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This is to certify that the

dissertation entitled

EFFECTS OF PRESENCE ON THE EFFCTIVENESS
OF WEB SITE ADVERTISING

presented by

YUNG KYUN CHOI

has been accepted towards fulfillment
of the requirements for

Ph.D. d . Mass Media
egree 1n

 

 

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Major professor

Dfle July 26, 2000

 

 

 

 

 

 

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11/00 WWW,“

EFFECTS OF PRESENCE ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF
WEB SITE ADVERTISING

By

Yung Kyun Choi

A DISSERTATION
Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of
DOCTOR OF PHEOSOPHY
Department of Advertising

2000

ABSTRACT
EFFECTS OF PRESENCE ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF
WEB SITE ADVERTISING
By

Yung Kyun Choi

The purposes of this research were to contribute to advertising theory and
practice. The theoretical contributions are to understanding and predicting the
relationships between presence and advertising effectiveness. Knowledge of these
relationships can also guide advertising practice, especially to prepare messages that
communicate effectively. There is no known study that has empirically tested the effects
of presence on consumers’ responses to advertising messages. Considering the
multimedia capacity of the World Wide Web, creating a compelling online environment
for Web consumers will have numerous positive consequences for commercial Web
providers.

This dissertation research was designed to determine if there are relationships
between presence and the effectiveness of Web Site advertising. An experiment was
conducted to compare the effectiveness of Web advertisements without an agent and Web
advertisements with an agent. Presence is an illusion that a mediated experience is not
mediated. The research was focused primarily on the effects of telepresence and social
presence because the literature identifies them as major components of presence. In
accordance with the traditional literature, advertising effectiveness was measured by

attitude toward the advertisement (Aad), attitude toward the brand (Ab), and purchase

intention (PI). Intention to revisit the Web Site (V I) was added because recent literature
indicates that it is an important measure of Web advertising effectiveness.

The study employed a 2 by 3 between subjects factorial design to test the
hypotheses. The first independent variable was the Size of the monitor and the second
one was the existence of an anthropomorphic agent. The agent conditions were divided
into sales-agent and customer-agent conditions to see if there are any effects of the role of
different agents on users’ perception of source credibility. The hypotheses were
summarized in a hypothetical path model and the data were analyzed by means of
AN OVA, t-tests, and path analysis to determine the patterns among presence and the
advertising effectiveness measures.

Results indicate that an anthropomorphic agent in the Web site can increase a
sense of social presence and telepresence to influence some of the advertising
effectiveness measures to be more favorable. However, simple manipulation of the size
of the monitor did not result in any significant mean differences between treatment
conditions. Using a path model, a strong and direct positive relationship was found
between social presence and telepresence, and between social presence and attitude
toward the advertisement. Also direct and positive relationships were found between
social presence and intention to revisit the Web site, between telepresence and attitude
toward the advertisement, and between telepresence and intention to revisit the Web site.
It was found that Aad and VI were major components that mediate the effects of presence
on Ab and PI, and that VI was another important variable in the Web Site advertising
environment. Finally, the study concludes with Specific managerial implications,

limitations, and suggestions for future research.

Copyright by
YUNG KYUN CHOI
2000

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This dissertation was made possible with help of many people. First of all, I am
very grateful to all my dissertation committee members, Dr. Gordon Miracle, Dr. Frank
Biocca, Dr. Hairong Li, and Dr. Nora Rifon, who were always willing and eager to help
me. I owe much appreciation to Dr. Gordon Miracle, chair of my dissertation committee,
who always supported me with advice, guidance, and encouragement as a mentor and as
a fi'iend. A special thanks goes to Dr. Frank Biocca for his help, fiom developing the
dissertation ideas to data collection in using his facilities in the Media Interface and
Network Design (M.I.N.D.) Lab. The technical assistance of M.I.N.D. Lab people, Eric
Maslowski and Joseph Berger, in designing stimulus material is also deeply appreciated
and is gratefully acknowledged. I owe much to Dr. Janice Bukovac and Dr. Steve
Edwards who allowed me to use their classes to obtain a sample of respondents for the
experiment. I thank Dr. Frank Boster for his valuable comments on statistical analysis.

The research was supported financially by a Dissertation Competition Grant and
the S. Watson Dunn Dissertation Grant from the American Academy of Advertising
(AAA). The Michigan State University Mass Media Ph.D. Program provided additional
support. I deliver Special thanks to Dr. Charles R. Taylor, Chair of the AAA Research
Committee, and Dr. Charles Salmon, Director of the Mass Media Ph.D. Program.

I cannot forget to thank my family and friends for their love, patience,
understanding, and support. Finally, I dedicate this work to my Lord, Jesus, who brought
me to this school and guided me from the beginning to the end. I thank all of you for

supporting this achievement.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF TABLES .............................................................................. viii
LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................ ix
CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................... 1
Virtual Human, Avatar, and Anthropomorphic Agent ....................... 3

Agent: Mediating Interpersonal Relationships ................................ 5

CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE REVIEW ....................................................... 7
Presence in Mediated Environment ............................................ 7

Variables that Influence Presence ............................................... 9

Structural Variables ......................................................... 9

Content Variables .......................................................... 12

CHAPTER 3. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ............................................ 15
The Effects of Presence ........................................................ 6

Effects of Nonverbal Communication Cues ................................. l6

Vividness Effects and Communication Modality ........................... 18

CHAPTER 4.

Advertising Effectiveness: Antecedents of Attitude toward the Ad... . .21
The Effects of an Anthropomorphic Agent on Advertising

Effectiveness ............................................................... 22
Advertising Effectiveness: Consequences of Attitude toward the Ad. . .23\
The Effects of Presence on Advertising Effectiveness ..................... 26)
The Agent and Source Credibility ............................................ 27
Screen Size, Presence, and Advertising Effectiveness ..................... 31
The Hypothetical Model ........................................................ 34
METHODOLOGY ............................................................. 35
Research Design ................................................................ 35
Sample for the Experiment .................................................... 36
Design of Stimulus Materials ................................................. 36
Procedure ........................................................................ 39
Measurement .................................................................... 4O

Measure of Presence ...................................................... 40

Measure of Advertising Effectiveness .................................. 40

Measure of the Agent’s Credibility ..................................... 41

Demographics and Media Usage Patterns ............................. 42

Manipulation Check for the Agent’s Role ............................ 42

vi

CHAPTER 5. RESULTS ......................................................................... 43
Sample Size and Composition ................................................. 43
Factor Structure and Scale Reliability ........................................ 43
The Effects of Anthropomorphic Agents on Attitude toward the Ad. . ..48
The Effects of Anthropomorphic Agents on Attitude toward

the Brand .................................................................. 50
The Effects of Anthropomorphic Agents on Purchase Intention ......... 51
The Effects of Anthropomorphic Agents on Intention to Revisit
the Web site ............................................................... 52
The Effects of Anthropomorphic Agents on Telepresence ................ 53
The Effects of Anthropomorphic Agents on Social Presence ............. 55
The Effects of the Agent’s Role on Source Credibility ..................... 56
Effects of Demographic Variables and Media Consumption Pattems....59
Test of the Hypothetical Model and Structural Relations .................. 61
CHAPTER 6. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS ....................................... 66
Anthropomorphic Agents as a Source of Presence ......................... 66
The Relationship between Social Presence and Telepresence ............ 67
The Relationship between Presence and Advertising Effectiveness. . . ...69
The Relationship among Advertising Effectiveness Measures ............ 71
Role of Agent and Source Credibility ........................................ 72
Screen Size, Visual Angle, and Presence ..................................... 73
Implications for Advertisers and Marketers ................................. 74
Limitations and Suggestions for Future Research .......................... 75
Conclusions ...................................................................... 78
APPENDIX 1. Instruction and Questionnaire for Main Experiment ...................... 79
APPENDIX 2. Scripts for Stimulus Materials ................................................ 87
APPENDIX 3. Pictures for Stimulus Materials ................................................ 91
APPENDIX 4. Scales Used for Data Analysis ............................................... 96
APPENDIX 5. Descriptive Statistics for Subjects Used ................................... lOI
BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................ 1 09

vii

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1. Descriptive Statistics for Scales Used in the Experiment .......................... 46
Table 2. Summary of Measures used for Data Analysis ...................................... 46
Table 3. Descriptive Statistics on Attitude toward the Ad (Aad) ........................... 49
Table 4. Tests of Between-Subjects Effects on Aad ........................................... 49
xlTable 5. Contrast Results (K Matrix) on Advertising Effectiveness ........................ 50
Table 6. Descriptive Statistics on Brand Attitude (Ab) ....................................... 50
Table 7. Tests of Between-Subjects Effects on Ab ............................................ 51
Table 8. Descriptive Statistics on Purchase Intention (PI) .................................... 51
Table 9. Tests of Between-Subjects Effects on P1 ............................................. 52
Table 10. Descriptive Statistics on Intention to Revisit the Web site (VI) ................. 53
Table 11. Tests of Between-Subjects Effects on VI ........................................... 5 3
Table 12. Descriptive Statistics on Telepresence .............................................. 54
Table 13. Tests of Between-Subjects Effects on Telepresence .............................. 54
Table 14. Contrast Results (K Matrix) on Presence ............................................ 55
Table 15. Descriptive Statistics on Social Presence ........................................... 56
Table 16. Tests of Between-Subjects Effects on Social Presence. . . . ...56
Table 17. Descriptive Statistics on the Agent’s Role
(Sales agent vs. Consumer agent) .................................................... 58
Table 18. T-test of Equality of Means between Sales agent and Consumer agent... ....58
Table 19. Test of Between-Subjects Effects by Demographic Variables .................. 60
Table 20. Correlations between the exogenous and endogenous variables ................ 62

viii

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1. Mediated Communication .............................................................. 7
Figure 2. The Proposed Hypothetical Model ................................................... 34
Figure 3. Experimental Design .................................................................. 35
Figure 4. Hypothetical Model Tested ........................................................... 61
Figure 5. Modified Path Model .................................................................. 64

ix

 

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CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

From virtual reality to the information highway, the new media technologies are
radically transforming almost every aspect of how we communicate and with whom. The
computer is one of the major technical foundations of this current development of the
information society. The Internet, or World Wide Web, has brought us closer to a global
village and has provided another conduit for advertisers and marketers to sell products
and services. The Web is a distinctive advertising medium with such characteristics as
multimedia capacity, 24-hour-a-day delivery of messages, directly measurable effects,
audience selectivity, direct marketing opportunities, global reach potential, ad exposure
controlled by the audience, and interactivity (Ju-Pak, 1999). Specifically, Web sites can
be regarded as a form of advertising (Ducoffe, 1996; Raman. 1996; Berthon, Pitt, &
Watson, 1996). Schlosser et al. (1999) broadly defined the Internet advertising as any
form of commercial content (e.g., video clip, print or audio) available on the Internet that
is designed by businesses to inform consumers about a product or service. Multimedia
content on the Web site is delivered by interactive access to both static (e.g., text, image,
and graphics) and dynamic (e.g., audio, full-motion video, and animation) content across
the network with hypertext links (Hoffman & Novak, 1996). Therefore, opening up a
Web Site is equivalent to creating an advertisement in formats that are different from

traditional advertisements.

 

 

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The development of virtual reality technology is adding another media dimension
on the Web. Virtual reality can create a communication environment that transcends the
limitations of all other media by bringing the immediate and sensually rich domain of the
face-to-face encounter into the imaginative, artificial, and control-oriented domain of the
computer (Palmer, 1995). Recently, the prospect of commercially viable virtual reality
is becoming a reality. With the ability to portray three-dimensional subjects interacting
on the two-dimensional plane of the monitor, computers can offer heightened realism and
navigation. A low to mid level of virtual environments can be developed on the Web by
presenting virtual humans, such as avatars or agents. An avatar or agent is an animated
two- or three-dimensional figure representing an individual in an online environment.
Avatars and agents can possess personal characteristics as well as physical likeness based
on graphical polygons and texture maps. Online computer users can interact with avatars
on an individual or group basis.

Considering the multimedia capacity of the World Wide Web and the advent of
virtual reality technologies, numerous marketing applications will be possible by using
virtual humans on the Web. However, it is unknown if and how the presence of avatars
and agents on the Web will Shape or change consumers’ perceptions of the Web site and
their responses to a specific message conveyed by the site. Currently, there is no known
study that has empirically tested the effect of avatars or agents on consumers’ responses
to advertising messages. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate the
relationship between the presence of a virtual agent and Web advertising effectiveness.

AS the number of commercial Web Sites continues to explode, the marketing

problems of attracting target consumers to a particular Web site, engaging them

interactively within the Site, and then securing repeat visits, have become acute (Hoffman
& Novak, 2000). Previous research (Hoffman & Novak, 1996) suggests that creating a
compelling online environment for Web consumers will have numerous positive results
for commercial Web providers (Novak, Hoffman, & Young, 1999). In this regard, the
researcher will test the effect of an agent’s presence in making the Web a more
compelling experience for its users. The researcher will also test the effect of an agent’s
presence on advertising effectiveness, including consumers’ attitudes and behavioral
intentions. This study is expected to contribute to theory regarding presence, nonverbal
communication, and persuasion. The research is also expected to have implications for
commercial Web site design, online advertising, and Internet marketing strategies.
Virtual Human, Avatar, and Anthropomorphic Agent

Virtual (or digital) humans are computer-generated, graphically'displayed entities
that represent either imaginary characters or real humans (Miller, 1998). The growth in
the interest and development of virtual humans can be traced to at least two factors. First,
the advances in computer graphics technology have delivered the Speed and performance
necessary to efficiently duplicate and display human motion. Second, the importance of
“human-centered design” is achieving formal recognition by many design engineers and
major manufacturers (Miller, 1998). Therefore, there is increased interest in creating
sociable virtual environments and in making the Internet a more social Space.

Virtual humans are commonly referred to as “avatars,” and are used primarily in
video games and the entertainment industry. Originally referring to the incarnation of
Hindu deities, Avatars in the computing realm have come to mean any of various graphic

representations of human or visual agents in a multi-user computer generated

environment (Lonehood, 1997). Avatars are controlled by human intelligence. In
contrast, “agents” are controlled by artificial intelligence. Specifically, an agent that is
incamated with human form iS referred to as “anthropomorphic agent.” If artificial
intelligence is combined with convincing morphology, users may be fooled into believing
that the artificially intelligent agent is really a humanly directed avatar (Biocca, 1997).

Avatars, or agents are given properties: Shape, color, sound, motion, and so forth
(Biocca & Delaney, 1995). These properties are important for the design of social virtual
environments because they facilitate the real time transmission of some of the body’s
communication cues (Biocca, 1997). Building a more sociable interface is important
because of human beings’ social nature. Human beings are social creatures, and each
likes to feel that he or She is not alone. People are curious and like to know what other
people are doing. Studies have found that not only are people much more expressive
when they are in the company of others than when alone, they are as expressive when
they imagine themselves to be with others as when the others are actually present
(Hauser, 1996). In this regard, anthropomorphic agents, by displaying the presence of
artificial others, can play a key role in making a successful public social Space.

Avatars were recently selected as a technology that will evolve over the next five
to ten years (Anonymous, 1999). This assessment is based on the notion that this
technology could bring some sense of community to the Internet by allowing online
computer users to interact with other avatars on an individual or group basis. Currently,
the technology is primarily used in the entertainment industry, for high-end video games,
for example, and as high-tech novelties for realistic Internet chat rooms such as “Active

World.”

The commercial application of agents is also very feasible in online sales and
other areas where business interaction can be enhanced by human interface.
Anthropomorphic agents, semi-intelligent computer programs with a human face, can
assist in handling repetitive and time-consuming tasks. For example, they can act as
“salespeople” for users in a cyber Shopping mall by providing products or service sales
advice. They can help troubleshoot customer problems and, ultimately, Shape
consumers’ purchase decisions. Through interaction with the agent, customers can build
a human-like relationship with the agent because they may perceive the agent as a social
actor with intelligence, thus minimizing resistance from the customers.

Agent: Mediating Interpersonal Relationships

A face-to-face (FTF) conversation is an activity in which we participate in a relatively
effortless manner, and where synchronization between participants seems to occur
naturally. FTF conversations are facilitated by the various channels we have at our
disposal to convey information to our partners. These channels include the words
spoken, intonation of speech, hand gestures, facial expressions, body posture, orientation
and eye gaze (Vilhjalmsson, 1997). Interpersonal communication is communication
involving relationships between human beings. Often the actual transaction of a
relationship occurs through behavioral exchanges that are not observable in a verbal
transcript, but must be attended to in other channels. Subtle, nonverbal behaviors (e.g.,
eye gaze, smiles) are the channels by which a large Share of affectively changed
relational information is conveyed (Palmer, 1995). Thus, individuals gain a sense of
directly encountering others and their relational “minds” in FTF encounters through an

affective, emotional and involving relational transaction.

