. This
paper reviews research to suggest tobacco warning labels may be ineffective for
three reasons -- they may not be detected, they may not alter personal risk
perceptions, and they may be negated by the advertising context.
Suggestions for research are proposed.
Glanz, K.,
Basil, M. D., Maibach, E. W., Goldberg, J., & Snyder, D. (1998). Why Americans
eat what they do: Taste, nutrition, cost, convenience, and weight control
factors on food choice. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 98,
1118-1126.
Abstract. This study
examines the importance to individuals of taste, nutrition, cost, convenience,
and weight control and whether these factors predict eating behavior among a
national sample of 2,967 adults. When describing the influence of the five
factors on the foods they consumed, people report taste to be the most
important factor, followed by cost. Demographics and health lifestyles cluster
measures were used to examine systematic differences on the importance
measures. Demographic and health lifestyle differences were evident across all
five importance measures; the importance of nutrition and
weight control were better predicted by health lifestyle cluster
membership. When eating behaviors are examined, both demographic measures and
health lifestyle cluster membership predict the consumption of fruits and
vegetables, fast foods, cheese, and breakfast cereal. The importance people
place on taste, nutrition, cost, convenience, and weight control also predict
food consumption. These results suggest that nutritional concerns are of less
relevance to most people than are taste and cost. One implication is that
nutrition education programs should attempt to design and promote nutritious
diets as both tasty and inexpensive.
Basil, M.
(1999).
Unresearched assumptions in the MacBride Report.
In R. C. Vincent, K., Nordenstreng & M. Traber
(Eds.), Towards equity in global communication:
MacBride update (pp. 223-232). Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press.
Abstract. My
background is in mass media communication. I am primarily interested in the
effects of communication and the process under which these effects occur. In
reading the MacBride report, I became interested in the changes that appear to have
occurred in the idea "right to communicate" and in many of the
underlying assumptions of the Report. While this concept originally appeared to
represent free speech and freedom of the press (Richstad
& Harms, 1977), this movement appears to have also embraced access to
technology or control of that technology. While I understand the natural
connection of these ideas, I believe that the inclusion of access to
technologies in the "right to communicate" has introduced several
dangerous assumptions. Most importantly, I am interested in the assumptions of
how positive effects are hoped to accrue through access to those technologies.
My discussion here focuses on the "media effects" underlying the
MacBride commission report. I offer these ideas in support of the important
aims of the MacBride movement. Perhaps by uncovering and examining these
assumptions and understanding which of these may be problematic, the movement
can help focus on which rights to communicate may be most important.
Slater, M. D.,
Basil, M. D., & Maibach, E. W. (1999). A
cluster analysis of alcohol-related attitudes and behaviors in the U.S.
population. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 60, 667-674.
Abstract: Alcohol use
typologies have previously focused on chronic alcohol abusers and
alcohol-dependent populations. This empirical typology was created to profile
lifestyle patterns associated with nonclinical patterns of alcohol use. Method:
This study used two surveys sent to a commercial mailback
panel, sampled to construct a study population demographically representative
of the general U.S. population…
Basil, M. D.,
Basil, D. Z., & Schooler, C. (2000). Cigarette
advertising to counter New Year's resolutions. Journal of Health
Communication, 5, 161-174.
Abstract. One process
through which tobacco advertising may work is by reducing rates of
quitting. Theories of addiction do support the notion that relapse can be
prompted by environmental cues. Further, because withdrawal symptoms
occur over a predictable time frame, and because the most popular time to quit
smoking is as a New Year's resolution, tobacco companies can make use of
advertising to remind quitters of this need. Study 1 examined advertising
in ten popular magazines. It found a higher number of ads in January and
February than the rest of the year after 1984. Study 2 examined cigarette
advertising on the back cover of ten other popular magazines. This study
also found a higher rate of cigarette advertisements in January and February
than for the rest of the year. The results suggest that cigarette
marketers may be attempting to preempt reducing quitting by attempting to cue
smoking behavior.
Basil, M. D. (2001). Teaching and modeling ethics in social marketing. In
A. Andreasen (Ed.), Ethical issues in
social marketing (pp. 184-200). Washington, DC: Georgetown University
Press.
Abstract How do we go
about teaching ethics in social marketing? This chapter looks at how
people make ethical judgments, whether ethics can be taught, and the principles
of ethics instruction in marketing and in other fields. It also includes
some definitional issues in ethics and some relevant issues for the application
of ethics to the field of social marketing, and a discussion of the application
and modeling of ethics in the workplace. It can be argued that social
marketing organizations ought to be some of the most ethical firms applying
marketing techniques. Although doing the right thing and doing it in the
right way is an admirable goal, one that we all can and should strive for, it
is especially incumbent upon those whose existence implies a public trust.
