Mental Imagery and Sound Effects in RadioCommercialsDarryl W. Miller and Lawrence J. Marks

Advertising researchers have not investigated the impact of the imagery-evoking sound effects included inradio commercials on learning, feelings, and attitude formation. Results of the current study indicate that theinclusion of sound effects can increase imagery activity and that there is a relationship between degree ofimaging and feelings. Further, it is found that imagery evoking sound effects can result in more favorableattitude toward the commercial and in improved recall and recognition of ad claims. Implications for theoryand advertising practice are discussed.

Darryl W. Miller (M.B.A., IndianaUniversity at South Bend) is adoctoral student. Department ofMarketing, Kent State University,Kent, Ohio.

Lawrence J. Marks (Ph.D.,Pennsylvania State University) isAssociate Professor and Chairpersonof Marketing at Kent State Univer-sity.

The authors thank Gene Stebbins forpreparing the commercials used inthis study and James M. Munch,Michael Hu, and the anonjonousreviewers for their helpful comments.

Journal of Advertising,Volume XXI, Number 4December 1992

IntroductionThe study of mental imagery has received widespread attention in recent

years. In advertising contexts, attention has focused on the effects of imag-ing generated by visual cues, such as photographs or drawings contained inprint ads (see Maclnnis and Price 1987 for an extensive review), and on theuse of imagery instructions in radio ads (Bone and Ellen 1990, 1991, 1992).Past research has shown that product-related imagery processing may fa-cilitate the learning of product-related information contained in advertise-ments (Childers and Houston 1984; Edell and Staelin 1983; Lutz and Lutz1977; Unnava and Bumkrant 1991) and impact the moods or feelings thatare evoked by advertisements (Bone and Ellen 1991), as well as the forma-tion of advertising-related attitudes (Bone and Ellen 1990, 1991, 1992;Miniard et al. 1991; Mitchell 1986; Mitchell and Olson 1981; Percy andRossiter 1982; Rossiter and Percy 1980).

There have been few studies investigating the effects of imaging generatedby non-visual sensory cues such as sounds, smells, or tastes. The purpose ofthis study is to examine the influence of one of these non-visual sensorystimuli, sound effects, in the context of a radio commercial message. Spe-cifically, the influence of sound-evoked mental imagery on listeners' emo-tional responses, memory for product information, and attitudes will beexamined.

While it may be intuitive that sound effects in commercial messagesshould create mental images, Atwood (1989) notes that no studies haveexamined the effects of non-visual stimuli on imaging in the absence ofexplicit instructions to image. The possibility that sounds generate imageryshould be of special interest since they are commonly used in radio advertis-ing. Further, to the extent that the effects of audio-evoked mental imagescan be better understood, theoretical models of mental imagery may beimproved.

A General Model of Imagery Processing

Mental imagery has been defined as a process whereby sensory informa-tion can be represented in working memory (Maclnnis and Price 1987).Kieras (1978) conceptualizes mental imagery processing as the activation ofstructures that contain sensory information in semantic memory. Atwood

84 Journal of Advertising

(1989) proposes Kieras' model as a promising theo-retical base for research investigating how the learn-ing of verbal information may be facilitated by audio-evoked mental imagery. Atwood suggests "contextavailability" and "elaboration" as key components ofthe model that can be used to explain imagery'spositive effects on learning.

From this perspective, new information can be bettercomprehended and better learned when relevant ex-isting memory structures in long term memory areactivated (i.e., if a context is made available or contextavailability is enhanced). Thus, if the propositionsconveyed by new information can be connected withexisting memory structures (the relevant context isactivated and made available), better learning occursboth because fewer new memory structures have tobe built and more retrieval paths will exist betweenexisting memory and the new information (Kieras1978). High imagery information is expected to en-hance context availability by providing a framing el-ement for new information. In this way, the new in-formation is more easily assigned a relevant contextin long-term memory (Atwood 1989).

Second, elaboration (the degree or extensiveness towhich new information is encoded into existingmemory structures. Fisher and Craik 1980) results inricher and better-connected memory traces which fa-cilitate recall and recognition. Typically, mental pro-cessing involving imagery provokes more elaborateprocessing and better learning (Atwood 1989) com-pared to semantic processing.

It should be noted that stimuli can produce bothsensory and semantic processing. It is possible tohave verbal stimuli that are elaborated in terms ofrich mental images, especially when the verbal stimuliare concrete in nature. It is also possible to havesensory stimuli that trigger semantic processing(Maclnnis and Price 1987). However, whatever thesource, imagery carries a wealth of sensory informa-tion which may be richly interconnected in semanticmemory (Kieras 1978).