Conventional media may become intrusive and distract individuals from the
smooth and transparent processing of relational information due to restrictions in
delivering verbal and nonverbal communication cues interactively. To the extent that
media reflect or match the defining characteristics of interpersonal communication,
media intrusiveness is reduced and the human communicators are more likely to express
interpersonal behaviors and to make interpersonal inferences (Palmer, 1995). Unlike
conventional media, an agent in a virtual environment can realistically simulate the
elements of face-to-face interactions by providing sensual stimuli (e.g., voice, facial
displays) that are virtually equivalent to those in verbal and nonverbal channels. The VR
environment has the potential to provide these multiple communication channels in real
time and in an interactive mode. Thus, users who encounter an anthropomorphic agent in
virtual Space are more likely to carry on a FTF interaction that is Similar to an
interpersonal interaction because of the illusion that the user’s correspondent is a social

actor, not a computer generated graphical image.

CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

Presence in Mediated Environment

Traditionally, the process of communication is described in terms of the
transmission of information, as a process linking sender and receiver. Therefore, media
are important as a means of connecting sender and receiver, and are only interesting to
the extent that they contribute to or otherwise interfere with the transmission of a
message from sender to receiver (Steuer, 1992). In contrast, the mediated
communication model, represented in Figure 1, suggests that the primary relationship is
not between the sender and the receiver, but rather with the mediated environment with
which they interact (Steuer, 1992; Hoffman & Novak, 1996). Information is not
transmitted from sender to receiver; rather. mediated environments are created and then

experienced (Steuer, 1992).

Figure 1. Mediated Communication

 

 

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Source: Hoffman & Novak (1996).

When perception is mediated by a communication technology, one is forced to
perceive two separate environments simultaneously: the physical environment in which
one is actually present, and the environment presented via the medium (Steuer, 1992).
The experience of presence in a mediated environment is created by means of a
communication medium. Presence refers to the strong perceptual illusion in which the
user of a medium experiences sensations of being present in an environment, and
perceives objects found there as equally present (Biocca and Delaney, 1995). In other
words, presence is the perception that a mediated experience is real rather than mediated
(Lombard & Ditton, 1997). Presence as transportation is telepresence. In telepresence,
the immediate environment and the source of sensation is transported, using technology,
to a location that differs from that of the physical body (Biocca, 1997). That is,
telepresence is the extent to which one feels present in the mediated environment, rather
than in one’s immediate physical environment (Steuer, 1992). It is a sense of “being
there” or the experience of presence in an environment by means of a communication
medium (Reeves, 1991; Steuer 1992). Therefore, telepresence can be generalized as a
sense of transportation to any “space” created by media.

Another type of presence is social presence. Social presence is defined as the
feeling that communication exchanges are sociable, warm, personal, sensitive, and active
or the degree to which a medium is perceived as conveying the presence of the
communicating participants (Short et al., 1976). Biocca (1997) defined perception of
social presence as the degree to which a user feels access to the intelligence, intentions,
and sensory impressions of another. According to his definition, the minimum level of

social presence occurs when users feel that a form, behavior, or sensory experience

indicates the presence of another intelligence. The perception of the other is the
empathetic simulation of internal states of another “if we were there in the space” over
there (Biocca, 1997). The simulation is run in the body and mind of the perceiver, and
models the internal experience of some other moving, expressive body. Therefore, the
perception of the other is based on bodily motions and cues.

Social presence is influenced by channel attributes. That is, channels that convey
nonverbal information, such as facial expressions, gazes, and postures, are usually rated
higher in social presence (Acker & Levitt, 1987; Short et al., 1976). Social presence
theory states that communication media differ in their capacity to transmit information
about facial expressions, gazes, postures, dress and nonverbal vocal cues. Accordingly,
communication media that can convey nonverbal cues and social-context cues (e.g., face-
to-face and video conferencing) rate high in social presence. In contrast, media that lack
nonverbal elements and feedback cues (e.g., computer-based communication
technologies and written documents) are considered to rate low in social presence (King
and Xia, 1997).

Variables that Influence Presence

Structural variables

Generally, presence can be influenced by the structure of the mediated
presentation, content in the medium, and media user characteristics. Vividness and
interactivity are the main types of Structural variables in the communication system. The
sense of presence is a firnction of Vividness of an experience, that is, the representational

richness of a mediated environment, and the level of interactivity, or degree to which a

participant can modify the form and content of a mediated environment in real time
(Steuer, 1992).

Vividness is composed of sensory breadth (the number of sensory dimensions)
and sensory depth (the resolution within each of these perceptual channels). According
to the theory, it is expected that the higher the number of sensory outputs, the greater the
chance that the medium will produce a higher sense of presence. Actually, Short et a1.
(1976) proved this assumption by showing that media that provide both audio and visual
stimuli produce greater social presence than audio-only. Regarding sensory depth, visual
display characteristics can play an important role for presence. For example, high
resolution quality and large image size can elicit more reality or a higher perception of
presence (e.g., Reeves, Detenber, & Steuer, 1993; Bocker & Muhlbach, 1993; Lombard,
1995). Therefore, it is likely that the higher the number of sensory channels (or breadth)
or the higher the quality of sensory fidelity (or depth), the higher the degree to which the
senses are engaged, and the higher the level of presence.

Another component of structural variable is interactivity. Interactivity is a critical
concept in computer-mediated communications because it is seen as the key advantage of
the medium (Morris & Ogan, 1996; Rafeli & Sudweeks, 1997). However, the concept is
not uniformly defined. Technologists have suggested that human-computer activities
exemplify the human impulse to create interactive representation. The outcomes of
interactivity are engagement in communication and relationship building between a
company and its target consumers (Ha & James, 1998). From a mechanical point of
view, interactivity has been defined as the extent to which users can participate in

modifying the form and content of a mediated environment in real time (Steuer, 1992).

10

Steuer suggests that interactivity depends on speed, range, and mapping. Speed refers to
the rate at which input can be assimilated into the mediated environment. Real-time
interaction clearly represents the highest possible value for this variable. Range refers to
the amount of change that can be effected on the mediated environment by modification
of temporal ordering (order of events within a presentation), spatial organization
(placement of objects), intensity (of volume, brightness, color, etc.), and frequency
characteristics (timbre, color). Mapping refers to the degree of correspondence between
the type of user input and the type of medium response. From an interpersonal
communication perspective, many communication researchers (e. g., Rafaeli & Sudweeks,
1997) use face-to-face communication as the standard of interactivity and evaluate the
interactivity of mediated communication by how closely it simulates face-to-face
communication (Walther & Burgoon, 1992). If presence is influenced by interactivity, it
seems that the level of presence may depend on the number of choices available in
modifying the form and content of a medium or how closely the medium simulates face-
to-face communication.

Other structural variables include ease of interaction and social factors. For
example, Weghorst and Bellinghurst (1993) reported that designs that eased the
interaction were most predictive of the sense of presence in the virtual environment.
Numerous researchers suggest that sense of presence may increase with the existence of
other individuals or virtual actors (Heeter, 1992; Steuer, 1992; Welch et al., 1996).
Because humans are well accustomed to interacting with other humans in the real world,
the apparent presence of others in virtual worlds Should enhance the experience of

telepresence (Steuer, 1992).

ll

Content variables

The content factor includes objects, human and non-human characters, and the
nature of tasks or activities. Media users often respond to social cues presented by
persons they encounter within a medium (on television) even though it is illogical and
even inappropriate to do so (Lombard, 1995). The mediated nature of the interaction is
ignored, and the media personality is incorrectly perceived as a social actor. The same
thing can happen on the computer. That is, virtual actors (or agents) with human
gestures, facial movements, and voice can lead users to interact with them, making the
interaction more like interacting with another human. For example, facial expressions
play a major role in interpersonal communication. In a telecommunication application, a
greater sense of “being there” (telepresence) might be achieved if virtual reality systems
could display representations of facial expressions (Biocca & Delaney, 1995).

The nature of tasks can also influence presence. Short et al. (1976) hypothesized
that social presence depends upon not only the visual non-verbal cues transmitted, but
also upon more subtle aspects, such as the apparent distance of the other (e.g., voice
volume) and the ‘realness’ of the other (e.g., fidelity of Speech reproduction). Short et
a1. hypothesized that the suitability of any given communications medium for a Specified
type of interaction depends on two things: the degree of social presence of the medium,
and the degree of social presence required by the task. For example, high social presence
media (e.g., video conferencing) were judged more appropriate for personal tasks and
low social presence media (e.g., telephone, business letter, etc.) were judged more

appropriate for Simple tasks (Perse & Courtright, 1993; Rice, 1992).

12

In generating the sense of “being with others,” social presence is related to two
important concepts originally applied to non-mediated interpersonal communication:
intimacy and immediacy (Lombard & Ditton, 1997). Intimacy refers to the process of
reciprocal self-confirmation and the affective tone of the relationship. In large part, the
experience of intimacy is closely tied to the expression of nonverbal involvement.
Immediacy, dominance, and arousal are the three primary dimensions of nonverbal
behavior (Mehrabian, 1981). The immediacy dimension indicates a sense of
psychological closeness. The dominance dimension (e.g., facial and gestural animation)
encompasses behaviors that signal the degree to which the actor is powerful or powerless.
The arousal dimension refers to the amount of physiological and physical activation
experienced by the actor. Immediacy cues (e.g., physical proximity, body orientation,
eye contact, nodding, or facial pleasantness) are approach behaviors that signal
availability, increase sensory stimulation, and decrease both the physical and
psychological distance between the interactors (Andersen, 1985; Burgoon, Buller, &
Woodall, 1989; Patterson, 1983). Positive affect cues, such as smiling and vocal
pleasantness, are also important because they Signal availability and communication
warmth and intimacy (Andersen, 1985; Burgoon, 1994). A medium high rating in social
presence is achieved when the interactors can adjust more of these variables and therefore
more precisely adjust the overall level of intimacy (Lombard & Ditton, 1997). Therefore,
it seems logical to expect that the capacity to deliver nonverbal cues may increase the
sense of “being with others,” and the sense of “being there” on the Web.

Media user characteristics can also interact with media structure and content

variables to influence presence. Although almost no research has been conducted to

13

 

 

 

examine the relationship between user characteristics and presence, some variables were
suggested as determinants of presence: knowledge of and prior experience with the
medium, age, gender, and personality type (Lombard & Ditton, 1997). The current Study
focuses on structural and content variables of a medium mainly because these are
fundamental in establishing and maintaining an experience of presence in a mediated
environment. The user’s characteristics, such as personality type, personal traits, and
temporal mood, can also be very important. However, those characteristics are beyond

the scope of this research.

14

CHAPTER 3

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

The Effects of Presence

The focus of much of the interest in presence concerns a wide range of
psychological effects. Though research concerning those effects has only just begun, it is
expected that presence may enhance a Web user’s enjoyment, involvement, task
performance, persuasion, and memory, depending on the media content and the user’s
characteristics (Lombard & Ditton, 1997). Heeter (1995) found that the feeling of
entering another world was strongly related to enjoyment of the virtual experience.
Media experiences that evoke presence tend to be highly involving (Lombard & Ditton,
1997). For example, virtual reality experiences are active and involving, unlike
television viewing (Heeter, 1995). In one study (Kubey & Larson, 1990), children
reported significantly higher attention, arousal, and motivation levels while playing video
games than they reported while watching television. In an analysis of BattleTech, a
virtual reality game, involvement was the highest gratification factor (Heeter, 1995).
Therefore, presence implies a direct and natural experience, rather than just the
processing of symbolic data, and is therefore likely to be more compelling (Lombard &
Ditton, 1997). There is not much research regarding the effect of presence on advertising
effectiveness. In one study (Kim and Biocca, 1997), it was found that the sense of being
present in a mediated environment had a positive effect on attitude change (e.g., buying

intention and confidence in product decision).

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Effects of Nonverbal Communication Cues

When we think about the way people interact with each other, it is clear that our
body displays structured signals that are an integral part of communication with other
people. For example, Mehrabian (1972) found that only 7 percent of our feelings and
attitudes are communicated with words, 38 percent via tone of voice and 55 percent
through nonverbal expressions (Gschwandtner & Gamett, 1985).

During an average 30-minute sales call, buyer and seller exchange
approximately 800 diflerent nonverbal messages. Think about your last meeting with a
client. Can you recall his or her basic sitting position? Did he lean forward or
backward in his chair? You may have seen her smile, but did you notice whether her
arms and legs were crossed at the same time?

Most salespeople focus on the verbal part of the sale. Some of them listen to the
tone of voice—how the words are said. And the salespeople who pay attention to body
language focus almost exclusively on facial expressions. Obviously, these are all
necessary areas of interest. Words, the way they ’re spoken, and a person ’3 face all give
the seller information about how the call is going.

(Gschwandtner & Gamett, 1985, p3)

Therefore, when examining the effects of an agent, it is important to consider the
relationship between nonverbal cues and persuasion.

The literature linking nonverbal behaviors directly to persuasion is focused on
kinesic and vocal cues. Mehrabian and Williams (1969) found that Speakers attempting
to be persuasive and speakers who are actually persuasive (a) used more eye contact with
their audience, leaned back less or adopted closer distances, and used more affirmative
head nods; (b) gestured more and were more facially expressive; and (c) were moderately
relaxed. A few other studies also found increased persuasiveness with more frequent and
longer eye contact (LaCrosse, 1975; McGinley, LeFevre, & McGinley, 1975; Timney &
London, 1973), more gestural and facial activity (Edinger & Patterson, 1983; Forbes &

Jackson, 1980; Maslow et al., 1971), and less postural rigidity (Maslow et al., 1971) but

16

more random movement (Young & Beier, 1977). Bettinghaus and Cody (1987)
identified eye contact, smiles, nodding, gestures, and moderate relaxation as behaviors
that enhance performance ratings, which should translate into greater persuasiveness.

Research linking vocal cues to persuasion is concentrated on fluency. Fluent
Speech is usually free of lengthy pauses, hesitations, repetitions, sentence changes,
interruptive vocalizations, and the like. Several studies have shown that nonfluencies
undermine persuasiveness and attitude change (Erickson et a1, 1978; Hollandsworth,
Kazelskis, Stevens, & Dressel, 1979; McCroskey & Mehrley, 1969; Mehrabian &
Williams, 1969). Other studies found that persuasiveness can be enhanced by quickened
Speaking rate (Apple et al., 1979; Mehrabian & Williams, 1969; Miller et al., 1976) or by
increased vocal intensity in the form of louder amplitude, greater intonation, greater
fluency, and faster tempo (Edinger & Patterson, 1983; Erickson et al., 1978; Mehrabian
& Williams, 1969).

Vocal, facial (including gaze, eyebrow action, and mouth movement), and
gestural animation also indicate a high degree of expressiveness (Burgoon & Newton,
1991). Coker and Burgoon (1987) suggested that kinesic, proximic, and vocal patterns
combine to create perceptions of alertness, attention, focus, and interest. For example,
such perceptions can be created by raising the eyebrows and slightly nodding head on a
stressed or an accented word, raising the eyebrows during an offer or a suggestion,
blinking on a pause, lowering the eyebrows and wrinkling the nose when saying “not,”
and dropping the jaw when showing surprise (Vilhjalmsson, 1997). Facial movements
such as nodding and brow raising are also used as listener feedback, sometimes

accompanying a low verbalization like “mhm” or “yeah.”

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With high physical expressiveness accompanied by positive affect cues (e.g.,
smiling and/or a warm voice), intimacy (psychological and/or physical closeness) and
affiliation are likely conveyed (Burgoon, 1994). Similarly, it is expected that an agent
with positive nonverbal cues can develop intimacy and affiliation with users during the
interaction. For example, an agent with a sustained gaze and a smile may indicate its
intention to greet users visiting the Web site. Therefore, the Web advertisement with an

agent is likely to generate a more favorable response from consumers.

Vividness Effects and Communication Modality

Perhaps the most fundamental decision facing advertisers is the decision about
how best to present their product information. Nisbett and Ross (1980) state that vividly
presented information has more impact on judgment than does pallid and abstract
information. Nisbett and Ross note that information is vivid to the extent that it attracts
or holds attention and excites the imagination by being “(a) emotionally interesting, (b)

concrete and imagery-provoking, and (c) proximate in a sensory, temporalmor Spatial

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way:(p. 45). Considerable support for this belief is found in literature that judges
message effectiveness in terms of stimulus recall (Kisielius & Stemthal, 1986).

However, previous research pertaining to the effects of Vividness on persuasion
seems controversial (McGill & Anand, 1989). The presentation of a persuasive message
is characteristic of Vividness studies. In these studies, Vividness is manipulated via the
concreteness of the verbal information presented, the presentation format (or modality)

(e.g., audio-visual, audio, print), or the presence and absence of instructions to create a

mental image (Kisielius & Stemthal, 1986). Regarding the message modality, several

18

studies report that Vividness did not have a significant attitudinal effect (e.g., Borgida,
1979; Edell & Staelin, 1983; Gottlieb, Taylor, and Ruderrnan, 1977; Keating & Latane,
1976; Manis et al., 1980; Nisbett & Borgida, 1975). However, other studies Show that
communication modality has an effect on attitude change (e.g., Andreoli & Worchel,
1978; Chaiken & Eagly, 1983; Worchel, Andreoli, & Eason, 1975).