Basil, M. D., Basil, D. Z. with Balaram, M., Bidappa, R., Blake,
S., Craig, M., Darr, R., Davis, A., Keerins, M., Newman, C., O’Shea, R., Protz-Sanders,
C. Savci G. (2001). Celebrity publicity effects:
Attitudinal versus behavioral outcomes. Society for
Consumer Psychology 2001 Winter Conference Proceedings.
Abstract.
Celebrities have been shown to be very effective spokespeople. What
happens, though, when a celebrity is involved in a scandal? First, a
survey examined people’s memory for past news events involving
celebrities. Second, an experiment using a within-subjects design
manipulated whether people read positive, neutral, negative victimless or
negative victim stories involving harm to someone else about six different
celebrities. The results suggest that although respondents report
significant negative attitudinal reactions, they do not report significant
effects on consumer behavioral intentions.
Basil, M. D. (2001). The film
audience: Theater versus video consumers. Advances in Consumer Research, 28, 349-352.
Abstract. Feature film
producers maximize profits using a form of price discrimination called
“windowing.” Here, films are released to theaters before the video
market. For a consumer, waiting for the video release offers a potential
cost savings. This study makes use of Lifestyles data to model movie and
video consumption. The results demonstrate that consumer choice is rational
and generally compatible with the windowing model. Specifically, people
with higher incomes see more movies in theaters. People from larger
families see more videos. The desire to be the first to own a new product
predicts the ratio of theater to video viewing.
Basil, M. D.,
Basil, D. Z., & Osborn, A. G. (2002). A
study of job ads, hiring institutions, and job candidates. 2002 AMA
Winter Marketing Educators' Conference Proceedings, 13, 531-532.
Abstract.
Recently it has been suggested that there is a shortage of faculty in the field
of marketing. This panel will present a summary of three studies on
academic hiring. The first examines demand using job position
announcements over the past 5 years. This shows increasing demand.
The second is a survey of hiring institutions with regard to their success and
reactions to job candidates. The results show that only about half of
institutions were able to hire, demonstrating unmet demand. The third is
a survey of recent job candidates and the factors that led them to accept their
current position. Candidates say that, slightly more important than
salary they were looking for good colleagues, research support, and reasonable
expectations.
Brown, W. J.,
Bocarnea, M. C., & Basil, M. D. (2002). Fear, grief, and sympathy responses to the attacks. In
B. Greenberg (Ed.), Communication and
terrorism: Public and media responses to 9/11 (pp. 245-259).
Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press.
Abstract: The
September 11 terrorist attack on the United States in 2001 became the first
major news event of the 21st century. In contrast to the Pearl Harbor attack in
December of 1941, an event which most people learned about by radio from the
President of the United States hours after the first bombs began falling, much of the September 11 attack and its aftermath
was watched on television by millions of people. In this chapter we
document initial responses to the September 11 attack through a web survey
posted the day after the attack. Results indicate that the news of the
terrorist attacks diffused through both media and interpersonal communication
channels. The primary means of diffusion initially was television and then
interpersonal communication on the morning of September 11; and then back to
television in the afternoon of the same day. The influence of television coverage
on emotions and beliefs was more powerful than any other media or interpersonal
information source. Implications of these findings for the study of future news
media events are discussed.
Basil, M. D., Brown, W. J. &
Bocarnea, M. C. (2002). Differences in univariate values versus
multivariate relationships: Findings from a study of Diana, Princess of
Wales. Human Communication
Research, 28, 501-514.
Abstract: A recent
debate has called to light an important issue for communication researchers and
other social scientists: Does the use of student samples jeopardize the
validity of research? Importantly, this question has failed to make a
critical distinction between estimates of univariate values versus those
examining multivariate relationships. Estimates of univariate values
provide information on the prevalence of an attitude or belief from the sampled
population to the overall population. Estimates of multivariate
relationships, however, provide information on the validity of our
theories. This distinction is examined in a study of identification with
Princess Diana. Results show that although the estimates of univariate
values differed across three samples, the multivariate relationships between
the variables was more stable, and therefore the underlying process appears to
hold. We argue that this finding illustrates the distinction between
estimates of univariate means versus multivariate relationships and is evidence
that non-probability samples can be important, including testing the
consistency of processes.
Brown, W. J.,
Basil, M. D. & Bocarnea, M. C. (2003). The Influence of Famous
Athletes on Health Beliefs and Practices: Mark McGwire, Child Abuse Prevention,
and Androstenedione. Journal of
Health Communication, 8, 41-57.
