Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 2011, 52, 329–340 DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9450.2011.00882.

Cognition and Neurosciences

Message sidedness in advertising: The moderating roles of need for
cognition and time pressure in persuasion
DANNY TENGTI KAO
National Hsinchu University of Education, Taiwan

Kao, D. T. (2011). Message sidedness in advertising: The moderating roles of need for cognition and time pressure in persuasion. Scandinavian Journal of
Psychology 52, 329–340.
Persuasion has been extensively researched for decades. Much of this research has focused on different message tactics and their effects on persuasion
(e.g., Chang & Chou, 2008; Lafferty, 1999). This research aims to assess whether the persuasion of a specific type of message is influenced by need for
cognition (NFC) and time pressure. The 336 undergraduates participated in a 2 (message sidedness: one-sided/two-sided) · 3 (time pressure: low/moder-
ate/high) between-subjects design. Results indicate that two-sided messages tend to elicit more favorable ad attitudes than one-sided messages. As com-
pared with low-NFC individuals, high-NFC individuals are likely to express more favorable ad attitudes, brand attitudes and purchase intention. Moderate
time pressure tends to lead to more favorable ad attitudes than low time pressure and high time pressure. In addition, moderate time pressure is likely to eli-
cit more favorable brand attitudes and purchase intentions than high time pressure, but does not elicit more favorable brand attitudes and purchase inten-
tions than low time pressure. Furthermore, when high-NFC individuals are under low or moderate time pressure, two-sided messages are more persuasive
than one-sided messages; however, message sidedness does not differentially affect the persuasion when high-NFC individuals are pressed for time. In con-
trast, one-sided messages are more persuasive than two-sided messages when low-NFC individuals are under low or high time pressure, and two-sided
messages are more persuasive than one-sided messages when low-NFC individuals are under moderate time pressure.
Key words: Message sidedness, need for cognition (NFC), time pressure, persuasion.
Danny Tengti Kao, National Hsinchu University of Education, Department of Educational Psychology and Counseling, 521, Nan-Da Road, Hsinchu,
Taiwan (300). E-mail: danny@mail.nhcue.edu.tw

INTRODUCTION labeled two-sided messages. The persuasive effect of either a one-

A one-sided message is characterized by favorable claims on all
brand attributes mentioned in the message, whereas a two-sided
message contains disclaimers or admissions of inferior performance
on one or more relatively unimportant attributes (Hastak & Park,
1990). Advertisers and advertising researchers have long been inter-
ested in the persuasive effects of one-sided versus two-sided ad
message appeals (e.g., Becker-Olsen, 2006; Hastak & Park, 1990;
Lim, Lin, Ferguson & Kiousis, 2008; Smith & Hunt, 1978).
Although the psychology and consumer behavior literature has
examined message sidedness effects (e.g., Becker-Olsen, 2006;
Belch, 1981; Hastak & Park, 1990; Kamins & Assael, 1987; Lim
et al., 2008), previous research regarding whether a message is more
persuasive if it presents only the advertiser’s best arguments or if it
discusses opposing ones in addition to the advertiser’s own has
failed to reach an agreement. Therefore, this research focuses on
exploring whether, and under what conditions, a one-sided or a two-
sided message can enhance the persuasiveness of communication.
This research applies the heuristic-systematic model (HSM)
and the resource matching theory to examine the effect of mes-
sage sidedness on persuasion. In addition, NFC and time pressure
as the alternative moderators of message sidedness effects are
introduced to assess the differential persuasive effects of one-sided
and two-sided messages.
The persuasive effect of message sidedness
Messages that contain only supporting arguments are labeled one-
sided messages; those that also address opposing viewpoints are
sided message or a two-sided message on attitude or belief change
is called the message sidedness effect (O’Keefe, 1999). To some
extent, the message sidedness effect is somewhat counterintuitive;
common sense is that when an advertiser appeals for acceptance
of any specific issue, no opposite or suspicious arguments should
be proposed (Lim et al., 2008).
Hastak and Park (1990) propose two major reasons why two-
sided messages may result in favorable effects on attitude and
cognitive responses. First, as a two-sided message explicitly
admits inferior performance on disclaimed attributes (Smith &
Hunt, 1978), it is likely to inhibit the audience from generating
counterarguments on those attributes. Second, these disclaimers
may enhance the credibility of other claims expressed in the mes-
sage, and thus suppress counterarguments and strengthen support-
ing arguments.
Some studies have indicated that, as compared with the one-
sided positive message, the inclusion of negative information
about a product enhances the persuasiveness of a message (e.g.,
Allen, 1993; Pechmann, 1992). Kamins, Brand, Hoeke & Moe
(1989) argue that a two-sided communication elicits higher adver-
tising credibility, more favorable evaluations of perceived quality,
as well as greater usage intentions than a one-sided ad appeal.
Moreover, some studies argue that two-sided messages effectively
enhance the perceived credibility of claims (Swinyard, 1981), the
perceived source credibility (Bohner, Einwiller, Erb & Siebler,
2003) and the perceived trustworthiness of the ad (Kamins, 1989),
which lead to positive purchase intentions (Golden & Alpert,
1987; Kamins, 1989), and reduce counterarguments (Belch, 1981;
Kamins & Assael, 1987).