The availability-valence hypothesis is one way to explain this controversy. The
hypothesis posits that judgements (or attitudes) depend on the favorableness of the
information that is available in memory. Availablity refers to the ease with which an
association can be accessed from memory. One factor that is important in accounting for
Vividness effects is cognitive elaboration, which refers to the number of associative
pathways in memory (Nisbett & Ross, 1980). Subject to the limited capacity of human
memory, the greater the cognitive elaboration of information, the greater is its availability
for rendering attitudinal judgements. Judgments depend on the favorableness, or valence,
of the available information (Kisielius & Stemthal, 1986). Valence is defined in relative
terms in that information is viewed as being more or less favorable toward an object.

According to this view, Vividness of message can affect attitudes by influencing
the extent to which people will engage in cognitive elaboration. To the extent that
information is rich in modality, messages using these devices are likely to enhance the
number of message-relevant associations in memory. Mousavi et a1. (1995) suggest that
dual-presentation modalities may increase working memory resources by activating both
auditory and the visual working memory rather than just one or the other. In a similar
fashion, Mayer and Moreno (1998) found that the superiority of simultaneous narrations

and animations over Simultaneous text and animations is consistent with separate

l9

channels for visual and auditory processing. Whether vivid information evokes cognitive
elaboration that may either enhance, undermine, or have no effect on the persuasiveness
of a message depends on the relative favorableness of the information in response to
vivid and pallid presentations.

Regarding the enhancement of message persuasiveness, Chaiken and Eagly
(1983) found that a video presentation presented by a likable source was more effective
than the same message presented in audio or written format. Conversely, for an unlikable
source, audio and written message presentations were more persuasive than video
message presentations. Andreoli and Worchel (1978) reported that when the source was
highly credible, the audio-visual presentation induced more favorable judgments of the
position advocated than did the audio or written presentations. By contrast, when the
source was less credible, the written presentation yielded more favorable judgments. The
results can be interpreted in terms of the availability-valence perspective. It is likely that
the audio-visual presentation enhanced cognitive elaboration of information about the
communication source. When the sources were highly credible, the elaboration of
favorable information in the audio-visual presentation enhanced acceptance of the
advocacy, whereas when the sources lacked credibility, unfavorable information was
elaborated, and persuasion declined. In the same way, it is expected that the advertising
Web site presenting an anthropomorphic agent will induce greater cognitive elaboration
than the Web without an agent because of the agent’s audio-visual message presentation.
Simultaneously, an agent’s favorable nonverbal cues may influence the valence of

relevant information to enhance the persuasiveness of advertising messages. In sum, the

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Web advertisement with an agent will generate more favorable response from consumers
than the Web advertisement without an agent.
Advertising Effectiveness: Antecedents of Attitude toward the Ad

When advertising content is exposed to consumers in a Specific manner, the first
“communication effect” likely to result from advertising processing responses is the
consumer’s overall evaluation of the advertising itself, their attitude toward the ad
(Rossiter & Bellman, 1999). Researchers investigating advertising persuasion have
focused on advertising attitudes and brand attitudes (Brown & Stayman, 1992).
Consumers’ attitudes toward advertising have been considered important to track because
they likely influence consumers’ exposure, attention, and reaction to individual ads
through a variety of cognitive and affective processes (Schlosser et al., 1999). Attitude
toward the ad (Aad) has been defined as a “predisposition to respond in a favorable or
unfavorable manner to a particular advertising stimulus during a particular exposure
situation (MacKenzie, Lutz, & Belch, 1986). Percy and Rossiter (l992)noted that Aad
has been conceptually defined in terms of “overall liking” of the advertisement, liking of
specific aspects of an advertisement, and in terms of a single (global/affective)
component as well as separate (cognitive and affective) dimensions. Thus, no universal
definition of Aad has emerged.

Research Shows that Aad is affected by ad credibility and ad perceptions (Lutz,
MacKenzie, & Belch, 1983; Lutz, 1985), ad cognitions (Chattopadhyay & Basu , 1990;
Homer, 1990; Muehling & Laczniak, 1992), ad-induced feelings (Burke & Edell, 1989;
Stayman & Aaker, 1988), prior brand attitudes (Edell & Burke, 1987; Messmer, 1979),

and involvement in the advertisement (Kardes, 1988). More specifically, advertising

21

related factors include humorous appeals (Belch & Belch, 1984; Chattopadhyay & Basu,
1990; Madden, Allen, & Twible, 1988), the use of celebrities and endorsers (Atkin &
Block, 1983; Kamins, 1990; Freiden, 1984; Lutz, MacKenzie, & Belch, 1983), the
visual/verbal nature of the ad (Mitchell, 1986), sexual appeals (Severn, Belch, & Belch,
1990), warm ads (Aaker, Stayman, & Hagerty, 1986), highly emotional ads (Thorson &

Page, 1988), and ads evoking a pleasant feeling (Villarreal, 1985).

The Effects of an Anthropomorphic Agent on Advertising Effectiveness

Anthropomorphic agents can simulate face-to-face interaction in their speech with
appropriate facial expressions, such as raising their eyebrows while asking a question or
nodding and raising their eyebrows on an emphasized word, giving feedback while
listening in the form of nods, low “mhm”s and eyebrow action, and finally, “giving the
floor” or selecting the next speaker using gazes (Vilhjalmsson, 1997). In face-to-face
conversation, people rely on various kinds of gestural information given by their partners,
and therefore, they have to glance at each other, at least from time to time. Listeners
spend more than half of the time looking at the speaker, supplementing the auditory
information (Argyle and Cook, 1976).

The same phenomenon can occur in a mediated environment when users are faced
with an agent capable of multi-modal interaction that integrates speech, gestures, and
facial expressions. In order to read visual and auditory Signals from an agent, users may
have to direct their attention and, thus, their gaze toward the source (the agent, in this
case). The audio-visual presentation of messages by the agent will facilitate the cognitive

elaboration, thereby making information more accessible from the memory.

22

Simultaneously, an agent’s favorable nonverbal cues may influence the valence of
relevant information to enhance the persuasiveness of advertising messages. This process
will evoke ad-induced feelings to have direct effects on Aad. Thus, the following
hypothesis is proposed:
Hla: People who are exposed to the Web advertisement with an agent will have
more favorable attitudes toward the advertisement (Aad) than people who are

exposed to the advertisement without an agent.

Advertising Effectiveness: Consequences of Attitude toward the Ad

The effects of attitude toward the advertising logically fall within one of three
categories: cognitive, affective, or behavioral. The Aad’s influences on cognitive
processes include its impact on brand attribute beliefs (Hastak & Olson, 1989), cognitive
responses directed toward the brand or product (Homer, 1990; MacKenzie & Lutz, 1989:
MacKenzie, Lutz, & Belch, 1986), brand recall, and brand recognition (Zinkhan.
Locander, & Leigh, 1986).

Investigations of the effect of Aad on affective processes have focused mostly on
brand attitude. Much research has supported the notion that individuals’ Aad has a direct
influence on brand attitudes (e.g., Lutz, MacKenzie, & Belch, 1983; Laczniak & Carlson,
1989; Laczniak & Muehling, 1990; Park & Young, 1986; Miniard, Bhatla, & Rose,
1990)

Regarding the effects of Aad on behavioral processes, MacKenzie, Lutz, & Belch
(1986) identified four processes of how Aad could mediate advertising effectiveness.

One view is expressed in the indirect effects model, where Aad has an impact on Ab

23

through affect transfer, and Ab in turn affects intentions. Ab includes beliefs formed from
advertising brand attribute information and inferences based on advertising picture
content (Gardner, 1985; Mitchell & Olson, 1981). In this view, Ab mediates the impact
of Aad on purchase intentions and there is no direct Aad-intention link (dual mediation
model). One version of this model is the reciprocal mediation model in which a
bidirectional relationship is proposed between Aad and Ab, with the latter determining
intention. Another view is expressed in the independent influence model. This model
proposes that both Aad and Ab have direct but separate influences on intentions
(MacKenzie, Lutz, & Belch, 1986).

So far, most research supports the mediated effects of Aad on intentions. For
example, MacKenzie et al. (1986) found strong support for the dual mediation (indirect
effect) model. Further, Brown and Stayman (1992) meta-analyzed 43 articles in
advertising and marketing research journals and found support for the dual mediation
model, which posits a direct effect of ad attitude on brand attitude as well as an indirect
effect via brand cognitions. This model has been previously supported by a number of
studies (e.g., Homer, 1990; Miniard et al., 1990), and thus, appears fairly robust. In sum,
Aad will mediate ad-related feelings to Ab and Ab, in’turn, will influence intentions.
Thus, the following hypotheses are proposed:

Hlb: People who are exposed to the Web advertisement with an agent will have

more favorable attitudes toward the brand (Ab) than people who are exposed to

the advertisement without an agent.

24

ch: People who are exposed to the Web advertisement with an agent will have a
higher intention to purchase the brand (PI) than people who are exposed to the
advertisement without an agent.

Hld: Aad will mediate ad-related responses to Ab and, in turn, Ab will influence

purchase intention.

In measuring behavioral intentions, specifically for Web advertisements, the type
of advertising exposure needs to be considered. Advertising exposure in the Internet is
more voluntary or sought-out than traditional advertising because it requires more
commitment with voluntary action (e.g., visiting the Web Site) (Cho, 1999). In traditional
media (e.g., magazines), communication is a one-way passive process that requires no
extra voluntary action (e.g., visiting Web sites, clicking banner ads) other than purchase.
In contrast, voluntary action (e.g., visiting Web Sites) is a precondition for consumers’
active information processing. This means that if the Web site is not visited, the
information in the Web Site will be totally ignored. However, consumers with a specific
interest in the Web site can bookmark advertising sites for future reference or voluntary
repeated exposure (Cho, 1999). Attracting visitors to Web Sites is important as a positive
behavioral consequence for commercial Web providers (Novak, Hoffman, & Young,
1999). Therefore, “intention to revisit (VI)” the Web site has been added to the list of
dependent variables: Consequently, the following hypothesis is also proposed:

H l e: People who are exposed to the Web advertisement with an agent will have a

higher intention to revisit the Web site (VI) than people who are exposed to the

advertisement without an agent.

25

Since there is no literature to suggest the probable relationships between media
content and the mediating effects of Aad and Ab on V1, the same pattern will be
hypothesized as in Hld, as follows:

Hlf: Aad will mediate ad-related responses to Ab and, in turn, Ab will influence

intention to revisit the Web site.

The Effect of Presence on Advertising Effectiveness

A human-like virtual agent with facial expressions and a voice may develop a
1
higher sense of presence in the Web site by Simulating some elements of face-to-face

interactions. Even though there is a dearth of advertising literature addressing the issue

of presence, nonverbal communication literature and Vividness theory imply a positive

~‘-_._

relationship between presence and advertising effectiveness. In the presence literature.
the sense of presence is affected both by the communication modality as a sensory
breadth and by nonverbal cues as content variables (e.g., Lombard & Ditton, 1997). The
modality of message presentation will influence the Vividness of the message and an
agent’s nonverbal cues will influence the users perceived interactivity in the mediated
environment. Thus, when a user interacts with an agent in a vividly simulated audio-
visual environment, more sensory cues will be involved and perceived by the users. Such
an interaction will lead to a higher degree of telepresence than if no agents were present.
Also, it is expected that a higher degree of social presence will be conveyed as the user
interacts with an agent capable of both verbal and nonverbal cues. Therefore, the

following hypotheses are proposed:

26

H2: A Web advertisement with an agent will generate higher telepresence than an
advertisement without an agent.
H3: A Web advertisement with an agent will generate higher social presence than

an advertisement without an agent.

Nonverbal communication literature and Vividness theory imply a positive
relationship between presence and advertising effectiveness. Therefore it is expected that
the effect of an agent delivering dual modality (audio—visual) and nonverbal cues will be
mediated by presence to affect the attitude toward the advertising. This means that, in the
Web environment, the more the consumer feels that he or she is really present and
interacting with an agent, who looks and sounds favorable, the more favorable will be the
consumer’s attitudes or behavioral intentions. Thus, the following hypotheses are
proposed:

H4: The effect of an agent will be mediated by telepresence to influence attitude

toward the advertisement.

H5: The effect of an agent will be mediated by social presence to influence

attitude toward the advertisement.

The Agent and Source Credibility

Marketing and advertising practitioners believe that a communicator’s character
has a significant effect on the persuasiveness of the message (Ohanian, 1990). Given the
impact a source can have on a communicator’s persuasiveness, researchers have been

interested in understanding which characteristics of a source will influence persuasion. A

27

number of empirical investigations have examined the effectiveness of using credible
spokespersons to enhance the persuasiveness of messages. The research on source
credibility has shown that in most situations a highly credible source is more effective
than a less credible source (Stemthal et al., 1978). Highly credible sources also have
been found to produce more positive attitude changes toward the position advocated and
to induce more behavioral changes than have less credible sources (Craig & McCann,
1978). Source credibility had considerably stronger effects when the elaboration
likelihood was low (Petty et al., 1987).

Studies have measured the process by which a communicator’s perceived
attractiveness, trustworthiness, and expertise mediate immediate and delayed attitude
change and persuasion (e.g., Anderson & Clevenger, 1963; Hovland & Weiss, 1951;
Patzer, 1983; Whittaker & Meade, 1968). The attractiveness model contends that the
effectiveness of a message depends on the source’s familiarity, likability, similarity, and
attractiveness to the respondent. Research has shown that physically attractive
communicators are more successful in changing beliefs than are unattractive
communicators (Chaiken, 1979; Dion & Berscheid, 1972). In an exhaustive review,
Joseph (1982) concluded that attractive communicators are consistently liked more and
have a positive impact on products with which they are associated. This result is
consistent with other studies reporting that increasing the communicator’s attractiveness
enhances positive attitude change (Simon, Berkowitz, & Moyer, 1970; Kahle & Homer,
.1985)

Another influential characteristic is the communicator’s perceived expertise,

which iS the extent to which a communicator is perceived to be a source of valid

28

assertions (Hovland, Janis, & Kelley, 1953). Research investigating source expertise in
persuasive communication generally indicates that the source’s perceived expertise has a
positive impact on attitude change (Horai, Naccari, & F atoullah, 1974; Maddux &
Rogers, 1980; Mills & Harvey, 1972). In a selling context, an expert salesperson induced
a significantly higher number of customers to purchase a product than did the nonexpert
salesperson (Woodside and Davenport, 1974). Similarly, Crano (1970) experimentally
manipulated the dimensions of expertise and found that subjects exposed to an expert
source exhibited more agreement with the advocated position than did those exposed to a
low-expertise source.

Finally, numerous studies support the positive effect of trustworthiness on attitude
change. Trustworthiness refers to the consumer’s confidence in the source for providing
information in an objective and honest manner. Studies Show that when the
communicator was perceived to be highly trustworthy, an opinionated message was more
effective than a non-opinionated communication in producing attitude change (Miller &
Baseheart (1969). It was also found that a source who was perceived to be both an expert
and trustworthy generated the most opinion change (McGinnies & Ward, 1980).

Recent research suggests that the three dimensions (e.g., attractiveness,
trustworthiness, expertise) of source credibility can make independent contributions to
source effectiveness (Weiner & Mowen, 1985). For example, a spokesperson can be
perceived as an expert and still be untrustworthy (e.g., a salesperson), or a spokesperson
lacking expertise can be perceived as highly trustworthy (e.g., a consumer in a peer
group). While sales personnel often have more knowledge on a particular subject than

does an inexpert friend, many consumers doubt salespeople’s trustworthiness because of

29

the potential conflict of interest (Ohanian, 1991). Comparatively, in testimonial
advertising, consumers traditionally have been chosen as product endorsers because of
their similarity to target audiences (Ohanian, 1990).

Regarding the role of the agent as a communicator, previous animation literature
suggests that animated characters have been granted a special kind of credibility born of
animation’s unique ability to create the “illusion of life” (e.g., Cholodenko, 1991, p.20).
The use of animation in advertising is not a new technique. But advanced technology,
especially in computer animation, has made animation a more flexible and artistic tool
(Callcott & Lee, 1994). Animation historians and advertising experts alike have
associated viewer propensity to “suspend disbelief” with animation’s ability to produce
believable characters (Baldwin, 1982; Crafton, 1982). Gales (1987) adds that the
animated character’s ability to imitate live action helps adults, as well as younger
audiences, to accept the character as real. Therefore, it is likely that an agent endowed
with a specific character (e.g., salesperson, consumer) may act as a spokesperson
simulating an interaction with users in advertising Web sites. In such case, the agent’s
level of attractiveness, expertise, and trustworthiness will affect the persuasiveness of the
agent’s message. For example, an agent acting as a salesperson and an agent acting as a
consumer may not have the same level of source credibility. Even if the agents are
presented with the same physical appearance and voice, the agent’s role as a salesperson
and as a consumer may affect the persuasiveness of the message. In this case, the agent’s
trustworthiness and expertise will influence attitudes and behavioral intentions due to the

role imposed on the agent. Given the risks associated with the selection of an

30

inappropriate communicator, it is important for the advertising manager to select the right
Spokesperson. To this end, the following hypothesis is proposed:
H6a: Consumers’ perception of attractiveness, trustworthiness, and expertise in
the Web advertisements with a sales agent will be different from those in the
advertisements with a consumer agent.
H6b: Consumers’ attitudes (Aad, Ab) and behavioral intentions (PI, VI) in the
Web advertisement with a sales agent will be different from those in the Web

advertisement with a consumer agent.

