Mike: I'm not sure how this relates to Grice's Maxims, but the teaser phenomenon may have some relation to attitudes formation and change. If one can change a person's attitude towards the show (in particular in terms of staying tuned into the show, or watching a later segment), one may be more likely to act in a manner consistent with that attitude (i.e., stay tuned for the answer). Research has been done on "incompleteness" in advertising, with the idea (from Cognitive response Theory, in particular the Elaboration Likelihood Model) that active participation (thinking about what answer may be divulged later in the show) is more likely to lead to attitude change than is passive participation (Oskamp, 1991). So, advertisers may play on this tendency by leaving a message incomplete in their ad, or viewers of a show may be left with a question or curiosity about what will be revealed later in the show. This will work in terms of attitude change only if the viewer is motivated to respond to the teaser (Howard & Burnkrant, 1990; Sawyer & Howard, 1991). So, this type of teaser hook wouldn't work as well, presumably, in response to the teaser "What did Mike Palij have for breakfast? Stay tuned and find out!" compared to "What did President Obama/Susan Boyle/the Octomom have for breakfast? We'll find out after this short message from our sponsors."
Howard, D. J., & Burnkrant, R. E. (1990). Question Effects on Information Processing in Advertising, Psychology and Marketing, 7, 27-46. Oskamp, S. (1991). Attitudes and opinions. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. Sawyer, A. G., & Howard, D. J. (1991). The Effects of Omitting Conclusions in Advertisements to Low and Moderately Involved Audiences, Journal of Marketing Research, 28, 467-474. -Max Gwynn Maxwell Gwynn, PhD Psychology Department Wilfrid Laurier University 519-884-0710 ext 3854 [email protected] >>> "Mike Palij" <[email protected]> 4/29/2009 9:49 AM >>> [clip] I was wondering if (a) anyone else has thought along these lines and (b) whether any research as been conducted on people's reactions to teaser ads and whether their reactions reflect violations of Grice's maxims. Just curious. -Mike Palij New York University [email protected] --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([email protected])