 2011 The Author.

Scandinavian Journal of Psychology  2011 The Scandinavian Psychological Associations. Published by Blackwell Publishing Ltd., 9600 Garsington
Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, UK and 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, USA. ISSN 0036-5564.
330 D. T. Kao
In sharp contrast, some other studies have failed to reach simi-
lar conclusions (e.g., Belch, 1981; Hastak & Park, 1990). Earl and
Pride (1980) indicate that a two-side message is no better in
increasing the respondent’s perception of the ad’s informativeness
than a one-sided message. Belch (1981) and Swanson (1987) con-
clude that there is no difference in purchase intentions between
one-sided and two-sided message appeals. Furthermore, some
research argues that two-sided messages are more likely to
increase attitudinal resistance (Bohner et al., 2003; Kamins &
Assael, 1987) and reduce purchase intentions (Kanungo & Johar,
1975; Swinyard, 1981) than one-sided messages.
Apparently, there is still disagreement regarding when one-
sided messages or two-sided messages are more effective. Some
moderators have been addressed to interpret the mixed conclu-
sions, such as the extent of the message recipient’s initial opposi-
tion to the message communicator and their education
background (Hovland, Lumsdaine & Sheffield, 1949), prior famil-
iarity (Chu, 1967), correlational and correspondent inferences
(Pechmann, 1992), and perceived bias (Wilson & Brekke, 1994).
In addition, Lang et al. (1999) contend that the conflicting results
can be attributed to how the message persuasiveness is measured.
Recent studies argue that message type, the time allowed for mes-
sage recipients to process the ad content (Bohner et al., 2003) and
mood states (Becker-Olsen, 2006) can moderate the persuasion of
message sidedness.
Resource matching theory, HSM and ELM
This research applies the resource matching theory and the heu-
ristic-systematic model (HSM) rather than the elaboration likeli-
hood model (ELM) to examine the message sidedness effect. The
cognitive resource matching theory states that the persuasive
impact of a message is maximized when the resources allocated
to the elaboration of the communication match those required for
the task. Stimuli that demand too much or too little of the
resources that an individual makes available should undermine
persuasion (Peracchio & Meyers-Levy, 1997). The HSM is a
model of attitude change proposed by Chaiken (1980) and later
developed by Chaiken and her colleagues (see Eagly & Chaiken,
1993). It specifies two routes to persuasion: systematic process-
ing, an analytic orientation to information processing; and heuris-
tic processing, and a more restricted mode of information
processing that makes fewer demands on cognitive resources.
While systematic processing is determined by the cognitive abil-
ity and the motivation of respondents to process message argu-
ments, heuristic processing is triggered by features of the
available information that enable the use of cognitive heuristics
to form judgments and decisions. Alternatively, the ELM is a
model of how attitudes are formed and changed (Petty & Caciop-
po, 1986). The ELM distinguishes between two routes to persua-
sion: the central route and the peripheral route. Central route
processes involve careful scrutiny of a persuasive communication
to determine the merits of the arguments. Peripheral route pro-
cesses, in contrast, do not involve elaboration of the message
through extensive cognitive processing of the merits of the actual
argument presented. Motivation and ability are two factors that
determine which route people will take in a persuasive situation
(Petty & Cacioppo, 1981).
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Scandinavian Journal of Psychology  2011 The Scandinavian Psychological Associations.
Scand J Psychol 52 (2011)
Chaiken, Giner-Sorolla, and Chen (1996) contend that the simi-
larities are apparent between the HSM and the ELM. However,
Larson (2010) argues that systematic processing and heuristic pro-
cessing in the HSM can operate independently and occur simulta-
neously, which are the main differences between the HSM and the
ELM. Larson (2010) further stresses that ‘‘in the ELM, there is an
inverse relationship between the use of the central and the periph-
eral routes – as one rises, the other falls. In the HSM, individuals
could make systematic use of some evidence at the same time they
are using heuristics for other information.’’ In this research, indi-
viduals are assumed to decompose two-sided messages into posi-
tive and negative messages and process them at the same time.
Clearly, the HSM is better than the ELM in analyzing how individ-
uals process two-sided messages. Therefore, the HSM rather than
the ELM, together with the resource matching theory, are applied
in this research to predict how consumers process messages.
Considering the HSM and the resource matching theory, mes-
sage recipients tend to apply heuristic processing instead of sys-
tematic processing when fewer resources are allocated to the
message than the message requires; however, they tend to apply
systematic processing and commit excess resources to generate
either additional advocacy-consonant cognitions (Coulter & Punj,
2004) or counterarguments in nature (Keller & Block, 1997) when
the resources available to process the message exceed what the
message effectively requires. Therefore, it is assumed that individ-
uals may require more cognitive resources for systematically pro-
cessing two-sided messages than one-sided messages and thus
may generate different extents of cognitive responses toward these
messages. In other words, message sidedness can elicit different
levels of persuasion. More clearly, when the available cognitive
resources are sufficient, individuals tend to systematically scruti-
nize either one-sided or two-sided messages. The negative infor-
mation in two-sided messages is likely to suppress
counterarguments and strengthen supporting arguments (Bohner
et al., 2003; Kamins & Assael, 1987). Therefore, it is predicted
that two-sided messages are more persuasive than one-sided
messages.
Effects of NFC on information processing
Consumers are likely to vary substantially in their motivation in
processing advertising messages (Megehee, 2009). Cacioppo and
Petty (1982) argue that need for cognition (NFC) affects individu-
als’ motivation to process information. NFC is defined as an indi-
vidual’s propensity to engage in and enjoy cognitively demanding
tasks (Cacioppo, Petty & Kao, 1984). NFC explores the cognitive
processes involved in information processing and contributes to
identify individual motivational differences (Kao, 2007). High-
NFC individuals are intrinsically motivated towards thinking and
thus exhibit a strong tendency to enjoy searching for more pro-
cessing information (Verplanken, Hazenberg & Palenwen, 1992)
and devote much cognitive effort (Batra & Stayman, 1990) to
solve complex problems; in contrast, low-NFC individuals are
innately unmotivated or slightly motivated to elaborate on cogni-
tively demanding tasks. Similarly, Wegener and Petty (2001) con-
tend that high-NFC individuals are more likely to favor a message
strategy characterized by extensive and elaborate processing than
low-NFC individuals.
Scand J Psychol 52 (2011)
Prior literature has explored how to use need for cognition
(NFC) as a basis for designing message contents (Martin, Lang &
Wong, 2003; Williams-Piehota, Schneider, Pizarro, Mowad &
Salovey, 2003). Brennan and Bahn (2006) suggest that audiences’
responses to the messages may vary as a function of their NFC.
Also, low-NFC individuals tend to engender favorable ad attitudes
and brand attitudes toward an ad in a literal style, whereas high-
NFC individuals tend to favorably evaluate an ad in a figurative
style. Williams-Piehota et al. (2003) also contend that high-NFC
individuals change their health behavior after receiving messages
with more detailed information than messages with information
presented in a simplistic manner.
Reinhard and Messner (2009) contend that any variable that
can determine the extent of elaboration, will lead individuals to
invest differential cognitive effort in information processing and
bring about differential persuasion. NFC, as an individual’s ten-
dency to engage in cognitive endeavors, is regarded as an impor-
tant factor to influence how individuals are motivated and
persuaded. Considering the HSM and the resource matching the-
ory, high-NFC individuals are more willing to apply the available
cognitive resources to systematically process messages, and thus
have more chances to favorably evaluate these messages than
low-NFC individuals, who are unmotivated or have limited moti-
vation to process these messages.
Effects of time pressure on information processing
Besides the intrinsic motivation variables (such as NFC), some