Screen Size, Presence, and Advertising Effectiveness

The content of the Web site is not the only characteristic that influences presence.
Also important are the forms of media such as size, shape, fidelity, etc. Many forms of
visual displays encourage a sense of presence. Among them, the size of a visual image is
one of the most primitive cues that has received the greatest attention from researchers
concerned with presence (Lombard & Ditton, 1997). Larger images have been Shown to
evoke more intense presence-related responses such as higher arousal, greater agreement
with a statement, greater sensation of reality, or higher involvement (e. g., Reeves & Nass,
1996; Reeves, Detenber, and Steuer, 1993; Yuyarna, 1982; Ditton, 1997). The size of an
image is significantly a function of the size of the screen. Reeves and Nass (1996)
assumed that a larger image fills a greater percentage of the viewer’s visual field and is,
therefore, more immersive and so more likely to evoke presence. A handful of studies
have examined the effect of screen size on presence in the context of television viewing.

In most cases, they support the assumption that a larger screen can be more immersive

31

and more likely to generate an illusion of nonmediation than a small display (e.g.,
Lombard 1995; Lombard et al., 1997; Lombard et al., 2000). Kim (1996) showed
participants an inforrnercial on either a 9-, 20-, or 32-inch television screen and found no
differences in presence. However, for his study, the large screen Size of 32 inches was
relatively smaller than the screen used in other studies and may not have been large
enough to see a difference in the presence effect among screens.

Additionally, the types of display may affect sense of presence. In a comparison
of Head Mounted Displays (HMDS), monitors, and screen-based projections, the screen-
based projections were found to produce the greatest immersion in inexperienced users.
The screen-based projection was most preferred because it was perceived as the most
natural display medium. The computer monitor was perceived as the least immersive
display. The HMD was criticized for its low resolution and blurred images (Deisinger et
al., 1997). It is expected that a larger screen used in screen-based projection will create
higher presence than a small monitor. Therefore, the following hypotheses are proposed:

H7: A Web advertisement on a large screen will generate a higher telepresence

than on a small monitor.

H8: A Web advertisement on a large screen will generate a higher social

presence than on a small monitor.

The presence from the larger screen may also influence consumers’ responses in
terms of attitudes and behavioral intentions. According to Reeves and Nass (1996),
larger screens create more arousal, stronger memories, and more positive evaluations of
the content displayed. In their experiment, participants viewed segments from

entertainment movies. Each segment lasted between two and three minutes. The result

32

was that the viewers liked the movie scenes on the large displays considerably more. The
scenes were more exciting, the action faster, the pictures more realistic, and viewers
reported feeling more a part of the action. Lombard (1995) also confirms this finding by
reporting that when subjects watched attractive and professional news anchors deliver
stories on a large (42 inch) screen, the subjects reported more positive emotional
responses to the anchors and to the viewing environment, than when the anchors
appeared on small (26 or 10 inch) screens. Recently, Lombard et a1. (2000) reported that
participants who watched a large screen television thought the movement in the scenes
was faster, experienced a greater sense of physical movement, enjoyed the movement to a
greater extent, found the viewing experience more exciting, and were more
physiologically aroused. Therefore, it is expected that the larger screen used with screen-
based projection will develop more favorable responses to the Web Site from the
consumers than the small size computer monitor. Therefore, the following hypotheses
are proposed:

H93: People who are exposed to a Web advertisement on a large screen will have

a more favorable attitude toward the advertisement than people who are

exposed to the same advertisement on a small monitor.

H9b: People who are exposed to a Web advertisement on a large screen will have

a more favorable attitude toward the brand than people who are exposed to the

same advertisement on a small monitor.

H9c: Pe0ple who are exposed to a Web advertisement on a large screen will have

a higher intention to purchase the brand than people who are exposed to the same

advertisement on a small monitor.

33

H9d: People who are exposed to a Web advertisement on a large screen will have
a higher intention to revisit the Web Site than people who are exposed to the same

advertisement on a small monitor.

The Hypothetical Model

The possible theoretical links that are examined by the above-stated hypotheses
are summarized in the model shown in Figure 2. In sum, it is expected that telepresence
and social presence will mediate the effects of screen size and that an anthropomorphic

agent will have a positive effect on consumers’ responses to the Web advertisement.

Figure 2. The Proposed Hypothetical Model

 

 

 

Screen Size

Large vs. small ‘ Telepresence \
—>

Social presence \‘ VI

 

 

 

PI

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Media
Content

 

 

 

Web advertisement without an agent
Web advertisement with an agent

Aad: Attitudes toward the Ad

Ab: Attitudes toward the brand

PI: Intention to Purchase a product

V1: Intention to revisit the advertising Web Site

CHAPTER 4

METHODOLOGY

Research Design
To test the hypotheses. a 2 x 3 between-subject factorial design was employed.

arc-'-

The ind-spende‘nt‘yariables are screen size (small and large) and/ the media content (Web
site without an agent, Web site with a sales agent, and Web site with a consumer agent).
There are fourjdependent variables to measure advertising effectiveness: attitude toward
the Web advertisement (Aad), attitude toward the brand (Ab), intention to purchase the
brand (PI), and intention to revisit the Web Site (VI). Telepresence and social presence

were proposed as mediating variables between the independent variables and the

dependent variables.

Figure 3. Experimental Design

Advertising without Advertising with Advertising with
an agent a sales agent a consumer agent

 

Large screen

 

Small screen

 

 

 

 

 

35

Sample for the Experiment

A total of 210 undergraduate students were drawn as a sample to be assigned in
each treatment condition. The subjects were recruited from introductory advertising
classes at a large midwestem university in the United States. Subjects were randomly
assigned to each treatment condition, and the number of males and females were arranged
to be similar across treatment conditions to control the possible effects of gender. For
example, studies have found that women had significantly stronger responses (indicating
presence) to a large screen, whereas men Showed relatively little change (Lombard, 1995;
Lombard et al., 2000). In Reeves et al’s (1993) study, female participants were more
likely to agree that they felt they were “part of the action” when they viewed the large
rather than the small screen. Therefore, the percentages of males and females in the

present study were carefully controlled.

Design of Stimulus Materials

The product categories for the advertising Web site were t-Shirts and socks.

These products were selected for two reasoris. F irst'i t-shirts and socks are very relevant
“T“ _;

products to college student subjects. In a survey before the experiment, clothing was

found to be one of the most likely product categories that students want to see in a We

‘F...L4- v

/———-.—i.___‘- ._._--"" _

 

site. Second, it was assumed that subjects might respond similarly to t-shirts or socks
/"" ......

regardless of gender. The fictitious brand name (Tees & Toes) was developed and used
for the following reasons: first, Moore and Hutchinson (1983) have Shown that prior

attitudes toward a brand can affect advertising attitudes and related constructs. Thus, for

36

familiar brands, prior brand attitudes may account for variations in relationships
involving advertising attitudes. Second, established brand attitudes toward familiar
brands are unlikely to be as strongly affected by advertising attitudes as are brand
attitudes toward novel brands about which consumers have little other information
(Johnson & Eagly, 1989).

The Web advertisement without an agent contained information regarding the

\J' r: .. WWW—m

Tees & Toes brand: i/(Nelcoming message, user options for information search (e.g., t-
shirts and socks for men and women: the size, and colors), purchase instructions, and a
farewell message. The front page of the Tees & Toes Web Site used a 3-dimensional
background and WCLQ§-DI§Q€1_DQID¢-§99 pictures of t-shirts and socks in all the
treatment conditions (see appendices 2 and 3). “Images in this thesis/dissertation are
presented in color.’/

In the Web advertising with a sales agent, the agent introduced himself as a sales
agent when the user accessed the Tees & Toes Web site. The agent was endowed with a
voice and a limited level of bodily motions (e.g., head nodding, waving hands, and
moving arms) to simulate a face-to-face interaction with users by delivering nonverbal
cues. The agent was designed as a man with a male voice for favorable valence because
both men and women are more favorably influenced by praise from a male-voiced
computer than they are by identical praise from a female-voiced computer (Reeves &
Nass, 1996). The voice was designed to be consistent with the behaviors, characteristics,

and script of the agent because voice is an important source that activates stereotypes

associated with gender, age, or personality of the agent.

37

At the beginning of the Tees & Toes Web site, an anthropomorphic agent
appeared and introduced himself and the product, and welcomed visitors. The agent
remained on the screen to Simulate an interaction with users while users searched for
product information. After the user finished the search, the agent announced a farewell
message and the Web viewing was finished.

In the. Web advertising with a consumer agent condition, the agent introduced
himself as a customer of Tees & Toes products. To detect the pure effects of the agent’s
role on the advertisement’s effectiveness, the appearance (attractiveness) and the voice of
the sales agent and the consumer agent were developed to be identical to each other. The
script and behaviors of the consumer agent were almost the same as those of the sales
agent, except that the consumer agent introduced himself as a customer (see appendices 2
and 3).

The textual message in the Web site without an agent was substantially similar to
what the agents said. Every effort was made to hold the visual and verbal message
components constant across treatment conditions (other than the independent variables,
e.g., screen Size and existence of the sales agent and consumer agent). Subjects
navigated the Web site in a linear fashion in all treatment conditions, moving sequentially
from the greeting message, to product search from t-shirts to socks, to the farewell
message. See the scripts in appendix 2 for more details.

The user interface (Tees & Toes Web site) and the agent was developed in the
Media Interface & Network Design (M.I.N.D.) Lab at Michigan State University. To

develop the 3-dimensional background and user interface, the 3 D Studio Max program

38

was used. Character Studio software was used to create a virtual agent. For the

execution of the program and its functionality, Macromedia Director 7 was used.

Procedure

Each participant was met by the experimenter and escorted into the MIND Lab
that contained Computer monitors and a large projection screen. The experiments were
conducted separately for large screen and small monitor conditionS.~ __In the small monitor
condition, 17-inch monitors were used and were a distance of approximately 15 inches
from the subjectjn the large screen condition, the computer monitor was projected onto
a 54-inch screen, which was 50 inches from the subject to provide a fine view. In both
conditions, the physical surroundings (e.g., strength of light, noise level) were controlled
to be equivalent, and resolution of the display was set at 800 x 600 pixeliiEgploring the
Web site took a similar amount of time (1 min. 30 sec.~ 2 min.) with an agent and
without an agent. After the subjects finished navigating the Web site, a questionnaire was
administered to collect their responses to the experience. After the subjects completed
the questionnaire, they were told that they would be debriefed after the experiment was
finished. They were then thanked and dismissed.

The experiment was started after the researcher received approval from the
Michigan State University Committee for Research Involving Human Subjects
(UCRIHS). All materials for the entire process were pre-tested on a group of 20 subjects

to make sure that all the questions in the instrument were easy to understand and that the

research process was well organized.

39

Measurement

Measure of Presence

Social presence (SP) experienced from the media was measured by 7-point
semantic differential scales previously developed and used by Short et al. (1976) and
Lombard (1999). The scales included the following anchor points: impersonal/personal,
unsociable/sociable, insensitive/sensitive, cold/warm, dead/lively, dull/vivid,
unresponsive/responsive, informal/formal, unfriendly/friendly, unemotional/emotional,
inaccessible/accessible, and remote/immediate.

Telepresence (TP) was measured by multi-item semantic differential scales. Ten
items were selected from the presence measures from Lombard (1999), who modified the

scales of Kim & Biocca (1997). See appendices 1 and 4 for details.

Measure of Advertising Effectiveness

Of the many studies incorporating measures of attitude toward advertisements.
most have used bipolar adjective (semantic differential) item-pairs. Numerous studies
have used more than one semantic-differential pair of items (Muehling and McCann.
1993). Typical endpoints used in the research include: “good-bad,” “like-dislike."

“favorable-unfavorable,” “inforrnative-uninforrnative,” “appealing-unappealing,”

99 ‘6' 99 66° 99 66

enjoyable-unenjoyable, rnteresting-uninteresting, Irritating-not irritating, pleasant-

unpleasant,” “nice-awful,” "entertaining-unentertaining,” and “offensive-nonoffensive”
(e.g., Kirrnani, 1990; Lutz, MacKenzie, & Belch, 1983; Stout & Burda, 1989; Machleit &
Kent, 1989; Machleit & Wilson, 1988; Madden, Allen, & Twible, 1988; Shimp &

Yokum, 1981).

40

For this research, attitude toward the advertisement (Aad) was measured by 7-
point semantic differential scales: good/bad, like/dislike, favorable/unfavorable,
enjoyable/unenjoyable, pleasant/unpleasant, appealing/unappealing,
interesting/uninteresting, and nice/awful.

Attitude toward the brand (Ab) was measured by 7-point semantic differential
scales: positive/negative, satisfactory/unsatisfactory, favorable/unfavorable, good/bad,
and likable/dislikable (Lutz & Belch, 1983; Messmer, 1979; Mitchell & Olson, 1981;
Osgood, Suci, & Tanneunbaum, 1957).

The intention to purchase the brand (PI) and the intention to revisit the Web site
(VI) were measured by 7-point semantic differential scales: likely/unlikely,

probable/improbable, and possible/impossible (Bearden, Lichtenstein, & Teel, 1984).

Measure of the Agent’s Credibility

To test if subjects’ responses to the sales agent and the consumer agent were
different, the agent’s perceived attractiveness, trustworthiness, and expertise was
measured. Even though the experiment used the identical agent with the same voice,
same face, and same gestures, it was expected that subjects’ perception of attractiveness,
trustworthiness, or expertise would be different due to the different role of the agents.

Source attractiveness was measured by 7-point semantic differential scales:
attractive/unattractive, classy/not classy, handsome/ugly, elegant/plain, and sexy/not sexy

(Ohanian, 1990).

41

Trustworthiness was also measured by 7-point semantic differential scales:
dependable/undependable, honest/dishonest, reliable/unreliable, sincere/insincere, and
trustworthy/untrustworthy (Ohanian, 1990).

Finally, expertise was also measured by 7-point semantic differential scales:
expert/not an expert, experienced/ inexperienced, knowledgeable/unknowledgeable,

qualified /unqualified, and skilled/unskilled (Ohanian, 1990).

Demographics and Media Usage Patterns
The following information was recorded for each subject: age, gender, race, years
of Web experience, hours spent daily on the Internet, monthly play of video games, and

the number of experiences on an interactive virtual reality system.

Manipulation Check for the Agent’s Role

To see if the subjects perceived the role of the agent (sales agent vs. customer)
correctly, the following questions were asked: Did you see a person (animated human
character) in the Tees & Toes Web site? (Response: Yes vs. No) If your answer is “yes,”

who is the person (animated human character)? (Response: Customer vs. Sales agent)

42

CHAPTER 5

RESULTS

Sample Size and Composition

A total of 207 usable questionnaires were collected for data analysis. The final
sample consisted of 123 women (59.5%) and 84 men (40.6%). The average age of the
entire sample was 20.3 years and 77.2% of the subjects were white American. More than
half of them (55.6%) used the Internet for an hour or less in a typical day, and 52.7% of
the subjects had begin using the World Wide Web more than 4 years ago. 53.1% of the
subjects played video game less than once in a typical month. There were 92 people
(44.4%) who had never used an interactive virtual reality system, and 22.7% of the
subjects who answered had used such a system only once. See appendix 5 for more
details.

For the media content variable, 69 subjects (33.3%) each were assigned to the
Web advertisement without agent, the Web advertisement with a sales agent, and the
Web advertisement with a consumer agent. For the screen size, 46.9% of the subjects

were assigned to a large screen condition, and 53.1% to a small monitor condition.

Factor Structure and Scale Reliability

For the items designed to measure each construct to be meaningful, the items
should represent alternative measures of the same underlying factor (Hunter & Gerbing,
1982). Therefore, all scales used in the research, including the dependent measures and
the intermediary variables, were tested and optimized for face validity, internal

consistency, and parallelism using confirmatory factory analysis and tested for reliability

43

using coefficient alpha. The determination of face validity was made on the basis of
existing theory and logical judgment and internal consistency. Parallelism tests were
conducted by comparing the obtained value with the predicted value of the correlation
coefficients of each item. The items with relatively large error sizes (obtained value
subtracted by predicted value) were dropped from each scale. Finally, the items that
passed internal consistency and parallelism tests were combined and the average score of
each variable was used as a single composite measure. Summated scales were created to
provide a means of overcoming to some extent the measurement error inherent in all
measured variables that ranges from actual errors (e.g., data entry errors) to the inability
of individuals to accurately provide information. Using the “average” response to a set of
related variables will reduce the measurement error that might occur in a single question
(Hair et al., 1998).

