EFFECTS OF PRICE, ADVERTISING SPONSORSHIP, AND FEAR CONTENT ON CONSUMER ATTITUDES ABOUT GASOLINE CONSERVATION

Abstract

Attitudes of individuals related to gasoline conservation were compared after several types of advertising messages were aired. Subjects in the study (n = 254) were college students sampled randomly at a northwestern Pennsylvania state college. A 2 (message content) x 3 (message source) x 2 (gasoline price) multivariate analysis of variance yielded significant differences on gasoline conservation attitudes for message content (fear appeals were most effective in generating conservation - supportive attitudes) and price. Analysis of the interaction effects of the variables revealed that message source modified the main effects of message content and the price of gasoline on individuals’ attitudes. While several highly significant relationships involving the use of fear appeals were observed, the explained variance in the various hypothesis tests was relatively low. Implications of the research results concerning governmental use of gasoline conservation advertising are discussed, and suggestions concerning longitudinal corroboration of the results are made.