external situational variables (such as time pressure) can affect
how information is processed. The HSM proposed by Chaiken
(1980) provides a basis for predicting how time pressure affects
information processing. When individuals are motivated and have
sufficient time to process information, they are likely to process
information systematically. However, when the motivation to pro-
cess information is low or if the time allowed for processing infor-
mation is constrained, individuals are expected to apply heuristic
processing (Suri & Monroe, 2003). Specifically, time pressure can
affect the route that individuals choose to process information
(heuristically vs. systematically) and the reached level of persua-
sion.
Kao (2006) indicates that time can be regarded as a type of
external cognitive resource and other types of cognitive resources
may interact with time pressure. Considering the HSM and the
resource matching theory, individuals under differential levels of
time pressure are likely to apply differential cognitive resources
to either systematically or heuristically process information. Even
though other cognitive resources are sufficient, individuals under
high time pressure are less likely to apply those cognitive
resources to scrutinize the positive information advocated by
advertisers than those who are under low time pressure. Namely,
those supporting arguments have fewer chances to be favorably
evaluated by individuals under high time pressure than under
low time pressure. Therefore, persuasion is less likely to occur
when individuals are under high time pressure than those who
are under low time pressure. However, as Liebert and Morris
(1967) indicated, adequate time pressure may activate a state of
alertness, vigor or peppiness, which leads to an increased effort
and motivation to perform a given task (Eysenck & Calvo,
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Scandinavian Journal of Psychology  2011 The Scandinavian Psychological Associations.
Message sidedness in advertising 331
1992). Suri and Monroe (2003) also argue that moderate time
constraints may increase people’s motivation and intentions to
perform a task.
In more detail, individuals under the high time pressure condi-
tion may lack the cognitive resources to systematically scrutinize
information; however, individuals under the low time pressure
condition may lack motivation to systematically analyze informa-
tion. Therefore, persuasion will not occur in the conditions of
high time pressure and low time pressure. However, in the condi-
tion of moderate time pressure, individuals can be motivated to
apply the available cognitive resources to systematically process
information and thus are likely to engender positive cognitive
responses.
Effects of NFC, time pressure and message sidedness on
persuasion
Meyerowitz and Chaiken (1987) argue that negative messages are
more likely to violate people’s expectancies than positive mes-
sages, as people are more frequently exposed to arguments pre-
sented in positive terms than in negative terms. Moreover, the
negativity bias concept addressed by Kanouse (1984) contends
that negative information may be more salient in an inherently
positive world and thus has a greater impact than positive infor-
mation. Similarly, Fiske (1980) argues that negative information
is usually regarded as highly informative and thus may receive
extra weights on the message assessment. Specifically, as com-
pared with positive information, negative information is more
likely to motivate individuals and receive greater scrutiny when it
violates expectations (Baker & Petty, 1994). These premises
imply that one-sided ad messages (incorporating positive argu-
ments only) may not motivate individuals to carefully assess
information and require a small amount of cognitive resources for
elaboration; in contrast, two-sided ad messages (incorporating
both positive and negative arguments) may highly motivate peo-
ple to scrutinize and require a considerable amount of cognitive
resources for further processing. As the HSM and the resource
matching theory implied, individuals tend to systematically pro-
cess information when they have sufficient cognitive resources; in
contrast, they appear to heuristically process information when
their cognitive resources are insufficient. Larson (2010) argues
that systematic processing and heuristic processing in the HSM
can operate independently and occur simultaneously. Hence, it is
predicted that one-sided messages will be heuristically processed,
whereas the positive information in two-sided messages will be
heuristically processed and the negative information in two-sided
messages will be systematically processed at the same time.
This research posits that the inconsistent conclusions regarding
the persuasiveness of message sidedness in previous studies can
be ascribed to a missing consideration for personality traits. As
Petty, Unnava and Strathman (1991) indicated, NFC acts as an
individual factor affecting an individual’s motivation to process
information. Martin et al. (2003) contend that high-NFC individ-
uals prefer a message strategy characterized by extensive and
elaborate processing. Martin, Sherrard, and Wentzel (2005) also
indicate that high-NFC people should show positive attitudes
toward a product or a service with the presentation of the mes-
sage that matches their processing style. Two-sided messages,
332 D. T. Kao
which contain the negative arguments that require a considerable
amount of cognitive resources for scrutiny, are consistent with
high-NFC individuals’ personality traits of enjoying elaboration.
Therefore, two-sided messages are perceived as more persuasive
than one-sided messages. Considering the HSM and the resource
matching theory, high-NFC individuals under moderate or low
time pressure may apply sufficient cognitive resources to system-
atically scrutinize information. Also, the negative information in
two-sided messages is likely to suppress counterarguments and
strengthen supporting arguments (Bohner et al., 2003; Kamins &
Assael, 1987). Hence, high-NFC individuals under moderate or
low time pressure are more likely to favorably evaluate two-sided
messages than one-sided messages.
In contrast, individuals under high time pressure lack the
required cognitive resources and may heuristically apply a less
effortful thought rather than systematic processing (Dhar & Now-
lis, 1999). Considering the HSM and the resource matching the-
ory, high-NFC individuals under high time pressure are unable to
invest sufficient cognitive resources in systematically evaluating
the message sidedness. The cognitive resource matching theory
argues that persuasion will not occur when the cognitive
resources available are insufficient (Coulter & Punj, 2004).
Therefore, it is assumed that when individuals are pressed for
time, two-sided messages will not yield better persuasion than
one-sided messages. Specifically, when high-NFC individuals are
under high time pressure, the message sidedness effect will not
activate.
Low-NFC individuals intrinsically lack motivation to scrutinize
information, and their evaluations of a message are probably
based on simple inferences. Considering the HSM and the
resource matching theory, low-NFC individuals under low time
pressure are usually unmotivated and tend to heuristically process
information, even though the cognitive resources available are
sufficient. However, low-NFC individuals under high time pres-
sure lack motivation and cognitive resources to carefully assess
information, and hence are likely to heuristically evaluate infor-
mation (Biswas & Sherrell, 1993). One-sided messages incorpo-
rating positive arguments only require a small amount of
cognitive resources for scrutiny and can be more heuristically pro-
cessed than two-sided messages. Specifically, low-NFC individu-
als under low time pressure lack motivation to process
information, and thus are likely to more favorably evaluate one-
sided messages than two-sided messages. Likewise, low-NFC
individuals under high time pressure lack both motivation and
cognitive resources for processing effortful information and thus
tend to more favorably evaluate one-sided messages than two-
sided messages.
However, as Liebert and Morris (1967) indicated, adequate time
pressure may activate a state of alertness, vigor or peppiness,
which leads to an increased effort and motivation to perform a
given task (Eysenck & Calvo, 1992). Suri and Monroe (2003)
also argue that moderate time constraints may increase people’s
motivation and intentions to perform a task. Baker and Petty
(1994) contend that negative information requires more systematic
processing than positive information. As indicated above, one-
sided positive messages tend to be heuristically processed,
whereas the positive information in two-sided messages can be
heuristically processed and the negative information in two-sided
