Psychological Science 236 578 581 The Authors 2012 Re 016282

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 diverse 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 various psychological traits (Dijkstra, 2008), they have not yet been systematically linked to a comprehensive model of personality traits. Integrating these constructs would advance the literature by enabling more personalized and effective persuasive messaging. Using a comprehensive personality model, such as the Big Five, allows assessment across multiple dimensions with a single instrument, instead of separate assessments for each trait (Goldberg, 1996). The Big Five taxonomy—extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness/intellect—each reflect different motivational systems that can influence how messages are received and processed.

For instance, extraverts are particularly sensitive to rewards and social stimuli (Lucas, Diener, Grob, Suh, & Shao, 2000); agreeable individuals value social harmony and relationships (Graziano & Eisenberg, 1997); conscientious individuals prioritize achievement and order (Roberts, Chernyshenko, Stark, & Goldberg, 2005); neurotic individuals are especially reactive to threats and uncertainty (Carver, Sutton, & Scheier, 2000); and open individuals seek novelty, creativity, and intellectual stimulation (McCrae & Costa, 1997). Given these differences, framing persuasive messages to align with these traits could enhance their effectiveness. The current study investigates whether messages tailored to specific Big Five traits yield higher persuasive success, operationalized through advertisement evaluations.

Paper For Above instruction

The interplay between psychological traits and the effectiveness of persuasive communication has been an area of increasing interest within psychological science. Traditionally, message framing research has concentrated on how motivational orientations, such as promotion versus prevention focus, influence persuasion (Higgins, 2000). Yet, personality traits offer a nuanced and multidimensional basis for understanding individual differences in receptivity to persuasive messages. This paper explores how tailoring messages to the Big Five personality traits can enhance persuasiveness, both theoretically and through empirical evidence.

The Big Five personality model encompasses five broad dimensions—extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness—and each dimension represents a distinct motivational system influencing behavior and cognition (Goldberg, 1996). For example, extraverts are motivated by social rewards and stimulation (Lucas et al., 2000), making messages emphasizing social activity more compelling for them. Agreeable individuals value harmony and relationships (Graziano & Eisenberg, 1997), thus framing messages around community benefits could be more effective. Conscientiousness relates to achievement and discipline (Roberts et al., 2005), so messages highlighting goal attainment may resonate more with conscientious recipients. Neuroticism involves sensitivity to threats and insecurity (Carver et al., 2000), suggesting that messages emphasizing safety and security might best persuade neurotic individuals. Openness focuses on creativity and novelty (McCrae & Costa, 1997), thus framing messages around innovation could be more impactful.

Empirical studies have supported the idea that message-person congruence enhances persuasion. Cesario, Higgins, and Scholer (2008) demonstrated that regulatory fit effects extend across various domains. However, these studies often rely on single psychological constructs, limiting the ability to generalize to broader personality profiles. A more holistic approach involves applying a comprehensive personality framework, such as the Big Five, which captures multiple motivational systems simultaneously. Utilizing this approach, the current research hypothesizes that persuasive messages framed to align with particular Big Five traits will be more effective than generic messages.

Methodologically, one can operationalize this by creating multiple versions of an advertisement, each emphasizing different motivational themes aligned with the traits. For example, a smartphone ad could be framed as “Stay connected with friends and family everywhere!” for extraverts or “Feel safe and secure with our reliable service” for neurotic individuals. Participants from a diverse sample are then assessed for their Big Five traits through validated measures, such as the Big Five Aspect Scales (DeYoung, Quilty, & Peterson, 2007). Participants evaluate each advertisement on dimensions of persuasiveness, liking, and purchase intention.

The anticipated results include higher effectiveness ratings for messages congruent with the recipient’s personality profile, evidenced by significant positive correlations. Additionally, comparisons between matched and mismatched traits would reveal the specificity of the congruence effect. For example, high extraversion scores should predict more favorable evaluations of extraversion-framed ads compared to other ads, and similarly for the other traits. Regression analyses would further confirm whether the perceived persuasiveness is significantly predicted by the alignment between message framing and personality scores.

Implications of these findings extend to personalized marketing and health interventions. As online platforms increasingly utilize behavioral and demographic data to tailor content, integrating personality assessments offers a promising avenue for optimizing persuasive efforts. Social media profiles, linguistic analysis, and online activity patterns can serve as indicators of personality traits (Back et al., 2010; Yarkoni, 2010). Consequently, targeted messaging based on personality profiling can improve engagement and behavioral outcomes, such as healthier lifestyles or environmentally sustainable behaviors.

Nevertheless, the approach has limitations. The effect sizes observed in personality-based tailoring are often modest (Dijkstra, 2008), and the quality of messages plays a critical role. Poorly crafted messages, even if congruent with personality traits, may not perform well. Additionally, ethical considerations surrounding privacy must be addressed when inferring personality from online data. Future research should explore the combination of personality tailoring with other personalization strategies, such as cultural relevance and individual preferences, to maximize persuasive impact (Noar, Benac, & Harris, 2007).

In sum, integrating comprehensive personality assessments into message framing represents a promising advancement in persuasive communication. The current evidence supports the notion that tailoring messages to align with the recipient’s Big Five traits can significantly enhance perceived effectiveness. As digital technologies evolve, leveraging personality data for personalized persuasion may become a cornerstone of strategic communication across domains, including marketing, health promotion, and social campaigns.

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