Psychological Science 236 578 581 The Authors 2012 Reprints

Psychological Science236 578 581 The Authors 2012reprints And

In 2012, nearly $530 billion will be spent on advertising around the world (Oser, 2011). This staggering amount is projected to increase by 5% yearly, with some businesses spending up to 30% of their annual revenue on advertising. Whether promoting consumer products, political candidates, or sound health and investment behavior, persuasive communications constitute a major domain of activity, and a substantial component of the global economy. Psychological science plays a prominent role in this field by identifying strategies to improve the effectiveness of persuasive campaigns (Cialdini, 2007; Petty & Cacioppo, 1996).

One such strategy, message tailoring, involves adapting persuasive messages to recipients’ characteristics. For example, regulatory fit occurs when a message is framed to match the recipient’s motivational orientation by focusing either on promoting gains (e.g., “Product X builds healthy teeth!”) or preventing losses (e.g., “Product X prevents cavities!”; Higgins, 2000). Messages that are congruent with an individual’s motivational orientation are processed more fluently and evaluated more positively than incongruent messages are (Cesario, Grant, & Higgins, 2004; Higgins, Idson, Freitas, Spiegel, & Molden, 2003; Lee & Aaker, 2004). These effects have been observed across domains including dental hygiene, smoking cessation, and consumer purchases (Cesario, Higgins, & Scholer, 2008; Kim, 2006; Labroo & Lee, 2006; Sherman, Mann, & Updegraff, 2006).

Although message-person congruence effects have been examined in relation to a variety of psychological characteristics (Dijkstra, 2008), they have not yet been systematically related to a comprehensive model of personality traits. Such integration, however, could advance the message-framing literature by exploring new ways to personalize and enhance persuasive messages. Examining these effects within a comprehensive personality model would facilitate assessments of individuals’ traits with a single instrument, unlike existing studies that rely on evaluating individual psychological constructs requiring separate assessments.

Research thus far has primarily categorized recipients into one of two psychological profiles, such as promotion versus prevention-focused, locomotion versus assessment-focused individuals, or those aligned with regulatory focus theory (Avnet & Higgins, 2003; Higgins et al., 2003). Utilizing a model of personality based on dimensional variation—such as the Big Five—could allow for more nuanced and precise tailoring of persuasive messages, based on an individual’s relative standing on each trait (Goldberg, 1996). This multidimensional approach can improve the personalization process by integrating multiple traits into a single, comprehensive profile.

In the current study, we investigated whether message-person congruence effects can be harnessed by framing persuasive messages according to the Big Five personality dimensions: extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness to experience (Goldberg, 1990). Each trait reflects a specific motivational system: extraverts seek social rewards and excitement; agreeable individuals value harmony and social cohesion; conscientious individuals prioritize achievement and order; neurotic individuals are sensitive to threats and uncertainty; and open individuals pursue novelty and intellectual engagement (McCrae & Costa, 1993; Lucas et al., 2000; Graziano & Eisenberg, 1997). Understanding how to effectively tailor messages based on these traits could significantly improve persuasive strategies.

Method

We recruited a diverse sample of 324 American participants via Amazon’s Mechanical Turk (MTurk), with a majority of females (203) and a mean age of approximately 36 years. Participants completed a survey assessing their Big Five personality traits using the Big Five Aspect Scales (DeYoung, Quilty, & Peterson, 2007), a validated measure with high reliability (average α = 0.83). They also evaluated five different advertisements for a hypothetical cell phone product, each designed to appeal to one of the five major personality dimensions. The advertisements included a picture of the phone accompanied by text emphasizing either social rewards (extraversion), harmony (agreeableness), goal achievement (conscientiousness), safety (neuroticism), or stimulation (openness). Each participant rated the effectiveness of each ad on a 5-point Likert scale, responding to items such as "I find this advertisement persuasive," "I would purchase this product," and "I am interested in learning more."

To analyze the data, ratings for each advertisement were regressed on the ratings of the other advertisements, controlling for shared variance, producing residuals that captured the unique effectiveness of each ad. Regression analyses then predicted these residualized effectiveness ratings from participants’ scores on each of the five personality traits. The hypothesis was that each advertisement would be rated more favorably by individuals with higher scores on the trait it targeted, indicating a congruence effect.

Results

Analysis confirmed the hypothesis: effectiveness ratings for each advertisement increased with participants’ scores on the targeted personality dimension. For example, ads emphasizing social excitement (extraversion) were rated more positively by extraverted individuals (β = 0.17, p

Discussion

This study presents a pioneering demonstration of the utility of comprehensive personality models—specifically the Big Five—in tailoring persuasive messages to enhance efficacy. The findings reveal that individuals’ evaluations of advertisements are more positive when the content resonates with their dispositional motives. This aligns with prior research on message framing and regulatory fit (Cesario, Higgins, & Scholer, 2008; Higgins et al., 2003), extending it into a multidimensional personality framework.

Integrating personality traits into message design offers a robust, data-driven avenue for personalization. Unlike categorical personality typing, trait-based models provide a spectrum of scores, enabling fine-grained customization. For example, marketing strategies could utilize online behavioral data—such as social media activity or purchase history—to infer individual trait levels (Back et al., 2010; Yarkoni, 2010). These insights can inform the framing of persuasive messages tailored to an individual’s motivational profile, potentially increasing engagement and conversion rates (Staw & Hoang, 2019).

However, practical implementation warrants caution. While personalization enhances effectiveness, overpersonalization or misjudgment of traits may backfire, especially if the message quality is low or perceived as intrusive (Updegraff et al., 2007; Kreuter et al., 1999). Therefore, ensuring message relevance, maintaining transparency, and safeguarding privacy are essential for ethical and effective application (Taylor, 2004).

Limitations of the current study include its focus on a single product category, reliance on self-reported effectiveness ratings, and a primarily Western sample. Future research could explore diverse campaigns—health, environmental, political—and employ behavioral measures of persuasion, such as actual purchase decisions or behavioral change intentions. Moreover, longitudinal designs could assess the sustained impact of personalized messaging based on trait congruence over time.

Conclusion

The present findings reaffirm that personalization rooted in personality traits can bolster persuasion. The Big Five framework facilitates precise and multidimensional tailoring, promising enhanced outcomes for marketing, health promotion, and political communication. As digital platforms collect increasingly rich behavioral and contextual data, leveraging personality insights for persuasive messaging represents an ethically promising frontier that merits further exploration and validation.

References

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