 2011 The Author.
Scandinavian Journal of Psychology  2011 The Scandinavian Psychological Associations.
Scand J Psychol 52 (2011)
messages can be systematically processed at the same time. As
the HSM and the resource matching theory implied, two-sided
messages (incorporating positive and negative arguments) require
more cognitive resources for systematic processing than one-sided
messages (incorporating positive arguments only). In the moderate
time pressure condition, low-NFC individuals can be motivated to
systematically process information. The resource matching theory
indicates that persuasion can occur when the cognitive resources
allocated to process the communication match those required for
the task. Therefore, low-NFC individuals under moderate time
pressure are likely to be motivated to apply sufficient cognitive
resources to systematically process information. As Bohner et al.,
(2003) and Kamins and Assael (1987) implied, the negative infor-
mation in two-sided messages is likely to suppress counterargu-
ments and strengthen supporting arguments. Therefore, it is
predicted that low-NFC individuals under the moderate time pres-
sure condition may evaluate two-sided messages more favorably
than one-sided messages.
Given the theoretical background presented above, the author
proposes the following hypotheses:
H1: Message sidedness will have an impact on persuasion. Spe-
cifically, two-sided messages will elicit more favorable ad atti-
tudes, brand attitudes and purchase intentions than one-sided
messages.
H2: NFC will have an impact on persuasion. Specifically, high-
NFC individuals will engender more favorable ad attitudes, brand
attitudes and purchase intentions than low-NFC individuals.
H3: Time pressure will have an impact on persuasion. Specifi-
cally, moderate time pressure will elicit more favorable ad atti-
tudes, brand attitudes and purchase intentions than low time
pressure and high time pressure.
H4: The message sidedness effect will not activate when high-
NFC individuals are under high time pressure; in contrast, two-
sided messages will lead to more favorable ad attitudes, brand atti-
tudes and purchase intentions when high-NFC individuals are
under low or moderate time pressure.
H5: One-sided messages will elicit more favorable ad attitudes,
brand attitudes and purchase intentions than two-sided messages
when low-NFC individuals are under low or high time pressure;
in sharp contrast, two-sided messages will elicit more favorable
ad attitudes, brand attitudes and purchase intentions than one-
sided messages when low-NFC individuals are under moderate
time pressure.
METHODOLOGY
Pretests
The first pretest was conducted to determine the attribute impor-
tance for an MP3 player. Thirty undergraduates participated in an
open-ended question to list up to six priorities they set for pur-
chasing an MP3 player (see Pham & Avnet, 2004 and Nam, 2008
for a similar method). Results indicate that brand, price and sound
quality are the top three concerned attributes; in contrast, colors,
styling and warranty are relatively unimportant attributes.
Scand J Psychol 52 (2011)
To avoid the potential weakness that many researchers selected
time allowance arbitrarily (Ordonez & Benson, 1997), 30 subjects
participated in the second pretest and were asked to self-record
the starting and ending time to determine the average time
required to comprehend and complete the questionnaire. The
average time was 61 seconds. Then, 61 seconds was used to
determine the time pressure for testing the effectiveness of the ad.
Subjects, research design and procedure
A total of 336 undergraduates were randomly assigned to a 2
(message sidedness: one-sided/two-sided) · 3 (time pressure:
low/moderate/high) between-subjects design, where message sid-
edness is a manipulated independent variable, time pressure is a
manipulated moderator, and NFC acts as a measured moderator.
To avoid the pre-existed brand preference or prejudice, this
questionnaire used a fictitious brand name. Subjects were
informed of the time allowed for them to evaluate the one-sided
or two-sided messages.
Manipulation of message sidedness
The ad was clearly stated in a one-sided or a two-sided appeal.
The manipulation of message sidedness in this research was
adapted from the study of Hastak and Park (1990). Subjects were
asked to read a statement on key features of a fictitious MP3
brand (iMusic). The following excerpt shows the main ad copy of
the one-sided appeals:
– Frankly, the iMusic MP3 player makes a great impression from
the start – a distinctive design that reflects a unique styling, and a
wide assortment of colors to choose from. And this impression is
even strengthened when one starts enjoying the music. The pat-
ented technique ‘‘advanced digital filters (ADF)’’ designed by
iMusic helps remove unwanted digital distortion and thus offer
excellent sound quality.
In contrast, the main ad copy of the two-sided appeals is stated
below:
– Frankly, the iMusic MP3 player does not make a particularly
good first impression – a very ordinary design that is not uniquely
styled, and a limited assortment of colors to choose from. This
impression changes, however, when one starts enjoying the music.
The patented technique ‘‘advanced digital filters (ADF)’’ designed
by iMusic helps remove unwanted digital distortion and thus offer
excellent sound quality.
Measurement for NFC
The NFC level for each subject was measured by the 18 five-point
NFC scales devised by Cacioppo et al. (1984). Subjects were
dichotomized into high and low NFC groups based on a median
split (median = 2.97, a = 0.76) (Chang 1996). High-NFC and
low-NFC individuals exhibited significantly different scores
(MhNFC = 3.75, MlNFC = 2.20, t(334) = 31.96, p < 0.001).
Manipulation of time pressure
The pretest indicates that the average time to complete the ques-
tionnaire is 61 seconds (s.d. = 10). According to Benson and
 2011 The Author.
Scandinavian Journal of Psychology  2011 The Scandinavian Psychological Associations.
Message sidedness in advertising 333
Beach (1996), high time pressure can be primed by subtracting
one standard deviation from the mean. Hence, the high/moderate/
low time pressure conditions were manipulated by asking subjects
to complete the questionnaire within 51, 61, 71 seconds respec-
tively.
Dependent variable
Zhang and Zinkhan (2006) argue that ad attitudes, brand attitudes
and purchase intentions can be regarded as different facets of ad
persuasion. In this research, ad attitudes were measured with 4
seven-point scales anchored by bad/good, dislike/like, not irritat-
ing/irritating, not interesting/interesting (a = 0.88) (Martin et al.,
2003). Brand attitudes were measured with 3 seven-point scales
anchored by bad/good, not nice/nice, unlikable/likable (a = 0.89)
(Zhang & Zinkhan, 2006). Purchase intentions were measured
with 2 seven-point scales anchored by strongly consider not buy-
ing/would strongly consider buying, and definitely would not buy/
definitely would buy (a = 0.82) (Zhang & Zinkhan, 2006; Teng,
2009).
RESULTS
Manipulation checks
The message sidedness manipulation was assessed by having
respondents rate whether the ad message contains both positive
and negative information on a seven-point scale anchored by
1 = extremely agree and 7 = extremely disagree. As expected, the
one-sided message and the two-sided message were regarded as
being different (Mone-sided = 5.08, Mtwo-sided = 2.13, t(334) =
23.28, p < 0.001). Therefore, the manipulation of message sided-
ness was effective.
The time pressure manipulation was assessed on a seven-point
scale (‘‘no time pressure’’, ‘‘too much time’’, ‘‘more than ade-
quate time available’’, ‘‘adequate time’’, ‘‘not adequate time avail-
able’’, ‘‘need a lot more time to do’’, and ‘‘too high time
pressure’’) (Suri & Monroe, 2003). A one-way ANOVA revealed
the mean values of low, moderate and high time pressure
(MLTP = 2.04, MMTP = 3.37, MHTP = 5.23). The Scheffe post hoc
analysis further revealed that these mean values differed signifi-
cantly from each other (MLTP-MTP = )1.33, p < 0.001;
MLTP-HTP = )3.19, p < 0.001; MMTP-HTP = )1.86, p < 0.001).
Hence, the manipulation of time pressure was successful.
Hypothesis testing and results
The results from the MANOVA analysis indicated that a three-
way interaction effect, three two-way interaction effects and three
main effects were all significant. In more detail, the interaction
effects of message sidedness · NFC · time pressure (Wilks’K =
0.76, p = 0.000, gp2 = 0.130), NFC · time pressure (Wil-
ks’K = 0.80, p = 0.000, gp2 = 0.106), message sidedness · time
pressure (Wilks’K = 0.65, p = 0.000, gp2 = 0.195) and message
sidedness · NFC (Wilks’K = 0.84, p = 0.000, gp2 = 0.159) on
persuasion were significant (see Table 1). These interactions pro-
vide initial evidence of differentiations across the experimental
334 D. T. Kao Scand J Psychol 52 (2011)

