Cultural and Language Effects on the Perception of Source Honesty and Forcefulness in Advertising: A Comparison of Hong Kong Chinese Bilinguals and Anglo Canadians

Abstract

The first objective of this research was to examine how Hong Kong Chinese (HKC) and Anglo Canadians differ in their perception of the honesty and forcefulness of a message source in an informational advertisement Another aim was to examine the reaction of bilingual HKC subjects to an advertisement and questionnaire administered in the second language as well as the native language. A number of studies point to the Chinese as being more sensitive to a message source and to assertive and argumentative sales "pitches" than North Americans. This should translate into a more negative perception of the honesty of the source as well as a greater perception of forcefulness in the ad for the HKC, in contrast to their Anglo-Canadian counterparts. On the issue of language effects for bilingual HKC subjects, some research points to an accommodation effect, with HKC exposed to the English language treatment responding more like English subjects than HKC exposed to the Chinese instrument (Ralston, Cunniff, and Gustafson, 1993). Other work (Grosjean, 1992) would imply that response to advertising copy and cues would be influenced by cognitive structures developed while learning both languages. Thus, a "hybrid" perceptual pattern very different from both cultures would be expected.