A confirmatory factory analysis performed on nineteen items designed to measure
the subjects’ attitude toward the ad (Aad), attitude toward the brand (Ab), intention to
purchase the brand (PI), and intention to revisit the Web Site (VI) revealed that the data
were consistent with the posited four-factor model. The items with large error Sizes were
deleted from each of the four scales. The items retained for inclusion in the analysis are
identified in table 2 and in appendix 4.

Lombard’s 31 item presence measures (1999) underwent two procedures. First,
principal component analysis with VARIMAX rotation was conducted to extract social
presence (SP) and telepresence (TP) components. The presence scales were found to be
composed of seven factors (see the appendix 4). Based on the literature (e.g., Reeves,

1991; Steuer, 1992; Biocca, 1997; Short et al., 1976), the first and the second factor were

44

defined to be telepresence and social presence measures. Those two factOrs explained
41% of the total variance. Second, a confirmatory factor analysis was conducted using
the nineteen items indicating social presence and telepresence to test internal consistency
and parallelism. The results of the analysis revealed that the data were consistent with
the posited two-factor model. Two items from the social presence measure and one item
from the telepresence measure were deleted due to large error sizes. The items retained
for inclusion in the analysis are identified in table 2 and in appendix 4.

Finally, a confirmatory factory analysis performed on the fifteen items designed
to measure subjects’ perceived credibility of the agent (attractiveness, trustworthiness,
and expertise) revealed that the data were consistent with the posited three-factor model.
The items with large error sizes between obtained correlations and predicted correlations
were deleted from each of the three scales. Also, the items mitigating the scale reliability
were dropped from the scales. The items retained for inclusion in the analysis are
identified in table 2 and in appendix 4. Summated scales were calculated as a composite
measure for each variable, and scale reliability was assessed by coefficient alpha using
the retained items. Table 1 displays descriptive statistics and Table 2 shows the result of
the validity and the reliability check after optimization of the scales. The coefficient

alpha for variables ranged from .73 to .97, and most scales stayed above the .90 level.

45

Table 1. Descriptive Statistics for Scales Used in the Experiment

 

Variables

M SQ Number of items included in the Coefficient alpha
final analysis

 

 

 

Social presence 4.60 1. 14 6 .86
Telepresence 3.43 1 .43 10 .95
Aad 5.07 1.24 6 .95
Ab 4.59 1.29 4 .95
PI 3.28 1.75 2 .97
VI 4.13 1.91 3 .96
Attractiveness 3.58 l . 13 3 .73
Trustworthiness 4.59 l .47 4 .90
Expertise 4.58 1 .49 3 .94
Table 2. Summary of Measures used for Data Analysis

Variables Selected Items

 

Social presence
(SP)

Telepresence
(TP)

Cold/W arm
Unsociable/Sociable
Impersonal/Personal
Unfriendly/Friendly
Unemotional/Emotional
Unresponsive/Responsive

To what extent ddi you feel like you were inside Tees & Toes Web
site you saw/heard?

To what extent did you feel surrounded by the environment you
saw/heard in Tees & Toes Web site?

To what extent did you feel immersed in Tees & Toes Web site you
saw/heard?

To what extent did you experience a sense of being “really there”
inside Tees & Toes Web site you saw/heard?

 

46

 

Aad

Ab

PI

VI

Attractiveness

Trustworthiness

Expertise

How often did Tees & Toes Web Site you saw/heard seem more like
‘somewhere that you visited’ rather than ‘Something that you
saw/heard?

How often did you feel “My body was in this room, but my mind was
inside Tees & Toes Web site I saw/heard”?

How often did it feel as if you visited another place?

How often did you feel you were inside Tees & Toes Web Site you
saw/heard?

How much did it feel as if you were inside Tees & Toes Web site you
saw/heard observing the products?

How addictive was the experience?

Bad/Good

Dislike/Like
Unfavorable/Favorable
Unenjoyable/ Enjoyable
Unpleasant/Pleasant
Awful/N ice

Negative/Positive
Unsatisfactory/Satisfactory
Bad/Good
Dislikable/Likable

Unlikely/Likely
Improbable/Probable

Unlikely/Likely
Improbable/Probable
Impossible/Possible

Unattractive/Attractive
Ugly/Handsome
Not sexy/Sexy

Dishonest/Honest
Unreliable/Reliable
Insincere/Sincere
Untrustworthy/Trustworthy

Not an expert/Expert
Inexperienced/Experienced
Unknowledgeable/Knowledgeable

 

47

The Effects of Anthropomorphic Agents on Attitude toward the Ad

To test the mean difference in Aad across treatment conditions, univariate
analysis of variance was conducted as shown in Tables 3, 4, and 5. Before running the
analysis, the assumption of homogeneity of variance were checked using Levene’s test of
equality of error variances for all dependent measures. The results of tests indicated
insignificant F-values, which means that the error variances of dependent variables are
equal across conditions.

Overall, there was a significant main effect of the media content (without an
agent, sales agent vs. consumer agent) but screen size was not an influencing factor for
Aad. There was no Significant interaction effect between screen sizes and media content
either. Hypothesis 1a posited that people who are exposed to the Web advertisement
with an agent would have more favorable attitudes toward the advertisement than those
exposed to the advertisements without an agent. To directly test the hypothesis, the mean
of the “without-an-agent” condition was compared to the mean of the “with-an-agent”
conditions (combined sales agent and consumer agent conditions) using the Helmert
contrast method. Helmert compares the mean of each level of the factor (except the last)
to the mean of subsequent levels. There was a significant mean difference on Aad
between “with-an-agent” and “without-an-agent” condition (difference= -.519, SE: .182,
Q: .005). However, there was no significant difference between sales agent and
consumer agent conditions (difference= -.342E-02, SE: .209, p: .869). Subjects’
attitudes toward the Web advertisement were more favorable with an agent Q4: 5.24,
which is an average of the sales agent and consumer agent conditions) than without an

agent (M: 4.73) (see table 5). Therefore, hypothesis la was supported. However,

48

hypothesis 9a, which stated that people who are exposed to a Web advertisement on a

large screen will have a more favorable attitude toward the Web advertisement than

people who are exposed to the same Web advertisement on a small monitor, was rejected

 

 

 

 

 

(see table 4).
Table 3. Descriptive Statistics on Attitude toward the Ad (Aad)
Variable _M Q g
Large Screen
Web ad without agent 4.60 1.30 31
Web ad with a sales agent 5.03 1.32 33
Web ad with a consumer agent 5.26 1.15 32
Small Monitor
Web ad without agent 4.83 1.38 37
Web ad with a sales agent 5.41 1.09 35
Web ad with a consumer agent 5.24 1.06 37
Total (Large screen + Small monitor): 5.07 1.24 205
Web ad without agent 4.7 3 1.34 68
Web ad with a sales agent 5.22 1.21 68
Web ad with a consumer agent 5.25 1.09 69
Table 4. Tests of Between-Subjects Effects on Aad
Source Type III _S_S d_f M_S F p
Screen size (S) 1.960 1.960 1.314 .253
Agent (A) 12.230 2 6.115 4.100 .018*
S x A 1.409 2 .705 .473 .624

 

49

Table 5. Contrast Results (K Matrix) on Advertising Effectiveness

 

Helmert Contrast Aad Ab PI VI

 

Without-an-agent vs. With-an-agent
(Sales agent + Consumer agent)

Difference (estimate-hypothesized) -.519 -. 148 .115 -.738

_S_E .182 .191 .262 .280

p .005* .440 .662 .009*
Sales agent vs. Consumer agent

Difference (estimate-hypothesized) -3.452E-02 -.259 -.192 6.909E-02

S_E .209 .221 .303 .324

Q .869 .244 .527 .831

 

The Effects of Anthropomorphic Agents on Attitude toward the Brand

A univariate analysis of variance resulted in an insignificant mean difference on
brand attitude as shown in Tables 5, 6, and 7. Neither screen size nor media content
showed significant main effect. There was no significant interaction between those
variables. A Helmert contrast test, conducted on “without-an-agent” and “with-an-agent”
conditions, also Showed insignificant mean differences (see table 5). Therefore, both

hypothesis lb and 9b are rejected.

 

 

Table 6. Descriptive Statistics on Brand Attitude (Ab)

Variable _M_ S_D g

Large Screen .

' Web ad without agent 4.33 1.34 32

Web ad with a sales agent 4.37 1.35 33
Web ad with a consumer agent 4.63 1.20 32

Small Monitor
Web ad without agent 4.65 1.31 37
Web ad with a sales agent 4.64 1.24 35
Web ad with a consumer agent 4.90 1.30 37

Total (Large screen + Small monitor): 4.59 1.29 206
Web ad without agent 4.50 1.32 69
Web ad with a sales agent 4.5] 1.29 68
Web ad with a consumer agent 4.77 1.25 69

 

50

Table 7. Tests of Between-Subjects Effects on Ab

 

 

Source Type III _S_S gf MS 1:: p
Screen Size (S) 4.196 1 4.196 2.510 .115
Agent (A) 3.295 2 1.647 .985 .375
S x A 3.093E-02 2 1.546E-02 .009 .991

 

The Effects of Anthropomorphic Agents on Purchase Intention

A univariate analysis of variance performed on the data produced an insignificant

mean difference on brand attitude as Shown in Tables 5,8, and 9. Neither screen size nor

media content showed significant main effects. The interaction effect between those

variables was not significant. A Helmert contrast test also indicated that purchase

intentions between “without-an-agent” and “with-an-agent” conditions were not

significantly different (see table 5). Therefore, hypotheses 1c and 9c were rejected.

 

 

Table 8. Descriptive Statistics on Purchase Intention (PI)
Variable M _S_Q n
Large Screen
Web ad without agent 3.20 1.86 32
Web ad with a sales agent 2.94 1.49 33
Web ad with a consumer agent 3.33 1.58 32
Small Monitor
Web ad without agent 3.50 1.69 37
Web ad with a sales agent 3.34 1.99 35
Web ad with a consumer agent 3.34 1.90 37
Total (Large screen + Small monitor): 3.28 1.75 206
Web ad without agent 3.36 1.77 69
Web ad with a sales agent 3.15 1.77 68
Web ad with a consumer agent 3.33 1.75 69

 

51

Table 9. Tests of Between-Subjects Effects on P1

 

 

Source Type 111$ df MS E 9
Screen size (S) 2.874 1 2.874 .919 .339
Agent (A) 1.851 2 .925 .296 .744
S x A 1.419 2 .709 .227 .797

 

The Effects of Anthropomorphic Agents on Intention to Revisit the Web site

A univariate analysis of variance on intention to revisit the Web Site (V I) found a
significant effect of media content (without-an-agent, sales agent vs. consumer agent).
Using the Helmert contrast test, there was a significant mean difference on V1 between
“without-an-agent” and “with-an-agent” conditions (difference= -.73 8, SE= .280, p=
.009) (see table 5). However, VI was not Significantly different between the sales agent
and consumer agent conditions. Subjects’ intentions to revisit the Web site were higher
with an agent (M= 4.37, which is an average of the sales agent and consruner agent
conditions) than without an agent (M= 3.65) (see table 10). Therefore, hypothesis 1e,
which stated that people who are exposed to the Web advertisement with an agent will
have a higher intention to revisit the Web Site than people who are exposed to the
advertisement without an agent, was supported.

The main effect of screen Size was not Significant on V1 without any significant
interaction effect with the media content as shown in Table 11. Therefore, hypothesis 9d,
which stated that people who are exposed to a Web advertisement on a large screen will
have a higher intention to revisit the Web site than people who are exposed to the same

advertisement on a small monitor, was rejected.

52

Table 10. Descriptive Statistics on Intention to Revisit the Web site (VI)

 

 

 

 

 

Variable M SS 3
Large Screen
Web ad without agent 3.62 1.87 32
Web ad with a sales agent 4.47 1.79 33
Web ad with a consumer agent 4.63 1.76 32
Small Monitor
Web ad without agent 3.67 1.90 37
Web ad with a sales agent 4.36 2.09 35
Web ad with a consumer agent 4.06 1.89 37
Total (Large screen + Small monitor): 4.13 1.91 206
Web ad without agent 3.65 1.88 69
Web ad with a sales agent 4.42 1.94 68
Web ad with a consumer agent 4.33 1.84 69
Table 11. Tests of Between-Subjects Effects on V1
Source Type 111 SS _d_f MS E 9
Screen size (S) 2.361 1 2.361 .659 .418
Agent (A) 25.027 2 12.514 3.494 .032*
S x A 3.499 2 1.749 .488 .614

 

The Effects of Anthropomorphic Agents on Telepresence

Hypothesis 2 posited that a Web advertisement with an agent would generate

higher telepresence than an advertisement without an agent. An initial univariate analysis

of variance performed on these data produced statistically insignificant main effects of

screen size, media content, and interaction effect (Table 13). However, the effect of

media content was only Slightly short of the significance level (2: .051). As a result of

further analysis using Helmert contrast, there was a significant mean difference

53

(difference= -.513, g: .209, p: .015) between “without-an-agent” Q4: 3.10) and “with-
an-agent” conditions M: 3.59, which iS an average of the sales agent and consumer
agent conditions) (see tables 12 and 14). Therefore, hypothesis 2 was supported but
hypothesis 7 (‘on the main effect of screen size) was rejected.

Table 12. Descriptive Statistics on Telepresence

 

 

 

 

 

Variable M S12 9
Large Screen
Web ad without agent 2.78 1.18 32
Web ad with a sales agent 3.46 1.57 33
Web ad with a consumer agent 3.72 1.35 31
Small Monitor
Web ad without agent 3.38 1.42 37
Web ad with a sales agent 3.71 1.34 36
Web ad with a consumer agent 3.49 1.54 . 37
Total (Large screen + Small monitor): 3.43 1.43 206
Web ad without agent 3.10 1.34 69
Web ad with a sales agent 3.59 1.45 69
Web ad with a consumer agent 3.59 1.45 68
Table 13. Tests of Between-Subjects Effects on Telepresence
Source Type III S_S gf M_S E 9
Screen size (S) 2.210 1 2.210 1.107 .294
Agent (A) 12.049 2 6.024 3.017 .051
S x A 6.031 2 3.015 1.510 .223

 

54

Table 14. Contrast Results (K Matrix) on Presence

“1"“?

 

Helmert Contrast Telepresence

Social Presence

 

Without-an-agent vs. With-an-agent
(Sales agent + Consumer agent)

Difference (estimate-hypothesized) -.5 l 3 -.639

SE .209 .166

p .015* 000*
Sales agent vs. Consumer agent

Difference (estimate-hypothesized) -2.293 E-02 -.110

S_E .242 .190

p .925 .564

 

The Effects of Anthropomorphic Agents on Social Presence

Hypothesis 3 posited that a Web advertisement with an agent will generate

higher social presence than an advertisement without an agent. A univariate analysis of

variance performed on these data produced statistically Significant main effects of media

content (without agent, with a sales agent vs. with a consumer agent) (see table 16). The

Helmert contrast test indicated a consistent result (difference= -.639, SE: .166, p= .000)

between “without-an-agent” and “with-an-agent” conditions (see table 14). Social

presence in the Web advertisement was significantly higher with agent ®= 4.80, which

is an average of the sales agent and consumer agent conditions) than without agent (M=

4.18) (see table 14 and 15). Therefore, hypothesis 3 was supported.

The effect of screen size, however, and its interaction effect with media content

were not significant (see Table 16). Therefore, hypothesis 8 was rejected.

55

Table 15. Descriptive Statistics on Social Presence

 

 

 

 

 

Variable M S_D 9
Large Screen
Web ad without agent 4.01 1.03 30
Web ad with a sales agent 4.65 1.24 33
Web ad with a consumer agent 4.99 1.08 32
Small Monitor
Web ad without agent 4.32 1.14 36
Web ad with a sales agent 4.86 1.08 34
Web ad with a consumer agent 4.73 1.03 37
Total (Large screen + Small monitor): 4.60 1.14 202
Web ad without agent 4.18 1.10 66
Web ad with a sales agent 4.75 1.16 67
Web ad with a consumer agent 4.85 1.05 69
Table 16. Tests of Between-Subjects Effects on Social Presence
Source Type 111$ gr m E 9
Screen Size (S) .404 l .404 .331 .566
Agent (A) 18.497 2 9.249 7.569 .001 *
S x A 3.106 2 1.553 1.271 .283

 

The Effects of the Agent’s Role on Source Credibility

Hypotheses 6a and 6b predicted that subjects will evaluate the role of the sales
agent and consumer agent differently in terms of attractiveness, trustworthiness, and
expertise (H6a), resulting in differences on Aad, Ab, PI, and VI between the Web
advertisement with a sales agent and that with a consumer agent (H6b).