Table 1. Multivariate analysis for the 3-way, 2-way interaction effects further t-test revealed that high-NFC individuals tended to engen-
and main effects der more favorable ad attitudes (MLow NFC = 3.74, MHigh
NFC = 4.92, t(334) = )16.27, p = 0.000), brand attitudes (MLow
Source Wilks’K F p gp2
NFC = 3.30, MHigh NFC = 4.60, t(334) = )19.49, p = 0.000) and
Message sidedness 0.96 4.39 0.005 0.039 purchase intentions (MLow NFC = 3.42, MHigh NFC = 3.99,
NFC 0.32 226.53 0.000 0.679 t(334) = )5.86, p = 0.000, see Table 3) than low-NFC individu-
Time pressure 0.69 21.52 0.000 0.167 als. Hence, H2 was supported.
Message sidedness · NFC 0.84 20.30 0.000 0.159
Message sidedness · Time 0.65 25.98 0.000 0.195 H3: Effects of time pressure on persuasion. Likewise, the ANOVA
pressure
analysis indicated that time pressure had a significant main effect on
NFC · Time pressure 0.80 12.76 0.000 0.106
Message sidedness · NFC 0.76 16.09 0.000 0.130 ad attitudes (F(2, 333) = 7.58, p = 0.001, gp2 = 0.044), brand atti-
· Time pressure tudes (F(2, 333) = 5.59, p = 0.004, gp2 = 0.032) and purchase
intentions (F(2, 333) = 12.58, p = 0.000, gp2 = 0.070, see
Table 2). The ANOVA Scheffe post hoc analysis revealed that mod-
conditions. The individual main effects of NFC, time pressure and erate time pressure tended to elicit more favorable ad attitudes
message sidedness on ad attitudes, brand attitudes and purchase (MMTP = 4.59, MLTP = 4.25, MHTP = 4.16; MMTP-LTP = 0.34,
intentions are examined in the following hypotheses. p = 0.015; MMTP-HTP = 0.43, p = 0.001; MLTP-HTP = 0.09,
p = 0.732) than low time pressure and high time pressure. In addi-
H1: Effects of message sidedness on persuasion. The ANOVA tion, moderate time pressure tended to elicit more favorable brand
analysis indicated that message sidedness had a marginally signifi- attitudes than high time pressure, but did not elicit more favorable
cant main effect on ad attitudes (F(1, 334) = 3.63, p = 0.058, brand attitudes than low time pressure (MMTP = 4.13, MLTP = 3.98,
gp2 = 0.011), but had no statistically significant main effect on MHTP = 3.74; MMTP-LTP = 0.15, p = 0.44; MMTP-HTP = 0.39,
brand attitudes (F(1, 334) = 1.24, p = 0.267, gp2 = 0.004) and p = 0.004; MLTP-HTP = 0.24, p = 0.129). Likewise, moderate time
purchase intentions (F(1, 334) = 0.49, p = 0.486, gp2 = 0.001, pressure tended to elicit more favorable purchase intentions than
see Table 2). The further t-test revealed that message sidedness high time pressure, but did not elicit more favorable purchase inten-
marginally affected ad attitudes (Mone-sided = 4.24, Mtwo-sided = tions than low time pressure (MMTP = 3.95, MLTP = 3.81,
4.42, t(334) = 1.91, p = 0.058), but did not differentially affect MHTP = 3.37; MMTP-LTP = 0.13, p = 0.543; MMTP-HTP = 0.58,
brand attitudes (Mone-sided = 3.89, Mtwo-sided = 4.00, t(334) = 1.11, p = 0.000; MLTP-HTP = 0.45, p = 0.001, see Table 3). Therefore, H3
p = 0.267) and purchase intentions (Mone-sided = 3.67, Mtwo-sided = was partially supported.
3.74, t(334) = 0.70, p = 0.49, see Table 3). Therefore, H1 was
partially supported. H4: Effects of high NFC, time pressure and message sidedness
on persuasion. Two-way ANOVAs were administered to examine
H2: Effects of NFC on persuasion. The ANOVA analysis indi- the interaction effect of message sidedness · time pressure on ad
cated that NFC had a significant main effect on ad attitudes (F(1, attitudes, brand attitudes and purchase intentions.
334) = 264.66, p = 0.000, gp2 = 0.442), brand attitudes (F(1,
334) = 379.68, p = 0.000, gp2 = 0.532) and purchase intentions (1) Ad attitudes (Aad). Under the high-NFC condition, the simple
(F(1, 334) = 34.31, p = 0.000, gp2 = 0.093, see Table 2). The interaction effects of message sidedness · time pressure on ad