Mental imagery processing is not one-dimensional.Ellen and Bone (1991) reviewed the imagery literatureand found that quantity of images, ease of imageryactivation, and vividness of imagery are identifiabledimensions of imagery processing. These dimensionsof imagery processing can be viewed in terms of theKieras (1978) model. First, to the extent that greaternumbers of imagery structures are easily activated,elaboration and context assignment of new informa-tion should be facilitated, resulting in greater learn-

ing. Second, to the extent that cues create vivid men-tal images, relatively concrete nodes in memory willbe activated. Kieras (1978) implies that structurescarrying more concrete information are more elabo-rately encoded within semantic memory and, so, bet-ter learned.

This model has interesting implications in a radioadvertising context, in terms of the effects of imageryon emotion, attitude toward the advertisement,learning about the brand, and brand attitude. Thefirst hypothesis follows from this discussion.

HI:Radio commercials containing sound ef-fects will create greater imagery process-ing than will the same commercialswithout sound effects.

The model has implications for listeners' emotionalreactions as well. In terms of listeners' feelings, themental images evoked by stimuli can be affect-laden(Sheikh and Jordan 1983). Since propositional struc-tures that convey sensory information are richly in-terconnected with past experiences and their associ-ated affect in memory (Lang 1979), stimuli that pro-duce greater degrees of imagery should producestronger feelings than should low-image stimuli.Therefore it is proposed that:

H2: Radio commercials with imagery-produc-ing sound effects will create strongeremotional reactions than will the sameradio commercials without imagery-pro-ducing sound effects.

Also, according to the availability-valence hypoth-esis (Kisielius and Stemthal 1986), when cognitivestructvu-es are valenced and elaborate, they presentmore information from which to generate "message-related" attitudinal judgments. Since imagery-evokingstimuli are expected to create comparatively strongeremotions, such stimuli may generate stronger atti-tudes (more favorable or unfavorable, depending onthe valence of the emotion created) than low-imagestimuli, although the empirical results are mixed (cf.Kisielius and Stemthal 1986 and Taylor and Wood1983). This effect may occur not only for message-related attitudinal judgments (i.e., about the adver-tised brand), but for judgments about the commercialitself. For example, it has been shown that positiveemotional response is associated with favorable adand brand attitudes (Aaker, Stayman, and Hagerty1986; Batra and Ray 1986; Edell and Burke 1987)while negative emotional response is associated withunfavorable ad and brand attitudes (Edell and Burke1987). Thus, it is proposed that:

December 1992 85

H3: Radio commercials with imagery-produc-ing sound effects will create stronger atti-tude toward the commercial (more favor-able or unfavorable) than will the sameradio commercials without imagery-pro-ducing sound effects.

Additionally, the theory suggests radio commer-cials that contain imagery-evoking sound effectsshould promote better learning of verbal product-re-lated information than radio commercials that containonly verbal information. From this, the following hy-pothesis is proposed:

H4: Radio commercials with imagery-produc-ing sound effects will create better learn-ing of brand-related information than willthe same radio commercials without im-agery-producing sound effects.

As noted, the elaborate and valenced structurescreated by imaging should also influence attitudinaljudgments about the advertised brand. Thus, it isproposed that:

H5: Radio commercials with imagery-produc-ing sound effects will create strongerbrand attitudes than the same radio com-mercials without imagery-producingsound effects.

Methodology

The experiment was conducted using a between-subjects design. For each of two different products,one treatment consisted of a radio commercial with averbal message alone (lower imagery stimulus) whilethe other treatment included a sound effect followedby an identical verbal message (higher imagerystimulus). Each subject was exposed to one treatment.Comparisons were made between message-only andsound effect groups for each product.

Subjects

The subjects were 124 undergraduate marketingstudents from a large Midwestern university. Thestudents received extra credit points in their mar-keting classes as incentive to participate. They signedup for the day and time that best suited their sched-ule. The use of students as subjects has been criti-cized as compromising external validity. However, asCalder, Phillips, and Tybout (1982) note, this is not aconcern unless there is reason to believe that thedemographic background factor would interact withthe theoretical variables of interest. In this case, no

such interaction should exist. The commercials wererandomized to each session and were administeredover a period of four days to small groups rangingfrom 2 to 20 subjects.

Procedures

After completing an informed consent form, thesubjects were told that they would be evaluating aradio commercial. Their processing attention waspurposely directed to the commercial rather than theadvertised products in order to create an incidentallearning situation (cf. Childers and Houston 1984).Had subjects focused on the brand information inprocessing the commercials, it is likely that any im-agery-induced learning effect would have been over-whelmed by the semantic processing of brand infor-mation.

Upon completion of the message, the subjects weregiven two minutes to "write down all of the thoughtsthat came to your mind while you listened to thecommercial" (cf. Olson, Toy and Dover 1982). Theythen completed scales relating to feelings, imaging,commercial and brand evaluation, and learning (i.e.,recall and recognition of claims and brand names).

