Computers as Situational Cues: Implications for Consumers Product Cognitions and Attitudes

Drawing from learning theory and the functional theory of attitudes, it is predicted that computers, by being associated with the accessibility of detailed information, will elicit a need for meaning, and when a computer is present, people may think about and seek more product information than will those evaluating the product on paper.

Abstract

Whereas the Internet itself poses unique challenges and opportunities, it is possible that the context of the Internet (a computer context) affects consumers differently than other contexts would, thereby causing people to think about and evaluate products differently.Drawing from learning theory and the functional theory of attitudes, it is predicted that computers, by being associated with the accessibilityof detailed information,will elicit a need for meaning. Conse-quently, when a computer is present, people may think about and seek more product informa-tion than will those evaluating the product on paper (a print context). The results of an experi-ment support these hypotheses.Across two diverse products, the mere presence of a computer caused people to think more about and request more information about the product than those in the print context did. Furthermore, the attitudes of those in the computer context were more representative of both dimensions described in the advertisement, whereas the attitudes of those in the print context reflectedthe valenceof the dimensionthat is typicallyused when eval-uating the product. Implications for promoting products and conducting market research in computer environments are discussed. The Internet has many unique features, among which is its digital nature. One implication of this feature is that market-ers are not constrained in the depth and breadth of product in-formation they deliver to consumers through the Internet. Yet, with such unique features arise challenges, such as how to develop strategies that will take advantageof these new ca-pabilities as well as whether such approaches are welcomed or even desired by consumers. Devising new, effective strate-gies is further complicated by the likelihood that consumers respond differently to products presented in computer con-texts than in other traditional media settings. Computers, especially with the advent of the Internet, are devices used for information organization, dissemination, storageandretrieval.Thedigitalnatureof the Internetallowsit to be encyclopedicin nature. Indeed, the Web and Internet are argued to have produced significant advancements in the re-