The Effects of Self-Construal and Commitment on Persuasion

Past research examining the effect of self-construal on persuasion has shown that advertising appeals that are consistent with consumers' chronically accessible (chronic) self-construal as well as appeals that are consistent with the temporarily accessible (latent) self-construal are both persuasive. In two studies, we identify brand commitment as a moderating variable that determines the effectiveness of appeals consistent with the consumers' chronic or latent self-construal. Under high commitment, appeals consistent with the chronic self-construal were more effective. In contrast, under low commitment, appeals consistent with the primed (independent or interdependent) self-construal were more effective. These findings were robust across independent and interdependent self-construal contexts. (c) 2005 by JOURNAL OF CONSUMER RESEARCH, Inc..