Before analyzing the data, the questionnaires were examined to determine if the

subjects answered correctly the question regarding the role of the agent in a given

56

treatment condition. Out of 69 subjects in the sales agent treatment, 55 (79.7%) correctly
identified the role of the agent as a salesperson. In the consumer agent treatment, only 45
subjects (65.2%) correctly identified the role of the agent as a customer. The consumer
agent treatment Shows a lower valid response rate to the question probably because the
script of the agent in both conditions was very similar and because the consumer agent
was introduced as a customer only once at the beginning of the Web viewing. Therefore,
even if the agent was identified as a customer, subjects still could have assumed that the
agent was a salesperson.

To test hypotheses 6a and 6b, the t-test analysis (Table 17) included the data only
from the subjects who identified the agent’s role correctly. Subjects who misidentified
the agent were not included. The result was that no statistically significant mean
difference was found either in source credibility or in advertising effectiveness due to the
role of the agent (customer vs. salesperson) (see table 18). Therefore, hypotheses 6a and

6b were rejected.

57

Table 17. '

 

 

 

Descriptive Statistics on the Agent’s Role (Sales agent vs. Consumer
agent)
Variable Web advertisement Web advertisement
with a Sales agent with a Consumer agent
M an M. s2
Credibility:
Attractiveness 3.47 1 . l 7 3.72 1.08
Trustworthiness 4.49 1.55 4.70 1 .38
Expertise 4.58 1.59 4.57 1.38
Ad effectiveness:
Aad 5.30 1.24 5.10 1.12
Ab 4.53 1.38 4.59 1.27
PI 3.26 1.78 3.22 1.71
VI 4.48 2.03 4.27 1.89
3 55 45

 

Table. 18. T-test of Equality of Means between Sales agent and Consumer agent

 

 

Measures t g p (2-tai1ed) Mean
Difference

Attractiveness -1 . 163 98 .247 -.2455

Trustworthiness -1.021 97 .310 -.2733
Expertise .038 98 .970 1.145E-02

Aad 1.130 125 .261 .2375
Ab .412 125 .681 9.812E-02

P1 .445 125 .657 .1435

V1 .493 125 .623 .1709

 

58

Effects of Demographic Variables and Media Consumption Patterns

To test if any demographic variables had any effects on the outcome variables, a
multivariate analysis was conducted, as shown in Table 19. The analysis Shows that
subjects’ demographic characteristics and their media usage patterns had no significant
effect on advertising effectiveness measures. This result confirms that the mean
difference in effectiveness between the Web advertisements with an agent and without
agent was caused by the effects of presence, not by the effects of the subjects’ individual
characteristics assigned in each treatment condition. However, it is interesting to look at

the effect of gender on Aad, which is only a little short of significance level (p= .079).

59

 

 

Table 19. Test of Between-Subjects Effects by Demographic Variables
Source & Type 111$ df Mean Square E p
Dependent

variables

Age:

Aad .454 1 .454 .31 l .578
Ab 4.039E-02 1 4.039E-02 .024 .876
P1 .749 1 .749 .237 .627
VI 2.378E-02 l 2.378E-02 .007 .935
Gender:

Aad 4.559 1 4.559 3.122 .079
Ab 3.080 1 3.080 1.854 .175
P1 1.603 1 1.603 .506 .478
VI 1.993 1 1.993 .557 .456
Race:

Aad 3.346 1 3.346 2.292 .132
Ab .952 1 .952 .573 .450
P1 .166 1 .166 .052 .819
VI .804 1 .804 .225 .636
Years of Web

Experience:

Aad .234 1 .234 .160 .689
Ab .264 l .264 .159 .691
P1 7.146E-02 1 7.146-02 .023 .881
VI 6.883 1 6.883 1.922 .167
Hours on the

Internet:

Aad .699 1 .699 .479 .490
Ab 4.108 1 4.108 2.472 .1 17
PI 2.134 1 2.134 .674 .413
VI 5.882 1 5.882 1.643 .201
Use of Video

Games:

Aad 1.859 1 1.859 1.274 .260
Ab .742 1 .742 .447 .505
P1 .535 1 .535 .169 .682
VI 2.739 1 2.739 .765 .383
Experience

with VR:

Aad 1.945 1 1.945 1.332 .250
Ab 1.196 1 1.196 .720 .397
P1 5.919 1 5.919 1.869 .173
VI 4.049E-O3 1 4.049E-03 .001 .973

 

60

Test of the Hypothetical Model and Structural Relations

It was found (H2, H3) that the presence of an agent can generate: (1) higher social
presence and. telepresence and (2) a more favorable Aad and VI (Hla, Hle). To
investigate the patterns of relationships between constructs underlying the effects of an
anthropomorphic agent and the effects of presence, a structural equation model was
tested based on theory and inspection of the data. The proposed model suggested that
telepresence (H4) and social presence (H5) will mediate the effect that an agent has on
Aad, and that this effect will be shown in P1 (Hld), and VI (Hlf) by way of Ab. The
screen size was dropped from the original model in Figure 2 because it was found that
screen size has no effect on presence and advertising effectiveness. Therefore, the
hypothetical model was changed as in Figure 4 to examine the structural relationship

between the variables.

Figure 4. Hypothetical Model Tested

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Social presenCe / PI
Media

Content \ Aad Ab
Telepresence ’4 VI

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Web site without agent vs.
with an agent

61

To explore the nature of the process, shown in Figure 4, the correlation matrix
among seven variables was used as input data, as shown in Table 20. Formal path

analysis was Conducted using these seven variables.

Table 20. Correlations between the exogenous and endogenous variables.
The lower triangle includes the uncorrected correlations. The top triangle
includes the correlations corrected for attenuation due to measurement

 

 

error.

Mcont SP TP Aad Ab PI VI
Mcont 1.00 .28 .16 .19 .05 -.03 .18
SP .26” 1.00 .66 .78 .64 .52 .62
TP .16* .59" 1.00 .59 .52 .54 .54
Aad .19" .70** .55" 1.00 .73 .56 .65
Ab .05 .58" .49’Ml .69“ 1.00 .59 .58
PI -.03 .47” .52""'I .54” .56" 1.00 .69
VI .18” .56" .51” .62" .55” .66M 1.00

 

*9 < .05. “'2 < .01.

Mcont: the Media Content; Web advertisement without agent (0) vs. with an
agent (1)

SP: Social presence

TP: Telepresence

Aad: Attitude toward the advertisement

Ab: Attitude toward the brand

PI: Intention to purchase the brand

VI: Intention to revisit the Web site

62

The media content of the Web site was entered as an exogenous variable with
dichotomous values (“0” for the advertisement without an agent vs. “1” for the
advertisement with an agent). Social presence and telepresence were entered as first-rank
endogenous Variables. Finally, four sets of advertising effectiveness measures were
entered as dependent variables in the order of Aad, Ab, PI, and VI. Thus, the path model
was tested as in Figure 4. However, it was found that the fit of the model was not
consistent with the data. The overall chi-square goodness of fit test yielded a statistically
Significant chi-square value (chi-square = 132.66, df = 14, p = .000), which indicates that
the error generated by the model was substantial.

Through an individual link analysis, some of the missing links were added so that
the modified model would be consistent with the data, as shown in Figure 5. The overall
chi-square goodness of fit test yielded a non-significant chi-square value for the modified
model (chi-square = 7.33, df = 9, p = .602), which suggested the fit of the model to the
data. Additionally, individual link analysis showed that none of the errors due to the
missing links was statistically significant. These results indicate that the error generated

by the modified model was not substantial.

63

Figure 5. Modified Path Model

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Social presence .69
.18 ‘
Aad
Media .63
Content . 1 3 .20
. 1 6
Telepresence
.1 8

 

Web site without agent vs.
with an agent

The analysis for the model as a whole:

The overall chisquare = 7.33
the degree of freedom = 9
p= .602

From the above it is concluded that the presence of an agent on the Web site with
a dual modality (audio-visual) and nonverbal behaviors was the major source that created
the perception of social presence and telepresence to influence advertising effectiveness.
The modified model presented in Figure 5 shows a strong relationship between social
presence and telepresence (r= .63). Further, a very strong and positive causal link was
found between social presence and Aad (r= .69). There was a somewhat weaker direct
link between telepresence and Aad (r= .13). Another path between telepresence and Aad

was mediated by social presence to have an indirect effect on Aad. In sum, it appears as

64

61

.39

v1,

 

 

Ab

 

 

 

.18

.29

.52

P1

 

if both telepresence and social presence were mediating the effects of an agent to Aad.
Therefore, hypotheses 4 and 5 were supported.

The relationship between social presence and VI was moderately strong (r= .20).
A similar pattern was also found between telepresence and VI (F .18). However, as in
the theory, no direct link was found between presence and Ab or between presence and
PI; Aad was the major variable that directly mediates the effects antecedents (e.g.,
telepresence and social presence) to Ab (r= .61) and to V1 (r= .39). Therefore, the path
between Aad, Ab, and P1 was consistent with the advertising literature; the effect of Aad
was delivered to P1 by way of Ab. Therefore, hypothesis 1d was supported.

The role of VI in the model appeared much more interesting. Rather than being
affected by Ab, VI was directly related with Aad. Not only was VI influenced by Aad,
but it was directly linked with telepresence and social presence. Thus, VI mediated the
effect of presence on Ab and PI. Therefore, hypothesis 1f was rejected.

From this result a revised theory can be proposed for the role of VI and P1 in the
model. P1 was directly influenced by both Ab (r= .29) and VI (r= .52), but the effect of
VI on P1 was much higher. Therefore, VI can be said to be another important variable
that mediates the effect of social presence, telepresence, and Aad on Ab (r= .18) and P1
(r= .52). Overall, it can be said that both social presence and telepresence were important
variables that influence advertising effectiveness. However, social presence, had a more

direct impact on Aad than telepresence.

65

CHAPTER 6

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS

Anthropomorphic Agents as a Source of Presence

The purpose of this research was to investigate the effects of presence on
advertising effectiveness by employing an anthropomorphic agent in Web
advertisements. Social presence and telepresence were found to be major components,
explaining 40.95% of the total variance (23.85% for telepresence and 17.09% for social
presence) in the presence measures (see appendix 4). There has been relatively little
research conducted to investigate the causes and effects of presence (Lombard & Ditton,
1997). This research showed that an anthropomorphic agent in Web advertising can
contribute to a sense of social presence and telepresence in viewers. Steuer (1992)
argued that presence is based in large part on a medium’s Vividness, which includes
sensory breadth and sensory depth. In this regard, communication modality (e.g., audio-
visual, audio, print) is the major influence on the Vividness of a message or
communication interface. Further, the presence level will be affected by this
communication modality. Consequently, in this research, the voice of the
anthropomorphic agent may have caused the subjects’ experiences in the Web site to be
more vivid and may have contributed to the increase in social presence and telepresence
when compared to the Web advertisement that presented messages in the text without an
agent and without a voice. Another important factor was the presence of a virtual agent.
The level of interactivity was controlled by providing exactly the same user options in the

product search stage (e.g., gender, size, colors for t-shirts and socks) in both the treatment

66

with and without agents. However, the existence of an agent may have caused an
additional sense of user interaction in the Web site, simulating face-to-face
communication (e. g., voice and gestures). This implies that the use of nonverbal cues can
be an important component for the development of presence.

Although Vividness and interactivity from the agent are thought to affect the
perceived level of telepresence and social presence, precisely how these factors combine
and interact is unclear. Thus, of potential importance to designers of virtual environment
systems is an understanding of the relative weighting of these variables. For example, it
would be useful to know if changes in Vividness have less of an impact on social presence
than interactivity or if Vividness of a virtual environment is more important for the
perception of telepresence than for that of social presence. With regard to interactivity,
more research is needed to determine which nonverbal cues are more important than
others and how to manipulate these variables to efficiently develop a sense of presence in

a mediated environment.

The Relationship between Social presence and Telepresence

It was found that the anthropomorphic agent contributed to an increase in the
perceived level of social presence and telepresence in the Web Site. In turn, both
telepresence and social presence played a vital role in generating more favorable attitudes
toward the advertisement in the Web site and stronger intention to revisit the Web Site. It
seems that an agent with a voice and some gestures can play a pivotal role as a focal point
to attract a viewer’s attention and can succeed in building a positive relationship between

the consumer and the advertisement and the products in the Web Site.

67

This research found a strong positive relationship between telepresence and social
presence (r= .63). This relationship indicates that the higher the sense of “being there” in
the Web site, the higher the degree of salience of the communication participant in the
mediated environment. However, this result should be carefully interpreted because the
causal relationship between telepresence and social presence is disputable.

Previous literature tried to define different dimensions of presence but did not
Specify the relationship between those dimensions. In fact, this research showed
telepresence and social presence as distinctively different dimensions of presence
measures, but they strongly related with each other to influence consumers’ responses to
the Web advertisement. This result is consistent with the recent findings by Thie and
Wijk (1998), who reported that there is a significant correlation (.458) between social
virtual presence and virtual presence. However, correlation does not indicate the
direction in the relationship. Then, which one comes first, social presence or
telepresence?

There are many variables that influence presence: ease of interaction, user-
initiated control over their actions, pictorial realism, length of exposure, social factors
such as social presence, system factors such as sensory modality and field of view
(Weghorst & Bellinghurst, 1993; Witrner & Singer, 1994; Welch et al., 1996; Heeter,
1992; Steuer, 1992; Prothero & Hoffman, 1995). Social presesence may be one of the
many elements that influence the sense of being there but may not be a sufficient factor to
generate telepresence. According to Loomis (1992), people’s perception of a space is
more fundamental for human cognition than the perception of a specific object in that

space. Therefore, it is expected that the telepresence generated by the Vividness and

68

interactivity of an environment will precede the social presence caused by the agent’s
nonverbal cues abiding in the virtual environment. Therefore, it was concluded that

telepresence comes earlier than social presence.

The Relationship between Presence and Advertising Effectiveness

A more important finding is that there is a positive relationship between presence
and advertising effectiveness. Specifically, both social presence and telepresence had
direct positive relationships with attitudes toward the advertisement and intentions to
revisit the Web site. The relationship between social presence and attitude toward the
advertisement implies that as consumers perceive their experience in the Web site to be
more personal, sociable, warm, responsive, fiiendly, or emotional, they are more likely to
build a favorable attitude toward the advertisement in the Web site. How, then, can this
perceived experience in the mediated environment shape people’s attitude toward the
advertisement?

Previous advertising research (e.g., Batra & Ray,l986; Holbrook & Batra, 1987;
Leigh, Rethans, & Whitney, 1987; MacInnis & Park, 1991; Miniard, Bhatla, & Rose,
1990; Muehling, Stoltrnan, & Mishra, 1989) has deterrninded that the attitude toward the
advertisement will be influenced by the individual affective, emotional, and non-ad-
related responses evoked at the time of ad exposure. Burke and Edell (1989) found that
ad-induced feelings (e.g., upbeat feelings and negative feelings) had a significant direct
effect on Aad. Stayman and Aaker (1988) also found feelings (e.g., informed, warm,
irritated, amused, and bored) directly influenced Aad. Therefore, social presence, that is

consumers’ perception of their Web experience to be personal, warm, sociable, friendly,

69

can be regarded as a parallel to ad-induced feelings, and these feelings may have evoked
affective responses to influence Aad.

In addition to the effect of affective components on Aad, other researchers (e.g.,
Chattopadhyay & Basu, 1990; Hastak & Olson, 1989; Homer, 1990; Muehling &
Laczniak, 1992; Muehling, Laczniak, & Stoltman, 1991; Rethans, Swasy, & Marks,
1986) have established that cognitive responses toward particular aspects of an
advertisement may directly influence Aad. According to the availability-valence
hypothesis, consumers’ attitudes depend on the favorableness of the information that is
available in memory. Vivid information will increase the number of associative
pathways in memory. This effect is termed cognitive elaboration (Nisbett & Ross, 1980).
To the extent that advertising messages are rich in modality, messages using this device
are likely to enhance cognitive elaboration. That in turn will influence consumers’
attitudes toward the advertisement. In this regard, the telepresence, instigated by multi-
modal presentation of messages from the agent, may have enhanced cognitive elaboration
of information so that it is more accessible from memory in the Web advertisement with
an agent condition. This means that as consumers feel that they are really transported
into the mediated environment rather than remaining in their own physical environment,
the information in the Web site will be more easily accessible from the consumers’
memory. Therefore, telepresence seems more likely to influence cognitive responses to
influence Aad.

This research found that the Web advertisement with an agent (3-dimensional
animation + audio) could create more favorable attitudes toward the advertisement and

greater intention to revisit the Web Site than the Web advertisement without an agent (3-

70

dimensional static pictures + text). This is consistent with previous studies dealing with
communication modality (e.g., Chaiken & Eagly, 1983; Andreoli & Worchel, 1978). The
audio-visual presentation induced more favorable attitudes toward the Web site than the
textual version when the message was presented by a likable source. It is likely that the
audio-visual presentation of messages by an anthropomorphic agent, by way of
telepresence, enhanced cognitive elaboration of information about the Web advertisement
compared to the messages that were primarily presented in a text format. The agent’s
favorable nonverbal cues (e.g., voice, gestures) may have influenced the valence of
relevant information, probably and mostly by way of social presence, to enhance the
persuasiveness of the advertising messages. Therefore, the availability-valence
hypothesis seems to be a useful tool to explain how the increased sense of presence leads

to a more favorable consumer judgment of the Web advertisement.