Abstract: When Mark
McGwire broke Roger Maris's home run record in September of 1998, he was
instantly declared an American hero and held up as a positive role model for
teenagers and young adults. The extensive media attention focused on McGwire
made the general public aware of his use of a muscle-building dietary
supplement, Androstenedione. It also increased the public's awareness of
McGwire's public service to prevent child abuse. The present research assesses
audience involvement with McGwire through parasocial interaction and
identification, and the effects of that involvement on audience knowledge of
and attitudes toward Androstenedione and child abuse prevention. Results
indicate parasocial interaction with an athlete regarded as a public role model
likely leads to audience identification with that person, which in turn
promotes certain attitudes and beliefs. In this case, parasocial interaction
and identification with Mark McGwire was strongly associated with knowledge of
Androstenedione, intended use of the supplement, and concern for child abuse.
Implications of this research for featuring celebrities in health communication
campaigns are discussed.
Brown, W.
J., Basil, M. D., & Bocarnea, M. (2003).
Social influence of an international celebrity: Responses to the death
of Princess Diana. Journal of
Communication, 53, 587-605.
Abstract: When
Princess Diana was killed in 1997, a massive public outpouring of grief
occurred. Four years after her death,
the public and the tabloids still debate whether the paparazzi were to
blame for her fatal car accident.
Previous studies of celebrities suggest that psychological involvement
with a celebrity will determine to what extent stories of the celebrity and
their subsequent social influence will affect the general public. This same process was examined in the case of
Princess Diana. To study this
phenomenon, a survey administered immediately after her fatal car accident
compared people’s level of involvement with Princess Diana to their viewing of
stories about her funeral and their attitudes toward the press. Results showed that gender and age
similarities predicted involvement with Princess Diana. This involvement, in turn, predicted people’s
media use in response to her death and their attitudes toward the press. This finding reinforces previous studies that
show involvement is an important variable that influences both media
consumption and media effects. Implications of this research for investigating
the growing international influence of celebrities through mass media are
discussed.
Basil, M. D.
& Brown, W. J. (2004).
Magic Johnson and Mark McGwire: The power of identification with sports
celebrities. In L.
Kahle (Ed.), Sports marketing and the psychology of marketing communications
(pp. 159-171). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Abstract:
Two
major events involving sports celebrities were Earvin "Magic"
Johnson's announcement that he had contracted HIV and Mark McGwire’s new home
run record. Two theories -- parasocial
identification and Basking in Reflected Glory – describe a mechanism by which
attitudes and behaviors are affected.
Four studies examined the celebrities’ ability to altering people's
perceptions and behavioral intentions.
The first three studies examined Magic Johnson. One was a survey administered a week after
Johnson's press conference. The second
was an experiment where classes watched a tape of the press conference or
engaged in an interpersonal discussion about HIV and AIDS. The third was a survey conducted one year
after. The final study was a survey
after Mark McGwire broke the home run record.
The results show that identification with the celebrity determined the
effects, shaping perceptions and behavioral intentions. Therefore, the effectiveness of sports
celebrities hinges on the breadth and depth of their appeal.
Basil, M. D. & Maibach, E. (2004). Obesity: Government definitions
versus self-identity on consumer attitudes, perceptions, and behaviors. Advances
in Consumer Research, 31,
459-460.
Obesity has reached epidemic
proportions in the United States. In
order to intervene effectively, it is important to understand the drivers of
people’s perceptions, beliefs, and behaviors.
The data were drawn from 2 surveys – the first was the Healthstyles
marketing survey, a component of the DDB Needham Life Style Survey conducted
over a three-year period between 1995 and 1997; the second was drawn from the
2002 Consumerstyles Survey. The analysis examined attitudinal and
behavioral profiles of people who are obese.
Results show that people are only somewhat accurate in their own weight
perceptions. However, in many cases it
is their weight perceptions that are more predictive of behavior. These differences are related to gender and
suggest automatic and conscious factors in eating behavior. These results support the importance of
self-perception theory in understanding obesity, and raise concerns about the
efficacy of mass media interventions.
Basil, M. D. (2004). Predictors of bicycling: A comparison of
individual and social-level factors. Marketing
and Public Policy: Research Reaching New Heights Proceedings, 206-208.
Abstract: This
study examines a behavior important to social marketers for both health and
environmental reasons – bicycling.
Previous theory and research in social marketing suggests that both
individual-level factors such as education and social level factors such as
weather can determine behavior. The research uses two datasets: a worldwide
sample of bicycling in 117 cities and a US sample of 2,181 individuals. The results demonstrate one consistent
predictor of bicycling – income. In both
studies, being poor corresponds to the highest level of bicycling. Younger people and people who live in areas
with higher population densities are also more likely to bike. Education and weather do not predict
bicycling. Auto ownership decreases the
rate of bicycling. The results suggest
that individual factors such as education about the health benefits of
bicycling will have limited success unless structural factors such as
increasing bicycling privileges and discouraging auto access are addressed
simultaneously.