In order to assure that the measures of learning didnot simply reflect information in short-term workingmemory, a distractor task was introduced prior toadministering the learning measures. A convenientand useful distractor task was the measurement ofseveral potentially confounding individual differencevariables. These variables are discussed in a sectionbelow.

Finally, the subjects were given a "confidentiality"statement to read, which was also read aloud by theadministrator. It stressed the need to not discuss thedetails of the session until after the period of thestudy was over.

The Advertising Stimuli

On the basis of pretests, four radio advertisements(scripts in Appendix A) were prepared by the Uni-versity Department of Journalism and Mass Com-munications: two ads were for lawn mowers and twowere for automobile tires. Pretests indicated thatsubjects were knowledgeable and moderately involvedwith both products. In each case, the commercialcontained specific points about the brand's charac-teristics and information about where the productcould be obtained. Also, brand names were men-tioned several times.

86 Journal of Advertising

For each brand, one commercial contained only theverbal message. The other commercial had the iden-tical verbal message preceded by a five-second soundeffect (a running lawn mower engine or the sound ofscreeching tires and a minor automobile accident). Itwas expected that the verbal message preceded bythe sound effect treatments would produce more im-aging than the verbal message only ads.

It should be noted that sound effects which areused in a commercial message may be of three basictypes. They may be clearly related to the advertisedproduct, ambiguous (not clearly related to the prod-uct), or not related to the product at all. Ambiguousand non-product-related sound effects may increaselisteners' attention levels to a commercial messageanchor create non-product related mental images. Sucheffects may or may not enhance processing of thecommercial message. This study focuses on product-related sound effects and the imagery they produce.This is consistent with past imagery research in ad-vertising and with the theoretical perspective thatproduct-related images should help frame informa-tion improving feeling and attitudes and increasinglearning.

Concern for Confounding Effects

Several elements have the potential for confound-ing the effects in the study. Information processing(both imagery and semantic) may be mediated by avariety of factors. These include the vividness of im-agery individuals tend to experience "naturally"(Swann and Miller 1982), individuals' preferred stylesof processing (i.e., verbal or visual; Richardson 1978),advertising message involvement (i.e., product in-volvement and knowledge) and advertising executioninvolvement (Muehling, Laczniak, and Stoltman1991), and degree of semantic processing of brand-related information (Petty, Cacioppo, and Schumann1983). Typically, for such variables, it is expectedthat randomization procedures will assure that nosignificant differences exist between treatment groups.However, given the importance of these variables inthe current study, and since taking measures of pro-viding a convenient distractor task before recall mea-sures, they were measured specifically.

Measures

The major variables of interest in this study are themental imaging, feelings produced by the levels ofimaging, the amount and type of cognitive responses

generated, the learning of commercial content, andthe attitudes formed. Also of interest are the poten-tially confounding factors.

Measurement of Potential Confounds

The subjects' natural ability to evoke vivid imagerywas measured with the Short Form of Betts' Ques-tionnaire upon Mental Imagery (Richardson 1969)and preferred style of processing with the Style ofProcessing Questionnaire (Childers, Houston, Heck-ler 1985). Advertising message involvement was op-erationalized in a manner similar to Muehling,Laczniak, and Stoltman (1991), as a two-dimensionalconstruct consisting of product involvement andproduct knowledge. Product involvement was mea-sured using Zaichkowsky's (1985) Personal Involve-ment Inventory, and product knowledge was mea-sured with two items designed for this purpose byBrucks (1985). Advertising execution involvement wasmeasured using commercial related cognitive re-sponses, while the amount of semantic processing ofbrand-related information was measured as numberof brand-related cognitive responses. Cognitive re-sponses were coded using an approach similar to thatproposed by Batra and Ray (1986).

Imagery Measures

The degree of imaging produced by each of thestimuli was measured using items from the Ellen andBone (1991) Imagery Scale. This scale was developedas an imagery measixre which could "...incorporatevisual as well as other sensory experiences..." (Ellenand Bone 1991, p.8O6) and previously has been usedin the context of radio commercials (Bone and Ellen1991). The subjects were instructed to "...use the fol-lowing items to rate the images that the commercialproduced in your mind."

Imagery activity was measured on the dimensionsof quantity and ease of imagery and imagery vividness,using a series of five point scales (see Appendix B). Inpractice, Ellen and Bone have found the quantity andease measures load on a single factor, while the viv-idness measures load on a separate factor. These twodimensions have been found to be valid and reliablemeasures of degree of imaging (Bone and Ellen 1991,1992; Ellen and Bone 1991).