The Relationship among Advertising Effectiveness Measures

Regarding behavioral intentions in the Web site, it was found that as consumers
feel a higher degree of social presence and/or telepresence, they feel the experience in the
Web site to be more compelling and are more likely to revisit the Web site. Attitude
toward the advertisement (Aad) was a summary construct that can influence consumers’
brand attitude (Ab) and intention to purchase a product (PI) as the indirect effects model
(e.g., affect transfer, dual mediation model) has predicted. Ab mediated the impact of
Aad on purchase intentions, and there was no direct relationship between Aad and PI.
However, the same model was not applicable in the case of the intention to revisit the

Web site (V1). VI was directly influenced by Aad rather than mediated by Ab or PI. VI

71

was highly related with Aad (r= .39), and it positively delivered its effect to Ab and PI.
Therefore, the mediating role of VI in addition to Aad seems important to develop a more
favorable Ab and Stronger purchase intention on the Web Site. This means that when
consumers feel good and intend to revisit the Web Site, consumers may have more
favorable attitudes toward the brand and greater intention to purchase.

Web advertisements with an agent did not show significantly higher Ab (tables 5,
6, and 7) or P1 (tables 5, 8, and 9) than the Web advertisements without an agent.
Regarding consumers’ intention to purchase on the Web site, one possible explanation
could be that consumers have yet to shop online in large numbers, or even to provide
information to Web providers in exchange for access to information offered onsite
because of the fundamental lack of faith between most businesses and consumers on the
Web (Hoffman, Novak, & Peralta, 1998). For example, consumers may fear transmitting
their credit card information to any commercial Web provider, or they may be concerned
that Web providers are selling their personal information to third parties without their
knowledge or permission. These concerns about online purchasing could confound the

result of insignificant mean differences in purchase intentions.

Role of Agent and Source Credibility

The role of the sales agent and the consumer agent did not result in a significant
mean difference in terms of attractiveness, trustworthiness, expertise, and other
advertising effectiveness measures. There could be two reasons. One could be that the
roles of salesperson and consumer were not clearly customized in the audio scripts. The

effects of the agent’s role could not be detected because the manipulation of the scripts

72

was not strong enough to obtain a measurable effect. The other possibility is that the role
of the agent in the experiment did not influence the consumers’ perception of their
credibility because the research employed exactly the same voice and facial appearance
in both agents. However, when creating an agent, the possible variations in
characteristics (e. g., attractiveness, facial expressions and its expressiveness, age, gender)
are unlimited. Where characters are used in Web interfaces, the casting and creation of
agent characters can obviously affect the success of a Web advertisement. Almost
always, there will be some characters that are better than no characters, and some
characters that are worse (Reeves & Nass, 1996). More research is suggested to delve
into the relationship among different characteristics of agents, consumers’ perception of

source credibility, and Web advertising effectiveness.

Screen Size, Visual Angle, and Presence

It was hypothesized that a large screen size will generate a higher level of
presence than a small monitor. However, screen size did not cause any significant effect
on presence. This was probably because only the screen size was considered for the
manipulation of the visual field. Even though the screen size will be a key variable
influencing the size of the visual image, the viewing distance simultaneously affects the
user’s visual field. In other words, the same screen size will look larger when people are
physically closer. A large image viewed from a great distance can occupy the same
proportion of the view’s visual field as a small image viewed at a short distance
(Lombard & Ditton, 1997). In this regard, visual angle is a more precise term that

describes and quantifies a user’s field of view. Visual angle (Tan 0/2 = (x/2)/d) is

73

calculated as a function of screen size measured on the diagonal (x) and screen distance
(d) (see Kim & Biocca, 1997; Whitaker, 1997). When the visual angle was calculated, a
large screen (x = 54inch, d= 50inch) and a small monitor (x = 17inch, d= 15inch)
commanded similar fields of view. The visual angle of the small monitor (59.08 degree)I
was even slightly wider than that of the large screen (56.74 degree)2. This indicates that
the manipulation of the screen Size was not successful, and that fact resulted in non-
significant differences of presence and advertising effectiveness between the treatment
conditions. Therefore, screen size and viewing distance should be considered

Simultaneously for the manipulation of the viewer’s visual field in future research.

Implications for Advertisers and Marketers

The World Wide Web has grown at a spectacular rate as a medium for promoting
and marketing products and services. At the same time, commercial Sites must compete
intensely for even a small share of consumer visits because consumer Web traffic is
fragmented across millions of Web sites (Meeker, 1997). Considering that the initial goal
of Web site advertising was to attract consumers to the advertiser’s Web site, the main
task of commercial. Web providers will be to figure out how to attract and retain
customers.

The research findings provide a clue for online marketers who are challenged to
attract and retain online consumers to their Web Sites. First, it was found that social
presence and telepresence are capable of positively influencing consumers’ attitudes and

their behavioral intentions. This result offers a potentially powerful insight for marketers

 

' Tan 9/2 = (17/2)/15, e = 59.08
3 Tan 9/2 = (54/2y50. e = 56.74

74

and advertisers. It implies that the Web site needs to be developed to help consumers feel
i a higher sense of presence while they explore the site. The research has shown that the
employment of anthropomorphic agents can increase both social presence and
telepresence. ”The concept of presence should be actively applied to increase traffic to a
Web site by creating a more intimate relationship with customers, and ultimately to draw
more favorable responses from consumers. Advertising practitioners should begin to
think about various types of structural variables (e.g., communication modality, Speed,
range, mapping) and cOntent variables (e.g., virtual agent’s gestures, voice, or facial
expressiveness) in promoting products on the Web site to make consumers’ experiences
more compelling and to make the message more persuasive. Creating a sense of presence
will be one of the important strategies in online marketing to attract consumers and to

establish more favorable relationships with visitors.

LIMITATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH

The research had several limitations. It was a single laboratory experiment, and
replications are needed so that advertisers can base their strategies on a solid foundation
of empirical evidence. Specifically, the research should be extended to replicate its
findings with consumers other than college students. Even though college students may
be one of the most active groups of Web surfers, more generalizable results will be
achieved by including subjects who have more diverse ages or ethnic backgrounds. To
see the effect of different demographic variables, equivalent numbers of subjects with

certain characteristics may be needed for each treatment condition.

75

In this research, none of the demographic and media usage variables showed any
significant effects on advertising effectiveness measures, probably because some
variables did not have an equivalently comparable number of subjects in a specified
category. For example, it is possible that the effect of gender on Aad (p= .079) may
become significant with increased sample size. The effect of race on Aad (p= .132) and
the effect of hours on the Internet on Ab (p= .117) can be also significant with more
equivalent distribution of categories in the sample.

Therefore, more research is needed to specify how media user characteristics
interact with media structure and content variables to influence presence. For example, it
is expected that people living in other-oriented collectivistic cultures, like Korea, will be
more sensitive to social presence than people in self-oriented individualistic cultures, like
America. Social presence may be more important than telepresence to those in
collectivistic cultures. If this is true, those consumers could feel a higher level of social
presence with an anthropomorphic agent and might build a more favorable relationship
with the Web site than would individualistic consumers.

The research used only t-Shirts as the product in the Web site to test hypotheses.
However, different product can have a different effect on advertising effectiveness. For
example, advertisements featuring novel rather than familiar products had more positive
Aad (Cox & Locander, 1987) and advertisements with high involvement products
produced more favorable Aad than low involvement ones (Thorson & Page, 1990).
Therefore, the research findings need to be verified using different product categories.

Another drawback is about measurement issues. This study was specifically

focused on the effect of social presence and telepresence. However, these two constructs

76

accounted for only 41% of the total variance of presence measures. More research is
needed to better define the various dimensions of presence and to identify their
relationships with advertising effectiveness.

As was shown in the results, the message to define the roles of sales agent and
consumer agent were not very well customized, resulting in the weak manipulation of the
roles. Because the experiment used an identical face and voice for both the sales agent
and consumer agent, the effects of agents with different personalities could not be
investigated. Moreover, the agent was deficient in facial expressions. Therefore, the
effect of various types of facial cues could not be studied. Finally, the effects of screen
size were not detected because the manipulation of the viewing angle was not
appropriate. That is, the field of view did not take account of the viewers’ distance from
the screen.

Future research needs to consider these issues so that the interactive role of
presence in different agents and viewing angles can be explained with a full model.
Certainly, more work needs to be done before we have a complete understanding of the

operation of presence in Web advertisements.

77

 

 

 

 

 

III

CONCLUSIONS

The research indicated that there is a positive relationship between presence and
advertising effectiveness. The research findings indicate that both telepresence and social
presence are ‘ important constructs for the persuasion of messages and for a more
compelling experience in the Web site. Interestingly, a sense of “being there” had a
strong positive relationship with a sense of “being with a communication participant.”
This relationship means that once a user feels transported into a mediated environment,
he or she may feel social presence more easily. In addition to the attitude toward the
advertisement, intention to revisit the Web site (VI) was found to play a primary role in
the persuasion process, influencing brand attitude and intention to purchase on the Web
site. These findings provide a new direction for marketers and advertisers who are
striving to attract and retain online consumers.

The answer was ‘Yes’ for the question of whether the anthropomorphic agent
makes the experience with the Web Site advertising better than the same experience
without an agent. However, this answer warrants a great deal of further research to
investigate the interrelationship among presence, different design characteristics of
agents, and advertising effectiveness. Despite its limitations, this research suggests that
the concept of presence is a useful tool for studying the effectiveness of Web advertising

content.

78

APPENDIX 1

Instruction and Questionnaire for Main Experiment

79

ID #:

 

Dear Participants,
Thank you very much to agreeing to complete this questionnaire.

You will see an advertising Web Site for t-shirts and socks.

I would like you to answer a few questions regarding the Web site and products in it.
You will be videotaped while you view the web site for research purposes and each
participant will get extra credit from the participation. Additional information will be
provided after whole experiment is completed.

You indicate your voluntary agreement to participate in this research by completing
and returning this questionnaire. It will take about 15 to 20 minutes to complete the
questionnaire and there is no penalty for choosing not to participate or discontinuing the
experiment. Please note that there is no reasonably foreseeable risks or discomforts for
you to give your opinions about the Web Site and the products in it. Individual
participation in this study is anonymous, therefore you do not have to identify yourself by
Signing the questionnaire. Data gathered from you will be treated with .strict confidence
and your privacy will be protected to the maximum extent allowable by law.

There are no right or wrong answers. Please respond as you feel in the Web site, simply
giving your first impressions. Your honest answers will be the most valuable input for
this research. Remember that even though you have never tried this product before, you
can base your answers on what you have been exposed and what you have felt in the Web
Site. Take your time and try to reflect carefully on each question so that you can give us
complete responses.

Thank you for your time. Your opinions count and will be used for research purposes
only.

Cordially,

Yung Kyun Choi

Contact:
Phone: 517-353-5937
Fax: 517-432-2589
Email: choiyung@pilot.msu.edu

 

For questions about participants’ right as human subjects of research:
Contact UCRIHS Chair (David E. Wright 355-2180).

80

START HERE

Below are sets of word pairs. For each pair, please place a ch eckmark next to the
word that best represents your answer.

Overall, how do you feel about the WEB SITE for Tees & Toes?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bad : : : : : : Good
Dislike : : : : : : Like
Unfavorable : : : : : : Favorable
Unenjoyable : : : : : : Enjoyable
Unpleasant : : : : : : Pleasant
Entertaining : : : : : : Not
entertaining
Interesting : : : : : : Uninteresting
Awful : : : : : : Nice

 

Overall, how do you feel about the Tees & Toes PRODUCTS?

 

 

 

 

Negative : : : : : : Positive
Unsatisfactory : : : : : : Satisfactory
Favorable : : : : : : Unfavorable
Bad : : : : : : Good
Dislikable : : : : : : Likable

 

How likely or unlikly is it that you WOULD PURCHASE the Tees & Toes products if
you need a t-shirt in the near future?

 

 

Unlikely : : : : : : Likely
Improbable : : : : : : Probable
Impossible : : : : : : Possible

 

How likely or unlikely it is that you WOULD REVISIT the Tees & Toes Web site
later?

 

 

Unlikely : : : : : : Likely
Improbable : : : : : : Probable
Impossible : : : : : : Possible

 

81

The following questions ask about your EXPERIENCE you just had, watching Tees
& Toes Web site. Please place a checkmark next to the word that best represents your

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

experience.
Impersonal Personal
.Unsociable Sociable
Insensitive Sensitive
Cold Warm
Lively Dead
Dull Vivid
Unresponsive Responsive
Formal Informal
Unfriendly Friendly
Unemotional Emotional
Inaccessible Accessible
Remote Immediate

 

 

 

 

 

 

For each of the pairs of words below, please circle the number that best represents the
deme of the experience you just had. In the first example, for instance, if the things
in the Web site did Not look at all like they would if you had experienced them
directly, circle “I ”. If things in the site did look Veg much like they would if you
had experienced them directly, circle “7”. If you felt something in between, circle
“2”, “3 ’9, “4”, “5”, or “6”.

Overall, how much did the things in Tees & Toes Web site you saw/heard LOOK LIKE
they would if you had experienced them directly?

Not at all 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Very much

Overall, how much did the things in Tees & Toes Web Site you saw/heard FEEL LIKE
they would if you had experienced them directly?

Not at all 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Very much
How often did you feel you were inside Tees & Toes Web site you saw/heard?
Never 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Always

How often did Tees & Toes Web site you saw/heard seem more like ‘somewhere that
you visited’ rather than ‘something that you saw/heard’?

Never 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Always

82

 

 

 

 

110 '
Toe

Ho
feel

Hov.
feel“.

 

To \
Wel

110*

Ho
Q

Ht

Ho.

How often did you feel "My body was in this room, but my mind was inside Tees &
Toes Web site I saw/heard"?

Never 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Always

How much of_ a sense of participation in Tees & Toes Web site you saw/heard did you
feel?

Not at all 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Very much

How much of a sense of involvement in Tees & Toes Web site you saw/heard did you
feel?

Not at all 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Very much

To what extent did you experience a sense of being ‘really there’ inside Tees & Toes
Web site you saw/heard?

Not at all 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Very much
How much did it feel as if you visited anothef place?
Not at all 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Very much

How much did it feel as if you were inside Tees & Toes Web site you saw/heard
observing the products?

Not at all 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Very much

Did Tees & Toes Web site you saw/heard seem more like a picture or more like a scene
looked at through a window?
Like a scene

Like a picture 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 looked at
through a
window
How involving was the experience, viewing Tees & Toes Web site?
Not at all 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Very much

How intense was the experience, viewing Tees & Toes Web site?

Not at all 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Very much

83

 

 

 

Her

To

To

 

 

Tor

Ho'

How addictive was the experience, viewing Tees & Toes Web site?

Not at all 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Very much
To what extent did you feel like you were inside Tees & Toes Web Site you saw/heard?

Not at all 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Very much
To what extent did you feel immersed in Tees & Toes Web site you saw/heard?

Not at all 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Very much

To what extent did you feel surrounded by the environment you saw/heard in Tees &
Toes Web Site?

Not at all 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Very much

How often did you want to touch something you saw/heard in Tees & Toes Web site?

 

Never 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Always
How often did you tgy to touch something you saw/heard in Tees & Toes Web site?

Never 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Always

84

These next questions are specifically about the person (animated human character) you
saw/heard in the Tees & Toes Web site.

How do you feel about the ANIMATED HUMAN CHARACTER that you have
seen/heard inthe Web Site?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unattractive Attractive
Not classy Classy
Ugly Handsome
Elegant Plain
Not Sexy Sexy
Dependable Undependable
Dishonest Honest
Unreliable Reliable
Insincere Sincere
Untrustworthy Trustworthy
Not an expert Expert
Inexperienced Experienced
Unknowledgeable Knowledgeable
Qualified Unqualified
Unskilled Skilled

 

THIS SECTION WAS INCLUDED ONLY FOR WEB ADVERTISEMENT WITH AN
AGENT CONDITION.

85

You 're almost done! These last questions are about you. Again, all of your responses will be
kept strictly confidential, so please answer as accurately and honestly as possible.

What is your age? _ __ Years
Please indicate your gender.
Male Female

What is your race?

White (non hispanic) Asian
Black (non hispanic) Pacific Islander
Hispanic Other

How long have you been using the World Wide Web?
less than 6 months

6-12 months

over 1- less than 2 years

2-3 years

over 3-less than 4 years

4—5 years

over 5 years

How many hours do you spend using the Internet (including World Wide Web) in a typical
day? (estimate as closely as possible)

_ 0 hours _ 3 hours

__ Less than 1 hour _ 4 hours

_ 1 hour _ More than 4 hours
_ 2 hours

How often do you use a video game system in a month (at home, work, school, or at an

arcade)?

__ Never _ 5-10 times a month

__ Less than once a month __ 11-20 times a month

__ 1-4 times a month _ More than 20 times a month

How many times have you used an interactive virtual reality system (e.g., Virtuosity)?