Basil, D.
Z., Basil, M. D. & Mardien, N. (2004). A Test of the
Robustness of Cause-Related Marketing. Proceedings
of the Society
for Consumer Psychology 2004 Winter Conference, 133-138.
This study examines whether
Cause-Related Marketing is more effective in low involvement situations. An experiment manipulated involvement via
price and scenario. Neither involvement
manipulation moderated the effectiveness of CRM, suggesting that CRM does not
operate as a peripheral cue and does not appear to be a low involvement
phenomenon.
Basil,
D., Deshpande, S., & Basil, M.
(2004). Nutrition labels: The effect of label length and health concerns
on decision quality and search time. Marketing
and Public Policy: Research Reaching New Heights Proceedings, 80-82.
Abstract: This
research sought to assess the effectiveness of the newly implemented American
and Canadian nutritional label formats.
These changes involve the disclosure of additional information in a
longer format. But how much is too
much? Cognitive processing theories have
proposed that the selection of information protects people from overload and
that specific attention leads people to select personally relevant
information. This experiment evaluated
the use of nutrition labels to make food choice decisions. A 3 [health condition: heart disease,
diabetes, no health problem] x 3 [label: standard Canadian, extended Canadian,
American] between-subjects experimental design was used. Undergraduate students
(177) were evaluated on the accuracy and speed of their food choices in 10
product categories. Results suggest that
a health focus increased participants’ accuracy. Because participants were not significantly
slowed by longer label formats, it appears they searched selectively through
the labels. Finally, respondents report
mental accounting of food choices.
Deshpande, S., Basil, M., Basford, L. Thorpe, K., Piquette-Tomei, N. Droessler,
J., Cardwell, K., Williams, R. & Bureau, A. (2005). Promoting alcohol abstinence among pregnant women: Potential social
change strategies. Health Marketing Quarterly,
23 (2), 45-68.
Abstract: Fetal alcohol
syndrome disorder, or FASD, is one of the most preventable sources of
developmental abnormalities, and has a singular cause – alcohol consumption
during pregnancy. Estimates
for the costs of treatment of a single
case of FASD range often above one million dollars. The primary strategy
for prevention currently centers on no alcohol consumption during
pregnancy. However, a sizeable number of
North American women currently drink during pregnancy. A literature review examined the behavior of
maternal alcohol consumption in order to understand the rationale associated
with drinking. Generally, it appears that pregnant women differ by their
alcohol consumption habits and their reasons to drink. In an attempt to eliminate FASD, we review a
number of educational, legal, and community-based programs that have been used
to promote abstinence and examine where they have been successful. Unfortunately, social marketing strategies
have received less attention. Several
potential applications of social marketing directed to
drinking-during-pregnancy campaigns are suggested, and possible contributions
to the overall effort are explained.
Deshpande, S.
& Basil, M. (2006). Lessons from research on social marketing for mobilizing adults for
positive youth development. In E.
G. Clary & J. E. Rhodes (Eds.) Mobilizing
adults for positive youth development: Strategies for closing the gap between
beliefs and behaviors (pp 211-231).
New York: Springer.
Abstract. Given the urgent need to move forward “the developmental
needle” from theoretical understanding of youth development to practical
strategies and procedures (Benson, 2003, p. 214), more efforts need to be
focused on studying the various social change tools. The present chapter
introduces readers to one of these tools, namely social marketing and discusses
its conceptual foundations and practical applications to mobilize adults in
youth development initiatives. This chapter should be treated as a general
guideline to understand the systematic structure behind a social change
marketing campaign, and as an idea generating device for future efforts.
Basil, M. D. & Basil, D. Z. (2006).
The marketing market: A study of PhD supply, demand, hiring institutions, and
job candidates. Journal of Business
Research, 59, 516-523.
Abstract:
The shortage of faculty is a critical problem facing business deans today. This shortage has important implications for
teaching, research and academic governance.
This study examines two explanations for this shortage – (1)
disequilibrium between supply and demand and (2) the match between candidates
and jobs -- with an eye toward solving the shortage. Our study focuses on the field of marketing
using several sources of data. The data
suggest that both disequilibrium and mismatch are viable explanations. While it appears that an undersupply of PhDs
is primarily responsible for the shortfall in faculty, there are several forces
that may be limiting production. As a
result, reducing mismatch may be the easier issue to address. The important implications for marketing and
business are discussed including those around workload and faculty
retention. Finally, implications that
arise for business education, research, and faculty governance are discussed.