Table 2. Individual main effects of NFC, time pressure and message sidedness on ad attitudes, brand attitudes and purchase intentions (comparison of
F and p values)

NFC Time pressure Message sidedness

Brand Purchase Brand Purchase Brand Purchase

Ad attitudes attitudes intentions Ad attitudes attitudes intentions Ad attitudes attitudes intentions

F 264.66 379.68 34.31 7.58 5.59 12.58 3.63 1.24 0.49

p 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.001 0.004 0.000 0.058 0.267 0.486
gp2 0.442 0.532 0.093 0.044 0.032 0.070 0.011 0.004 0.001

Table 3. Individual main effects of NFC, message sidedness and time pressure on ad attitudes, brand attitudes and purchase intentions (comparison of
mean values)

NFC Time pressure Message sidedness

Mean Low High Low Moderate High One-sided Two-sided

Ad attitudes 3.74 4.92 4.25 4.59 4.16 4.24 4.42

Brand attitudes 3.30 4.60 3.98 4.13 3.74 3.89 4.00
Purchase intentions 3.42 3.99 3.81 3.95 3.37 3.67 3.74

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Scandinavian Journal of Psychology  2011 The Scandinavian Psychological Associations.
Scand J Psychol 52 (2011) Message sidedness in advertising 335

Table 4. Ad attitudes across NFC · Time pressure · Message sidedness conditions

High-NFC Low-NFC

LTP MTP HTP LTP MTP HTP

Ad attitudes 2-S 1-S 2-S 1-S 2-S 1-S 2-S 1-S 2-S 1-S 2-S 1-S

Mean 5.64 4.40 5.30 5.02 4.65 4.74 3.32 3.69 4.47 3.75 3.17 3.79
S.D. 0.24 1.27 0.25 0.44 0.25 0.21 0.33 0.51 0.37 0.42 0.29 0.34
t 4.81 2.71 )1.59 )3.02 7.31 )6.72
p 0.000 0.01 0.118 0.004 0.000 0.000

attitudes (F(2, 162) = 18.59, p = 0.000), brand attitudes (F(2,
162) = 12.24, p = 0.000) and purchase intentions (F(2,
162) = 13.46, p = 0.000) were significant. The further t-test
for Aad revealed that message sidedness did not differentially
affect the ad attitudes (Mtwo-sided = 4.65, Mone-sided = 4.74,
t (62) = )1.59, p = 0.118) of high-NFC individuals, who were
under high time pressure. However, high-NFC individuals exhib-
ited more favorable ad attitudes toward two-sided messages than
one-sided messages when they were under moderate time pressure
(Mtwo-sided = 5.30, Mone-sided = 5.02, t(45) = 2.71, p = 0.01) and
under low time pressure (Mtwo-sided = 5.64, Mone-sided = 4.40,
t(55) = 4.81, p = 0.000, see Table 4 and Fig. 1).
(2) Brand attitudes (AB). Similarly, the t-test for AB revealed that
message sidedness did not differentially affect the brand attitudes
of high-NFC individuals, who were under high time pressure
(Mtwo-sided = 4.32, Mone-sided = 4.28, t(62) = 0.52, p = 0.604). In
addition, high-NFC individuals engendered more favorable brand
attitudes toward two-sided messages than one-sided messages
when they were under moderate time pressure (Mtwo-sided = 5.03,
Mone-sided = 4.73, t(45) = 2.60, p = 0.012) and under low time
pressure (Mtwo-sided = 5.31, Mone-sided = 4.24, t(55) = 4.61,
p = 0.000, see Table 5 and Fig. 1).
(3) Purchase intentions (PI). Likewise, the t-test for PI revealed
that message sidedness did not differentially affect the purchase
intentions of high-NFC individuals, who were under high time
pressure (Mtwo-sided = 3.43, Mone-sided = 3.67, t(62) = )1.56,
p = 0.125). However, high-NFC individuals expressed more
favorable purchase intentions toward two-sided messages than
one-sided messages when they were under moderate time pressure
(Mtwo-sided = 4.31, Mone-sided = 3.62, t(45) = 3.18, p = 0.003) and
under low time pressure (Mtwo-sided = 5.12, Mone-sided = 3.97,
t(55) = 4.90, p = 0.000, see Table 6 and Fig. 1). Hence, H4 was
supported.
H5: Effects of low NFC, time pressure and message sidedness on
persuasion. Two-way ANOVAs were administered to examine the
interaction effect of message sidedness · time pressure on ad atti-
tudes, brand attitudes and purchase intentions.
(1) Ad attitudes. Under the low-NFC condition, the simple inter-
action effects of message sidedness · time pressure on ad atti-
tudes (F(2, 162) = 47.61, p = 0.000), brand attitudes (F(2,
162) = 31.83, p = 0.000) and purchase intentions (F(2,162) =
36.41, p = 0.000) were significant. The further t-test for Aad
revealed that one-sided messages were more effective than two-
sided messages for low-NFC individuals under high time pressure
(Mtwo-sided = 3.17, Mone-sided = 3.79, t(46) = )6.72, p = 0.000)
and under low time pressure (Mtwo-sided = 3.32, Mone-sided = 3.69,
t(53) = )3.02, p = 0.004). In sharp contrast, under the moderate
time pressure context, low-NFC individuals exhibited more favor-
able ad attitudes toward two-sided messages than one-sided mes-
sages (Mtwo-sided = 4.47, Mone-sided = 3.75, t(63) = 7.31,
p = 0.000, see Table 4 and Fig. 1).
(2) Brand attitudes. A similar pattern was evident for brand atti-
tudes. The t-test for AB revealed that low-NFC individuals engen-
dered more favorable brand attitudes toward one-sided messages
than two-sided messages when they were under high time pres-
sure (Mtwo-sided = 2.89, Mone-sided = 3.13, t(46) = )2.31,
p = 0.025) and under low time pressure (Mtwo-sided = 2.83, Mone-
sided = 3.53, t(53) = )5.65, p = 0.000). In contrast, low-NFC indi-
viduals under moderate time pressure expressed more favorable
brand attitudes toward two-sided messages than one-sided mes-
sages (Mtwo-sided = 3.77, Mone-sided = 3.33, t(63) = 5.00,
p = 0.000, see Table 5 and Fig. 1).
(3) Purchase intentions. Similarly, the t-test for PI revealed that
low-NFC individuals expressed more favorable purchase inten-
tions toward one-sided messages than two-sided messages when
they were under low time pressure (Mone-sided = 3.45, Mtwo-sided =
2.71, t(53) = )4.09, p = 0.000) and under high time pressure
(Mone-sided = 3.85, Mtwo-sided = 2.57, t(46) = )7.10, p = 0.000). In
sharp contrast, low-NFC individuals under moderate time pressure
engendered more favorable purchase intentions toward two-sided
messages than one-sided messages (Mone-sided = 3.50, Mtwo-sided =
4.22, t(63) = 4.43, p = 0.000, see Table 6 and Fig. 1). Therefore,
H5 was supported.
DISCUSSION
Theoretical implications of hypothesis testing
The results for H1 indicate that message sidedness has a margin-
ally significant main effect on ad attitudes, but has no statistically
significant impact on brand attitudes and purchase intentions.
Nonetheless, the ANOVA results reveal that brand attitudes and
purchase intentions may be affected by message sidedness to
some extent, which implies that message sidedness can still elicit
different levels of persuasion (even the mean values of two-sided
messages are marginally or no significantly greater than those of
one-sided messages). Considering the HSM and the resource
matching theory, two-sided messages (incorporating both positive