Never 5-7 times
1 time 8 or more times
2-4 times

Did you see a PERSON (animated human character) in Tees & Toes Web site?
Yes No

-> If your answer is “ Yes,” who is the person (animated human character)?
Customer Sales agent

Thank you very much for the participation.
We truly value and appreciate your time and efforts”

86

APPENDIX 2

Scripts for Stimulus Materials

87

1. Script for the Web advertisement with Salesman Agent (in audio)
Scene 1: Greeting

Welcome to Tees & Toes, your online source for top quality shirts and socks.

I’m Jeff, your sales agent. Glad you stopped by.

I’ll be around to help your navigation.

Please click on the continue button when you’ve made your choice.

All Tees & Toes products are made from fine Supima cotton for durability.

Tees & Toes products use fade-resistant dyes and colors are guaranteed not to run.
Learn all about Tees & Toes by navigating this site and feel free to contact Tees &
Toes if you have any questions. Thank you.

 

Scene 2: Product Search

Please pick a t-shirt.
(after user made a choice)
OK. Good choice.

I like your selection.

Now let’s move to socks.

Please pick your socks and click on me when you are done.
(after user made a choice)

Great selection.

Would you like to continue shopping?

YES-) bring the user to scene 2

NO -) bring the user to scene 3

Scene 3: Ending

Thank you for visiting Tees & Toes.

Don’t forget to add this Web site to your bookmarks.

Your purchase will arrive in a couple of days.
Contact Information

88

2. Script for the Web advertisement with Consumer Agent (in audio)
Scene 1: Greeting

Welcome to Tees & Toes, your online source for top quality shirts and socks.

I’m Jeff, a customer. Glad you stopped by.

I’ll be aror'md to help your navigation.

Please click on the continue button when you’ve made your choice.

All Tees & Toes products are made from fine Supima cotton for durability.

Tees & Toes products use fade-resistant dyes and colors are guaranteed not to run.
Learn all about Tees & Toes by navigating this site and feel free to contact Tees &
Toes if you have any questions. Thank you.

Scene 2: Product Search

Please pick a t-shirt, while I look for my own.
(after user made a choice)

OK. Good choice.

I like your selection.

Now let’s move to socks.

 

Please pick your socks and click on me when you are done.
(afler user made a choice)

Great selection.

Would you like to continue shopping?

YES-) bring the user to scene 2

NO -) bring the user to scene 3

Scene 3: Ending

Thank you for visiting Tees & Toes.

Don’t forget to add this Web site to your bookmarks.

Your purchase will arrive in a couple of days.
Contact Information

89

3. Script for the Web advertisement Without Agent (in text)
Scene 1: Greeting

Welcome to Tees & Toes, your online source for the hottest shirts and socks on the
market.

We’re glad you stopped by.

I’ll be around to help your navigation.

Please click on the continue button when you’ve made your choice.

All our products are made from fine Supima cotton for durability.

Tees & Toes use fade-resistant dyes and colors are guaranteed not to run.

All out products are shrink resistant too.

Learn all about Tees & Toes by navigating this site and feel free to contact Tees &
Toes if you have any questions. Thanks for stopping by.

Scene 2: Product Search

Please pick a t-shirt and click on the button when you are done.
(after user made a choice)

OK. Good choice.

I like your selection.

Now let’s move to socks.

Please pick your socks and click on the button when you are done.
(after user made a choice)

Great selection.

Do you want to pick another shirt and pair of socks?

YES-) bring the user to scene 2

NO 9 bring the user to scene 3

Scene 3: Ending

Thank you for visiting Tees & Toes.

Don’t forget to add this Web site to your bookmarks.

Enjoy and come back real soon.
Contact Information

90

APPENDIX 3

Pictures for Stimulus Materials

91

Web Advertisement with a Sales Agent

 

 

 

92

Web Advertisement with a Consumer Agent

 

 

~ , ' ' r - ' "
’ " «+11». sagas are
, - . .3,

 

 

 

 

 

 

93

Web Advertisement without an Agent

 

 

 

 

94

User Options for Product Search

 

 

95

APPENDIX 4

Scales Used for Data Analysis

96

MEASURE OF SOCIAL PRESENCE & TELEPRESENCE

Rotated Component Matrix

 

Component

 

l 2 3 4 5 6 7
TP15 L845
TP17 .805
TP16 .797
TP8 .786
TP4 .780
TP5 .767
TP9 .752
TP3 .716
TP10 .683
TP14 .540
TP13 .525
SP3 .816
SP4 .811
SP2 .750
SP1 .649
SP9 .642
SP6 .642
SP 10 .619
SP7 .612
TPl l .597
SP1 1 .534
SP 1 2 .529
TP 12 .424
TP6 .785
TP7 .530
SP5 .423
TPI .825
TP2 .735
TP19 .864
TP18 .629
SP8 -.875

 

Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis.
Rotation Method: Varimax with Kaiser Normalization.

97

Total Variance Explained

 

 

Component Rotated Sum of Squared Loadings
Total % of Variance Cumulative %

1 7.396 23.857 23.857
2 5.299 17.093 40.950
3 1.956 6.310 47.260
4 1.888 6.090 53.350
5 1.647 5.312 58.662
6 1.568 5.057 63.719
7 1.343 4.331 68.050

 

Selected Items: component 1 & 2.
Telepresence measure (Component 1)

TP15: To what extent did you feel like you were inside Tees & Toes Web site you
saw/heard?

TP17: To what extent did you feel surrounded by the environment you saw/heard in Tees
& Toes Web site?

TP16: To what extent did you feel immersed in Tees & Toes Web site you saw/heard?

TP8: To what extent did you experience a sense of being ‘really there’ inside Tees &
Toes Web site you saw/heard?

TP4: How ofien did Tees & Toes Web Site you saw/heard seem more like ‘somewhere
that you visited’ rather than ‘Something that you saw/heard’?

TPS: How often did you feel “My body was in this room, but my mind was inside Tees &
Toes Web site I saw/heard”?

TP9: How often did it feel as if you visited another place?

TP3: How often did you feel you were inside Tees & Toes Web Site you saw/heard?

TPIO: How much did it feel as if you were inside Tees & Toes Web site you saw/heard
observing the products?

TP14: How addictive was the experience?

TP13: How intense was the experience?"

"indicates that these items were not retained for the final analysis due to large error of
measurement.

98

Social presence measure (Component 2)

SP3: Insensitive/Sensitive"
SP4: Cold/W arm
SP2:Unsociable/Sociable

SP1 : Impersonal/Personal

SP9: Unfriendly/Friendly

SP6: Dull/Vivid"

SP 10: Unemotional/Emotional
SP7 : Unresponsive/Responsive

Mindicates that these items were not retained for the final analysis due to large error of
measurement.

MEASURE OF ADVERTISING EFFECTIVENESS

Attitude toward the advertisement (Aad)
Bad/Good

Dislike/Like

Unfavorable/Favorable
Unenjoyable/Enjoyable
Unpleasant/Pleasant

Entertaining/Not entertaining"

Interesting/Uninteresting"
Awful/Nice

Attitude toward the brand (Ab)
Negative/Positive
Unsatisfactory/Satisfactory
Favorable/Unfavorable"
Bad/Good

Dislikable/Likable

Intention to purchase a product (PI)
Unlikely/Likely

Improbable/Probable
Impossible/PossibleM

Intention to revisit the Web site (V I)
Unlikely/Likely

Improbable/Probable
Impossible/Possible

"indicates that these items were not retained for the final analysis due to large error of
measurement.

99

MEASURE or CREDIBILITY

Attractiveness
Unattractive/Attractive
Not classy/Classy”
Ugly/Handsome
Elegant/Main"

Not sexy/Sexy

Trustworthiness
Dependable/Undependable*
Dishonest/Honest
Unreliable/Reliable
Insincere/Sincere
Untrustworthy/Trustworthy

Expertise

Not an expert/Expert
Inexperienced/Experienced
Unknowledgeable/Knowledgeable
Qualified/Unqualified"
Unskilled/Skilled"

"indicates that these items were not retained for the final analysis due to large error of
measurement.

*indicates that these items were deleted for the final analysis due to low reliability in the
items.

' 100

APPENDIX 5

Descriptive Statistics for Subjects Used

101

Composition of the Sample as a Whole

 

 

N= 207

Age: M = 20.29 SD = 1.74

Gender: Male (40.6%) Female (59.4%)
Race: White (76.8%) Black (9.7%)
Hispanic (2.4%) Asian (7.7%)

Pacific Islander (0.0%) Other (2.9%)

How long have you been using the World Wide Web?
Less than 6 months (0.0%) 6-12 months (1.0%)
Over 1-less than 2 years (4.3%) 2-3 years (26.1%)
Over 3-less than 4 years (15.9%) 4-5 years (31.9%)

Over 5 years (20.8%)
How many hours do you spend using the intemet in a typical day?
0 hours (0.0%) less than 1 hour (25.1%)
1 hour (30.4%) 2 hours (22.7%)
3 hours (9.2%) 4 hours (5.8%)
more than 4 hours (6.8%)
How often do you use a video game in a typical month?
Never (28.0%) Less than once a month (25.1%)
1-4 times a month (18.4%) 5-10 times a month (12.1%)
1 1-20 times a month (9.2%) More than 20 times a month (7.2%)
How many times have you used an interactive virtual reality system?
Never (44.4%) 1 time (22.7%)
2-4 times (27.5%) 5-7 times (3.4%)

8 or more times (1.9%)

 

102

 

Sample Composition by Treatment Conditions

1. Large Screen Without Agent

 

 

N= 32

Age: M = 20.03 SD = 1.26

Gender: Male (40.6%) Female (59.4%)
Race: White (78.1%) Black (9.4%)
Hispanic (6.3%) Asian (6.3%)

Pacific Islander (0.0%) Other (0.0%)

How long have you been using the World Wide Web?
Less than 6 months (0.0%) 6-12 months (0.0%)
Over 1-less than 2 years (3.1%) 2-3 years (15.6%)
Over 3-less than 4 years (18.8%) 4-5 years (31.3%)
Over 5 years (31.3%)

How many hours do you spend using the Internet in a typical day?

0 hours (0.0%) less than 1 hour (18.8%)
1 hour (46.9%) 2 hours (15.6%)
3 hours (12.5%) 4 hours (3.1%)

more than 4 hours (3.1%)

How often do you use a video game in a typical month?

Never (25.0%) Less than once a month (31.3%)

1-4 times a month (15.6%) 5-10 times a month (6.3%)

11-20 times a month (12.5%) More than 20 times a month (9.4%)
How many times have you used an interactive virtual reality system?

Never (46.9%) 1 time (12.5%)

2-4 times (37.5%) 5-7 times (0.0%)

8 or more times (3.1%)

 

103

 

2. Large Screen With Sales Agent

 

 

N= 33

Age: M = 20.15 SD = 1.56

Gender: Male'(39.4%) Female (60.6%)
Race: White (84.8%) Black (6.1%)
Hispanic (0.0%) Asian (6.1%)

Pacific Islander (0.0%) Other (3.0%)

How long have you been using the World Wide Web?
Less than 6 months (0.0%) 6-12 months (0.0%)
Over 1-less than 2 years (3.0%) 2-3 years (27.3%)
Over 3-less than 4 years (9.1%) 4-5 years (42.4%)

Over 5 years (18.2%)
How many hours do you spend using the Internet in a typical day?
0 hours (0.0%) less than 1 hour (33.3%)
1 hour (12.1%) 2 hours (30.3%)
3 hours (6.1%) 4 hours (6.1%)

more than 4 hours (12.1%)

How ofien do you use a video game in a typical month?

Never (27.3%) Less than once a month (30.3%)

1-4 times a month (15.2%) 5-10 times a month (9.1%)

11-20 times a month (9.1%) More than 20 times a month (9.1%)
How many times have you used an interactive virtual reality system?

Never (42.4%) 1 time (21.2%)

2-4 times (33.3%) 5-7 times (0.0%)

8 or more times (3.0%)

 

 

104

we) xlrfifl‘l

3. Large Screen With Consumer Agent

 

 

N= 32

Age: M = 20.34 SD = 1.84

Gender: Male (43.8%) Female (56.3%)

Race: White (68.8%) Black (15.6%)
Hispanic (0.0%) Asian (9.4%)

Pacific Islander (0.0%) Other (3.1%)

How long have you been using the World Wide Web?
Less than 6 months (0.0%) 6-12 months (0.0%)
Over l-less than 2 years (6.3%) 2-3 years (21.9%)
Over 3-less than 4 years (21.9%) 4-5 years (34.4%)

Over 5 years (15.6%)
How many hours do you spend using the Internet in a typical day?
0 hours (0.0%) less than 1 hour (25.0%)
1 hour (25.0%) 2 hours (15.6%)
3 hours (12.5%) 4 hours (9.4%)
more than 4 hours (12.5%)
How often do you use a video game in a typical month?
Never (31.3%) Less than once a month (31.3%)
1-4 times a month (9.4%) 5-10 times a month (12.5%)
1 1-20 times a month (0.0%) More than 20 times a month (15.6%)
How many times have you used an interactive virtual reality system?
Never (37.5%) 1 time (37.5%)
2-4 times (15.6%) 5-7 times (6.3%)

8 or more times (3.1%)

 

105

 

4. Small Monitor Without Agent

 

 

N= 37

Age: M = 20.76 SD = 2.37

Gender: Male (37.8%) Female (62.2%)
Race: White (75.7%) Black (8.1%)
Hispanic (0.0%) Asian (13.5%)

Pacific Islander (0.0%) Other (2.7%)

How long have you been using the World Wide Web?
Less than 6 months (0.0%) 6-12 months (2.7%)
Over 1-1ess than 2 years (0.0%) 2-3 years (27.0%)
Over 3-less than 4 years (16.2%) 4-5 years (24.3%)

Over 5 years (29.7%)
How many hours do you spend using the Internet in a typical day?
0 hours (0.0%) less than 1 hour (24.3%)
1 hour (32.4%) 2 hours (29.7%)
3 hours (8.1%) 4 hours (2.7%)

more than 4 hours (2.7%)

How often do you use a video game in a typical month?

Never (13.5%) Less than once a month (21.6%)

1-4 times a month (29.7%) 5-10 times a month (16.2%)

11-20 times a month (13.5%) More than 20 times a month (5.4%)
How many times have you used an interactive virtual reality system?

Never (45.9%) 1 time (27 .0%)

2-4 times (24.3%) 5-7 times (2.7%)

8 or more times (0.0%)

 

 

106

Vise—mafia

5. Large Screen With Sales Agent

 

 

N= 36

Age: M = 20.03 SD = 1.25

Gender: Male'(41.7%) Female (58.3%)
Race: White (69.4%) Black (16.7%)
Hispanic (5.6%) Asian (5.6%)

Pacific Islander (0.0%) Other (2.8%)

How long have you been using the World Wide Web?
Less than 6 months (0.0%) 6-12 months (0.0%)
Over l-less than 2 years (5.6%) 2-3 years (27.8%)
Over 3-less than 4 years (13.9%) 4-5 years (30.6%)

Over 5 years (22.2%)
How many hours do you spend using the Internet in a typical day?
0 hours (0.0%) less than 1 hour (25.0%)
1 hour (27.8%) 2 hours (25.0%)
3 hours (8.3%) 4 hours (11.1%)
more than 4 hours (2.8%)
How often do you use a video game in a typical month?
Never (41.7%) Less than once a month (13.9%)
1-4 times a month (16.7%) 5-10 times a month (19.4%)
1 1-20 times a month (5.6%) More than 20 times a month (2.8%)
How many times have you used an interactive virtual reality system?
Never (55.6%) 1 time (11.1%)
2-4 times (27.8%) 5-7 times (5.6%)

8 or more times (0.0%)

 

107

 

6. Large Screen With Consumer Agent

 

 

N= 37

Age: M = 20.40 SD = 1.85

Gender: Male‘(40.5%) Female (59.5%)
Race: White (83.8%) Black (2.7%)
Hispanic (2.7%) Asian (5.4%)

Pacific Islander (0.0%) Other (5.4%)

How long have you been using the World Wide Web?
Less than 6 months (0.0%) 6-12 months (2.7%)
Over l-less than 2 years (8.1%) 2-3 years (35.1%)
Over 3-less than 4 years (16.2%) 4-5 years (29.7%)
Over 5 years (8.1%)

How many hours do you spend using the Internet in a typical day?

0 hours (0.0%) less than 1 hour (24.3%)
1 hour (37.8%) 2 hours (18.9%)
3 hours (8.1%) 4 hours (2.7%)

more than 4 hours (8.1%)

How ofien do you use a video game in a typical month?

Never (29.7%) Less than once a month (24.3%)

1-4 times a month (21.6%) 5-10 times a month (8.1%)

11-20 times a month (13.5%) More than 20 times a month (2.7%)
How many times have you used an interactive virtual reality system?

Never (37.8%) 1 time (27.0%)

2-4 times (27.0%) 5-7 times (5.4%)

8 or more times (2.7%)

 

108

 

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