Basil, D. Z.,
Ridgway, N. M., & Basil, M. D. (2006).
Guilt appeals: The mediating effect of responsibility. Psychology
and Marketing, 12, 1035-1054.
Abstract: This
research was conducted to assess how guilt appeals operate in soliciting
charitable donations. It was
hypothesized that a sense of responsibility would enhance the effectiveness of
charitable guilt appeals, thus leading to larger charitable donations. It was also hypothesized that the presence of
others would make salient a prosocial norm, thus increasing a sense of
responsibility to help. Two laboratory experiments were conducted to test these
hypotheses. The effect of guilt on
charitable donation intention and actual donations was mediated by a sense of
responsibility. Additionally the presence of others enhanced the sense of
responsibility to behave prosocially.
Basil, M. (2007). Japanese love hotels: A photo essay. Consumption,
Markets, and Culture, 10(2), 189-202.
Accompanying video on DVD, R. Belk & R. Kozinets (Eds).
Abstract: Japanese
Love Hotels are a big industry in Japan, accounting for about 30,000 hotels and
more than a million visits per day. Love
hotels are also a source of fascination for westerners. This essay will examine some of the interesting
intricacies of love hotels – locations, exteriors, advertising, rooms,
furnishings and bathrooms -- using both words and pictures. Overall, the story illustrates the variety of
ways that love hotels provide value for their customers – through the provision
of a private space to lovers, anonymity, luxury, and convenience.
Basil,
M. D. (2008). Marketing AIDS prevention:
An application of social marketing. In
A. Sargent & W. Wymer (Eds.), The Routledge Companion to Nonprofit Marketing (pp.
347-357). Oxon,
England: Routledge.
Abstract: From the
identification of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) in 1981, the
public health community has struggled to prevent the spread of HIV and AIDS. This
chapter starts by examining social marketing’s potential contribution to HIV
and AIDS. Next, news events and prevention efforts around AIDS is explored. On
the domestic front, the history of AIDS shows that educational approaches were
more commonly employed than true social marketing efforts, especially in the
US. However, several important social marketing interventions can be seen.
Finally, limitations and alternative approaches are discussed.
Basil,
D. Z., Ridgway, N. M., & Basil, M. D. (2008). Guilt and giving: A process model of empathy
and efficacy. Psychology and Marketing, 25, 1-23.
Abstract: This
research develops a model of consumer response to charity appeals. Using the Extended Parallel Process Model
from the fear appeal literature as a foundation, the current model proposes that
empathy and self-efficacy generate guilt and reduce maladaptive responses,
which, in turn, shapes donation intention.
The results demonstrate that the impact of empathy on charitable
donation intention is fully mediated by guilt and maladaptive responses. The
impact of self-efficacy is partially mediated by guilt and maladaptive
responses. Therefore, both empathy and self-efficacy determine whether guilt or
maladaptive responses result. This model clarifies the process through which
guilt appeals operate, by identifying the roles of empathy and self-efficacy.
Basil, M. D. (2008). Japanese love hotels: Protecting privacy for
private encounters. Proceedings of the European Association for Consumer Research, 8, 505-510. Paper presented to the European Association
for Consumer Research, Milan, ITALY.
Abstract:
This
paper explores a cultural curiosity – Japanese “love hotels.” These have historical sociological roots deep
in the culture. But even with a
religious and cultural acceptance of sex in Japan, privacy is still an
important aspect of the love hotel business.
The ways in which love hotels protect patrons’ privacy is shown here to
be a primary part of the service encounter.
The importance of privacy poses that the need for sexual privacy may be
rooted deep in our evolutionary biology.
This is an important lesson for the field of marketing, especially for
those in the sex-related industries.
Lavack, A. M., Magnuson, S. L., Deshpande, S., Basil, D. Z.,
Basil, M. D., & Mintz, J. (2008). Enhancing
occupational health and safety in young workers: The role of social marketing.
International Journal of Nonprofit & Voluntary Sector Marketing, 13,
193-204.
Abstract: Young
workers (age 15-24) suffer work-related injury at a much higher rate than older
workers, yet research on the role and effectiveness of social marketing to
influence and improve workplace safety is limited. A review of the relevant
literature reveals that significant gaps exist in terms of effectively using
social marketing to reduce young worker injury rates. A comprehensive,
multi-faceted social marketing approach is required to address young worker
safety. Directing more attention toward the practice of social marketing can
enhance the effectiveness of campaigns to reduce workplace injuries.
Basil, M. D.
& Basil, D. Z. (2008). The marketing market: Matching
academic hiring institutions and job candidates. Journal of Marketing
Education, 30, 138-149.