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Scandinavian Journal of Psychology  2011 The Scandinavian Psychological Associations.
336 D. T. Kao
Fig. 1. Interactions of Message sidedness · NFC · Time pressure on dependent variables.
and negative information) require more cognitive resources for
systematic scrutiny than one-sided messages (incorporating posi-
tive information only). Namely, when individuals are exposed to
one-sided messages, they tend to engage in limited cognitive
endeavors and heuristically process the positive information.
However, when individuals are exposed to two-sided messages,
they are likely to apply comparatively fewer cognitive resources
to heuristically process the positive information and apply com-
paratively more cognitive resources to systematically process the
negative information. Moreover, the negative information in two-
sided messages is expected to mitigate individuals’ intrinsic cog-
nitive resistance and increase the probability of accepting these
messages. However, this research demonstrates that, except for ad
attitudes, individuals tend to generate no differentially favorable
brand attitudes and purchase intentions toward either one-sided or
two-sided messages, which imply that the message sidedness
effect can be moderated when it interacts with other factors. This
implication is consistent with the assumption in the introduction
section of this research.
The results for H2 support the notion that NFC has a significant
impact on persuasion. As the HSM implied, high-NFC individuals
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Scandinavian Journal of Psychology  2011 The Scandinavian Psychological Associations.
Scand J Psychol 52 (2011)
usually scrutinize information systematically, whereas low-NFC
individuals tend to process information heuristically. When high-
NFC individuals are exposed to message arguments, they tend to
systematically scrutinize these arguments. If these arguments are
acceptable, persuasion will occur. Alternatively, when low-NFC
individuals are exposed to message arguments, they tend to ignore
or heuristically process these arguments. In other words, high-
NFC individuals are more likely to generate positive cognitive
responses toward message arguments than low-NFC individuals.
The main effect of NFC on persuasion also reveals that high-NFC
individuals tend to express more favorable ad attitudes, brand atti-
tudes and purchase intentions than low-NFC individuals.
The results for H3 indicate that time pressure has a significant
impact on persuasion. Considering the HSM and the resource
matching theory, individuals under the moderate time pressure tend
to be motivated to apply available cognitive resources to systemati-
cally process information; on the contrary, when the time pressure
is low or high, individuals are usually unmotivated or unable to
apply available cognitive resources to systematically process infor-
mation. In other words, persuasion is more likely to occur when
individuals are under moderate time pressure than under low or
Scand J Psychol 52 (2011) Message sidedness in advertising 337

Table 5. Brand attitudes across NFC · Time pressure · Message sidedness conditions

High-NFC Low-NFC

LTP MTP HTP LTP MTP HTP

Brand
attitudes 2-S 1-S 2-S 1-S 2-S 1-S 2-S 1-S 2-S 1-S 2-S 1-S

Mean 5.31 4.24 5.03 4.73 4.32 4.28 2.83 3.53 3.77 3.33 2.89 3.13
S.D. 0.24 1.14 0.28 0.49 0.25 0.37 0.34 0.52 0.38 0.29 0.36 0.35
t 4.61 2.60 0.52 )5.65 5.00 )2.31
p 0.000 0.012 0.604 0.000 0.000 0.025

Table 6. Purchase intentions across NFC · Time pressure · Message sidedness conditions

High-NFC Low-NFC

LTP MTP HTP LTP MTP HTP

Purchase
intentions 2-S 1-S 2-S 1-S 2-S 1-S 2-S 1-S 2-S 1-S 2-S 1-S

Mean 5.12 3.97 4.31 3.62 3.43 3.67 2.71 3.45 4.22 3.50 2.57 3.85
S.D. 0.93 0.84 0.79 0.67 0.63 0.59 0.66 0.68 0.67 0.61 0.63 0.59
t 4.90 3.18 )1.56 )4.09 4.43 )7.10
p 0.000 0.003 0.125 0.000 0.000 0.000

high time pressure. The main effect of time pressure on persuasion
indicates that, as compared with low time pressure and high time
pressure, moderate time pressure tends to lead to more favorable
ad attitudes. However, moderate time pressure tends to elicit more
favorable brand attitudes and purchase intentions than high time
pressure, but does not elicit more favorable brand attitudes and
purchase intentions than low time pressure.
The results for H4 support the notion that the message sided-
ness effect does not activate when high-NFC individuals are under
high time pressure, whereas two-sided messages are more persua-
sive than one-sided messages when high-NFC individuals are
under low or moderate time pressure. As the HSM and the
resource matching theory implied, when high-NFC individuals are
under high time pressure, they lack the required cognitive
resources to systematically assess information and thus tend to
engender no differentially favorable ad attitudes, brand attitudes
and purchase intentions toward either two-sided messages or one-
sided messages. Alternatively, when high-NFC individuals are
under low or moderate time pressure, they are motivated to apply
the available cognitive resources to heuristically process the
positive information and systematically scrutinize the negative
information in two-sided messages simultaneously. However,
one-sided messages containing positive information only cannot
attract high-NFC individuals for further elaboration. Therefore,
high-NFC individuals under low or moderate time pressure may
express more favorable ad attitudes, brand attitudes and purchase
intentions toward two-sided messages than one-sided messages.
The results for H5 support the notion that low-NFC individuals
under low or high time pressure prefer one-sided messages to
two-sided messages; however, low-NFC individuals under moder-
ate time pressure may more favorably evaluate two-sided mes-
sages than one-sided messages. Considering the HSM and the
resource matching theory, low-NFC individuals intrinsically lack
motivation to systematically process complex information when
the time pressure is low, and lack both motivation and cognitive
resources to systematically assess the cognitively demanding
information when the time pressure is high. For low-NFC individ-
uals, one-sided messages are easier to process and thus are likely
to have a higher acceptance probability than two-sided messages.
Interestingly, this research indicates that low-NFC individuals can
be motivated to process information by moderate time pressure.
The further analysis concludes that low-NFC individuals under
moderate time pressure tend to express more favorable ad atti-
tudes, brand attitudes and purchase intentions toward two-sided
messages than one-sided messages.
Theoretical contributions
From an academic perspective, theoretical understanding of mes-
sage sidedness effects is promising but underdeveloped. Some
empirical studies in the literature of consumer behavior have
examined the effect of message sidedness (e.g., Becker-Olsen,
2006; Belch, 1981; Czuchry & Gray, 2009; Hastak & Park, 1990;
Kamins & Assael, 1987); however, there is substantial disagree-
ment regarding whether one-sided or two-sided messages are
more persuasive. This disagreement can be attributed to some
internal (such as personal traits) and external (such as time con-
straints) factors, which moderate the persuasiveness of message
sidedness. This research successfully links the internal and exter-
nal factors and explores their interaction effects on persuasion.
This research differs from the prior research in three main
respects, which contribute to the persuasion literature. First, this
research is the first to provide empirical evidence that NFC mod-
erates the persuasive impact of message sidedness. Although NFC
has been identified as a potential moderating factor in previous
research (e.g., Martin et al., 2003; Sawyer & Howard, 1991), its
influence on the persuasive impact of message sidedness has not
been examined yet. This research supports the belief that NFC has