Abstract: Hiring
faculty is a challenge in the field of marketing. One important factor is a shortage of
candidates. The problem is exacerbated, however, by an imperfect match between
jobs and candidates. This study examines
the homogeneity of academic jobs and candidates. A survey was conducted with both
parties. The results show that
institutions and candidates are not homogenous.
For example, hiring institutions differed in whether they were primarily
seeking teaching or research ability and this was predictable depending on
whether the institution was Ph.D. granting or not. In addition, three types of job candidates
were identified, each looking for something different – work environment,
lifestyle, or research support. The lack
of homogeneity can complicate the placement of candidates in jobs, but this
depends on the distribution of these needs and the flexibility of both
parties. Strategies to increase hiring
success for hiring institutions are suggested, including assessing needs and
competitive advantages.
Basil, M. D. & Basil, D. Z.
(2009).
Reflections on ultra-fine dining. In A. Lindgreen, J.
Vanhamme & M. Beverland (Eds.), Memorable Customer Experiences (pp.
135-147). Aldershot, UK: Gower.
Abstract: Ultra-fine
dining is a growing phenomenon. But how do people evaluate and remember these
experiences? This chapter considers 352 online reviews of upscale dining
experiences at Michelin three-star restaurants to investigate assessments of
these luxury purchases. The reviews are primarily positive and focused on the
aesthetics of the food, followed by service quality. Two evaluative frames
emerge from the analysis. A hedonic frame that relates to the experience as
special or a “splurge” frequently accompanied a positive review. Within this
frame, subthemes of holistic synergy and dream analogies were evident. The second
theme is a more rational “value” perspective, more frequently related to
negative reviews. Within this frame, a subtheme referring to prior experience
seemed to impact evaluations. With the value frame, whether the restaurant
meets expectations provides the most important criterion for interpreting the
experience, a finding consistent with service quality literature that
demonstrates people often interpret experiences relative to their expectations.
Finally, despite extensive service quality studies, these results suggest that
the aesthetic and hedonic aspects of food are more important than service
quality in an ultra-fine dining context.
Basil, M. D., Basil, D. Z. & Deshpande, S.
(2009). A comparison of consumers and dieticians: Nutrition focus, food choice,
and mental accounting. Journal of Nonprofit and Public Sector Marketing, 21,
283-297.
Abstract: Nutrition
labels on processed foods are becoming more common throughout the world. How do
experts and consumers compare at using this information? This study compares
three different conceptualizations of expertise—a body of knowledge, better
processing skills, and a greater facility for mental accounting. A survey was
used to compare 237 consumers over age 40 with 131 dieticians. We examined the
focuses, choices, and mental accounting of food selections. The results
demonstrate similar focuses, food choices, predictability, and mental
accounting by both groups on all three conceptualizations of expertise. This
suggests that nutrition labels benefit both consumers and experts.
Deshpande, S.,
Basil, M. D. & Basil, D. Z. (2009). Factors influencing healthy
eating habits among college students: An application of the Health Belief
Model. Health Marketing Quarterly, 26, 145-164.
Abstract:
Poor
eating habits are an important public health issue that has large health and
economic implications. Many food preferences are established early, but because
people make more and more independent eating decisions as they move through
adolescence, the transition to independent living during the university days is
an important event. To study the
phenomenon of food selection, the heath belief model was applied to predict the
likelihood of healthy eating among university students. Structural Equation
Modeling was used to investigate the validity of the HBM among 194 students,
followed by gender-based analyses. The data strongly supported the HBM. Social
change campaign implications are discussed.
Brown, W. J. &
Basil, M. D. (2010). Parasocial interaction and
identification: Social change processes for effective health interventions.
Health Communication, 25, 601-602.
Two primary foci of health communication are discovering how
people seek out and interpret health information and seeking ways to encourage
people to make healthy choices. During the past couple of decades, health
communication scholars and practitioners have focused increased attention on
the role of celebrities in promoting health… What all these studies show is
that ordinary individuals develop close emotional and psychological bonds with
famous people they admire and then seek to role model their lives. Millions of
people have donated corneas, put on seatbelts, had cancer screenings, reduced
risky sexual behavior, and made healthy lifestyle changes through their
parasocial interaction and identification with celebrities. No doubt,
involvement with popular celebrities by the public will continue to be a
powerful source for promoting socially beneficial health practices in the 21st
century.
Basil, D., Runte, M.,
Basil, M. & Usher, J. (2011). Company support for
employee volunteerism: Does size matter?
Journal of Business Research, 64, 61-66.
Abstract. This article examines the
relationship between company size and support for employee volunteering. Based
on organizational ecology and organizational stages theory, the study
hypothesizes that larger versus smaller companies demonstrate greater
formalization and codification of their support for employee volunteering.