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Scandinavian Journal of Psychology  2011 The Scandinavian Psychological Associations.
338 D. T. Kao
an influence on the message sidedness effect. In addition, this
research speculates that the message sidedness effect on persua-
sion is not only driven by changes in internal mental states (Celsi
& Olson, 1988), but also other external factors may drive the per-
suasion changes.
Second, an important methodological issue is that most previ-
ous research regarding time pressure has used two levels of time
pressure: either no time pressure vs. time pressure or low time
pressure vs. high time pressure. Such previous research (e.g., Dhar
& Nowlis, 1999; Svenson, Edland & Slovic, 1990) could not test
the curvilinear effects of time pressure; however, using three lev-
els of time pressure can effectively fill the gap (Suri & Monroe,
2003). This research applies three levels of time pressure to
empirically examine the curvilinear relationship between message
sidedness and persuasion.
At last, previous literature has indicated that low-NFC individu-
als are usually unmotivated or slightly motivated to spend cogni-
tive effort on processing complex problems (e.g., Cacioppo &
Petty, 1982; Kivetz & Simonson, 2000). However, this research
empirically supports that low-NFC individuals under moderate
time pressure can be motivated to invest cognitive effort in
processing the complex information and favorably evaluate the
cognitively demanding tasks (such as two-sided messages).
Practical implications
This research suggests that the message sidedness effect can be
moderated by other factors, which implies that advertisers are
advised to adopt an ad message sidedness strategy together with
other marketing stimuli or market segmentation. In addition, as
compared with low-NFC individuals, high-NFC individuals are
more likely to generate positive cognitive responses toward the
advertisements and become potential consumers. Moreover, a rea-
sonable period of promotion duration can be more effective than a
long period or a short period of promotion duration.
Furthermore, in the experiments of this research, time pressure
manipulation was designed for simulating the scenarios in the real
world and for examining how subjects reacted to the ad stimulus
under different levels of time pressure. In the real world, the time
length that individuals are exposed to a commercial film or a print
ad is usually no longer than 1 minute. In addition, it is common
that time pressure is manipulated by seconds or minutes in TV
shopping channels, such as ‘‘the unprecedented special price for
the last 60 seconds’’. In other words, different lengths of promo-
tion duration can affect how strongly consumers are motivated to
process the ad messages. The time pressure manipulation by sec-
onds in this research does not mean that advertisers can have their
promotion durations counted in seconds only. Instead, advertisers
can manipulate their promotion durations counted in minutes,
hours, days, weeks, even months, depending on their marketing
goals.
This research implies that, when the promotional offers for
high-NFC individuals span over a very short period, there are no
differences in persuasion between a one-sided and a two-sided
message strategy. However, advertisers are advised to choose a
two-sided ad message strategy with a reasonable period or a long
period of promotion to persuade high-NFC individuals. Alterna-
tively, for the potential consumers who are low in NFC, advertis-
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Scandinavian Journal of Psychology  2011 The Scandinavian Psychological Associations.
Scand J Psychol 52 (2011)
ers are advised to adopt a two-sided message strategy with a
reasonable period of promotion duration.
Limitations and future research
First, while message sidedness lies well within the control of
advertisers as an ad strategy, advertisers may wonder how to
make use of findings relating to NFC. Advertisers may face a
tough task to precisely measure the NFC levels of message recip-
ients before their ad strategies are devised. Luna and Peracchio
(2002) contend that NFC offers additional information for market
segmentation, where segments can be classified as high-NFC or
low-NFC. Martin et al. (2003) suggest that one approach to dis-
tinguish high-NFC from low-NFC is to study the nature of the
media vehicle, in which the ad is to be placed. A judgment can
be made regarding the NFC levels of the readers in the target
markets, based on preferred content and featured articles. For
example, investment or business magazines that offer corporate
case studies tend to be cognitively demanding (Meyers-Levy &
Peracchio, 1995) and thus the readership profile for these maga-
zines may be closer to high-NFC than low-NFC. In contrast, the
reader profile for magazines, which are less text-based or high-
light the news of movie celebrities, may be closer to low-NFC
than high-NFC.
Second, the use of a student sample may be said to limit the
generalizability of the results and caution must be mentioned
when giving advice to advertisers in real business contexts. None-
theless, it is predicted that advertisers may benefit from these find-
ings in this research. Future research is expected to extend these
findings to other populations.
Chang and Chou (2008) indicate that involvement may affect
persuasion effects; however, their research does not include
involvement as a covariate or a moderator to affect persuasion.
McQuarrie and Phillips (2005) also do not presuppose a high
degree of consumer involvement, instead relying on more sponta-
neous generation of implicatures. Nonetheless, an important task
for future research is to study whether involvement can moderate
persuasion.
At last, some more moderators pertaining to personality traits,
such as regulatory focus (prevention-focused vs. promotion-focused
individuals) and risk tendency (risk-averse vs. risk-seeking), can be
investigated in the effect of message sidedness on persuasion in
the future research. In addition, the future studies on message sid-
edness are encouraged to extend the persuasion effect from adver-
tising to more social science fields, such as laws and politics.
The author wishes to thank the editor Dr Magnus Lindgren and the anony-
mous reviewers for their insightful comments, as well as the National
Science Council of Taiwan for their financial supports (NSC 95-2416 -H-
158 -014 and NSC 97-2410-H-158-007-MY2).
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Received 24 April 2010, accepted 3 February 2011