Similarly, larger versus smaller companies use employee volunteering efforts
more strategically; this finding is consistent with a need to justify
decisions. These outcomes in turn impact the nature of volunteering and the
organizations benefiting from such programs. Survey data from a size-stratified
sample of 990 randomly selected Canadian businesses indicates that large
companies support employee volunteerism in a more formalized and strategic
manner than small companies. This behavior includes having formal policies and
programs, as well as exercising greater influence over the causes which benefit
from employee volunteering. Additionally, large companies are more likely to
tie other forms of charitable support to employee volunteering. The article
discusses how the more formalized approach of large companies may impact
society.
Basil, M. D. (2011). Use of photography and
video in observational research. Qualitative Marketing Research, 14,
246-257.
Abstract:
Purpose – This review aims to examine how photography and
video have been used in a variety of fields.
Design/methodology/approach – The paper examines how these
visual methods have and can be used in marketing.
Findings – Photography and video have important strengths.
They help us overcome the typically fleeting nature of observation. They also
allow us to record behavior in its situational context, allow for reflection,
informants, coding, and use of the behavior or situation for illustration. In
addition to their analysis of behavior, visual methods can also be used for the
purpose of analysis of environments.
Photographs and videos can also reveal insights into the
interpretive side of the equation – examining people’s focus and interpretation
of their behaviors and rituals. This visual information can be qualitative –
aiming for naturalistic, descriptive, and “rich” data; they can also be used to
quantitatively measure circumstances and events.
Originality/value – Understanding the potential uses of
photography and video in observational research as well as their strengths and
weaknesses will allow us to gain the most value from their application.
Alden, D., Basil, M. D., & Deshpande, S. (2011). Communications in social marketing. In G. Hastings, K. Angus
& C. Bryant (Eds.), Sage Handbook of Social Marketing (pp. 167-177). Los
Angeles, CA: Sage.
Marketing communications are a critical component of
commercial marketing. They are equally important for social marketing. Our
review of best practices concludes that social marketing communications are
most effective when three principles are followed. First, the brand promise is
promoted consistently across the different elements of the communications mix
(e.g., advertising, public relations, sales promotion and social media).
Second, the promotion ‘P’ is integrated with the ‘other’ 3Ps of product, price
and placement. Third, the focus of the communications is not on providing
information but on pro-social behavior change and actions such as trial and
maintenance. While commercial marketers generally emphasize the first principle
when they refer to integrated marketing communications, we argue that social
marketers can significantly enhance the effectiveness of their interventions
and ongoing programs by keeping all three in mind as they plan the promotion
component of their 4P strategy, an approach we refer to as integrated social
marketing communications (ISMC).
Basil, M. D. (2012). Multiple Resource
Theory. In N. Seel (Ed.), Encyclopedia of the
Sciences of Learning, (Part 13, pp. 2384-2385). New York: Springer.
The Multiple Resource Theory asserts that people have a
limited set of resources available for mental processes. These resources can be
thought of as a pool of energy that is used for a variety of mental operations,
from sensory-level processing to meaning-level processing. This shared pool of
resources are allocated across different tasks, modalities, and processing.
This theory explains how difficult single-tasks can run into processing
difficulties and how dual-task performance is more likely to be hampered by
performing similar tasks than dissimilar tasks. Multiple resource theory has
been applied in psychology to areas such as dual-task performance as well as
applied areas such as communication to understand how people make sense of
television messages and in consumer research to understand how people process
information about a product.
Basil, M. D. (2012). A history of farmers’ markets in Canada. Journal of
Historical Research in Marketing, 5, 387-407
Abstract:
Purpose: Farmers’ markets are often
identified as the roots of the marketing enterprise. They are usually considered as part of a
traditional economy. This study examines how the social and political context
shaped the appearance, growth, decline, and reappearance of farmers’ markets in
Canada. It demonstrates the continuation and resilience of the industry.
Methods: Published research and
historical documents of Canadian farmers’ markets were used to derive a
periodization of events based on events and turning points to allow an understanding
of the factors affecting business success.
Findings: This study finds three eras
of farmers’ markets in Canada that were shaped by the social and political
environment. In the first era, between
1800 and 1915, immigrants brought their conception of farmers’ markets from
Europe to the early settlements of the “new world.” In the second era between 1916 and 1970, as
people moved west they became more self-sufficient. Life became modernized and farming became
more industrial. People shifted from their
reliance on farmers’ markets to more general mercantile stores and then to
modern supermarkets. In the third era,
starting in the 1970s, farmers’ markets came into resurgence, largely as a
result of a growing interest in the environment and local foods. They are currently, however, mostly relegated
to a niche role in the modern food supply.
Value: This study shows how the
success of a particular commercial enterprise, in this case farmers’ markets,
is shaped by and reacts to larger forces in the business environment.
Basil, M. D. (2012, Feb).
Admiration: An important determinant of celebrity effectiveness? 2012 American Marketing Association Marketing Proceedings, St.
Petersburg Beach, FL.
Abstract: This
research examined celebrity admiration. A survey of 48 celebrities found that
admiration was not related to attractiveness, but is related to similarity and
identification. Next, an experiment with twelve constructed ads depicting 6
celebrities found that admiration was more closely related to similarity and identification
than attractiveness.
Basil,
M. D. (2012). Coverage of social marketing in the mainstream
media. International Journal of
Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Marketing, 17, 295-302.
Abstract: How well
known is the field of social marketing? Given the recent rise to prominence of
social media, could there be name confusion between “social marketing” and
“social media marketing?” To what extent do people believe that social change
efforts are coercive or reflect a “nanny state?” We use a content analysis of
newspaper coverage as a measure of public opinion to assess these issues. To investigate
how much coverage social marketing efforts receive and how these efforts are
portrayed in the mainstream media, a content analysis of the 10 largest
circulation newspapers in the USA was conducted. A search examined the term “social
marketing.” The results show that there is generally very limited coverage of
social marketing. In fact, the term “social marketing” is currently being used primarily
to describe social media marketing efforts. The results also show that there is
a considerable amount of criticism of social change efforts, especially thosewith structural or “upstream” efforts. Finally, the
likelihood of criticism depends on the orientation of the newspaper (with the
Chicago Sun-Times and the New York Times more typically supportive and the New
York Post and the Wall Street Journal more critical of these efforts).
Basil, M. D. & Witte, K. (2012). Health risk message design using the Extended Parallel Process
Model. In Cho (Ed), Designing Messages for Health Communication
Campaigns (pp. 41-58). Thousand Oaks,
CA: Sage.
Abstract: The goal of
this chapter is to help the reader understand how to apply the extended
parallel process model (EPPM) to construct more effective fear appeals. It
begins with a theoretical explanation of the operation of fear appeals. Second,
the chapter explains the specific steps that can be used to design effective
health risk messages using the EPPM. Finally, in conjunction with the social
marketing perspective, this chapter provides an overview of the larger
contextual factors that need to be considered prior to health risk message
design to help increase the effectiveness of these messages and avoid possible
negative repercussions.
Basil, M. D. (2013). Effects of social marketing: Potential
and limitations. In E. Scharrer (Ed.), Media Effects/Media
Psychology, Vol. 5, Media Effects/Media Psychology (pp. 552-566). The International Encyclopedia of Media Studies. Boston, MA:
Wiley-Blackwell.
Abstract: Many efforts to improve
people’s health behaviours have employed
communication campaigns. A related
approach, but more extensive, termed “social marketing,” applies commercial
marketing methods to health and other social goals by trying to shape people’s behaviours through facilitation and reward. Social marketing is limited by existing
beliefs, social forces and other structural factors, and to the extent that we
cannot develop viable products or solutions, it cannot really be employed. A review of research suggests that social
marketing is used in different ways around the world. This evidence, as well as my own research,
suggests that social marketing is most effective when it goes beyond
information and fear to find ways to make the performance of those behaviors
easier, when it finds ways to fit within the context of existing beliefs and
finds ways to work out solutions that are amenable to the range of consumers
and constituents.
Basil,
M. D., Basil, D. Z., Deshpande, S. & Lavack, A. (2013).
Applying the Extended Parallel Process Model to workplace
safety messages. Health Communication, 28, 29-39.
Abstract:
The extended parallel process model (EPPM) proposes fear appeals are most
effective when they combine threat and efficacy. Three studies conducted in the
workplace safety context examine the use of various EPPM factors and their
effects, especially multiplicative effects. Study 1 was a content analysis
examining the use of EPPM factors in actual workplace safety messages. Study 2
experimentally tested these messages with 212 construction trainees. Study 3
replicated this experiment with 1,802 men across four English-speaking
countries—Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The
results of these three studies (1) demonstrate the inconsistent use of EPPM
components in real-world work safety communications, (2) support the necessity
of self-efficacy for the effective use of threat, (3) show a multiplicative
effect where communication effectiveness is maximized when all model components
are present (severity, susceptibility, and efficacy), and (4) validate these
findings with gory appeals across four English-speaking countries.
Basil, M. D. (in
press). In T. Thompson & J. Golson
(Eds.), Encyclopedia of Health Communication. Los Angeles, CA: Sage.
a) Mass Media
b) Public Health Communication
c) Stanford Three Community/Five Cities
Projects
d) Uses and gratifications/Parasocial
interaction