Ad Induced Feelings

Feelings were measured based on the scales devel-

December 1992 87

oped by Edell and Burke (1987). Their results sug-gest that emotional responses to advertising havethree main dimensions. These include two positive("upbeat" and "warm" feelings) and one negative di-mension ("negative" feelings). Edell and Burke foundthat these dimensions are orthogonal and that indi-viduals may experience these different feelings con-currently (e.g., the occurrence of positive feelings doesnot imply the non-occurrence of negative feelings).

Because of the type of stimulus used in the com-mercial for tires, we added "afraid" and "fearful" tothe Edell and Burke measures. In pretest using athree factor confirmatory factor analysis, afraid andfearful loaded on the negative dimension with factorloadings of greater than .50, and so these items wereadded to the negative dimension. The standardizedalpha coefficient for the upbeat scale (26 items) was.96, and it was .83 for the negative scale (16 items),and .81 for the warmth scale (12 items).

Learning

Unaided Recall. Subjects were asked to respond tothe following instructions: "Many claims about theproduct were made in the commercial you just heard.Write down as many of these claims as you can re-member." These responses were then coded to indicatenumber of ad claims correctly mentioned.

Aided Recall. The questionnaire next had a seriesof "fill in the blank" items which asked the respondentsabout specific ad claims. For both products, the firstquestion asked the respondent to list the brand nameof the product advertised. A count was then done onthe number of ad points correctly listed and whetherthe correct brand name was listed.

Recognition. To measure recognition, a series ofmultiple choice questions (3 distractors, 1 correctanswer) was provided for both the brand name andthe advertising claims. Once again, the correct num-ber of ad points was scored, as was recognition of thebrand name.

Attitudes

Attitude Toward the Commercial. Attitude towardthe commercial was measured as an average of fourbi-polar scales which had five rating spaces (good-bad, like-dislike, irritating-not irritating, interesting-not interesting, alpha coefficient=.86; Mitchell andOlson 1981).

Attitude Toward the Brand. An average of fiveseven-point bi-polar items was used as an indicator of

attitude toward the brand (good-bad, dislike verymuch-like very much, pleasant-unpleasant, poorquality-high quality, not needed-needed; alpha coeffi-cient=.84; Mitchell and Olson 1981).

To assure that the two attitude measures provideddiscriminant validity, the nine items were submittedto a factor analysis. The analysis resulted in a two-factor solution, with each item loading strongly onthe appropriate factor (all factor loadings .65 orhigher).

Results

The results were analyzed using t-tests to makebetween group comparisons for confounding checksand to examine the hypotheses. For each treatment,the means for the independent and dependent mea-sures appear in the Table.

Confounding Checks

Analysis of the individual difference measures (i.e.,natural imaging tendencies, preferred style of pro-cessing, advertising message involvement, advertisingexecution involvement, and the amount of semanticbrand-related processing) indicated that no significantdifferences existed between treatment groups for ei-ther the lawn mower or tire commercials. Thus, anysignificant results found were likely not confoundedby these individual differences.

Hypothesis 1

The first hypothesis was analyzed using the vali-dated subscales (i.e., quantity/ease and vividness) ofEllen and Bone's Imagery Scale (1991). A factoranalysis was conducted for the scale items across allthe treatment conditions, specifying a two-factor so-lution. The results are similar to those reported byEllen and Bone (1991) in that all items load on theappropriate factor with a factor loading of .5 or higher(except for the "intense" item of the vividness scale).The quantity/ease factor explained 31% of the varianceand the vividness factor explained 28% of the variance.

T-tests were used to analyze the quantity/ease andvividness of imagery mean scores (see the Table). Theresults show that quantity/ease of imaging was sig-nificantly higher in the sound effect commercials thanthe message-only commercials for both products(t=2.16, p

Journal of Advertising

imagery than the message-only commercial (t=2.0l,p

December 1992 89

imagery processing can result in stronger emotionalreactions, more favorable attitude toward the com-mercial, and improved learning of message-relatedinformation.

In the lawn mower commercial, the inclusion of asound effect significantly increased people's feelingsof warmth (and directionally increased the degree towhich they felt upbeat). Why? The two messages weresemantically identical and differed only in the inclu-sion of a sound effect. Examination of the cognitiveresponses for the two treatment cells did not indicatedifferences in any of the typical cognitive responsecode categories, or in the number of positively valencedthoughts about sprin^summer-time events (e.g., birdschirping, girlfriend, flowers, squirrels, sunny, parties).It appears, then, that the semantic portion of themessage created similar responses in both cases. Thus,it appears that it was the increased mental imagerycreated by the sound effect which created this effect.

Although the Ellen and Bone Imagery Scale wasnot designed to measure the valence of imagery, it isreasonable to assume that the increase in warm feel-ings for the lawn mower commercial with sound effectswas related to a greater number of mental imagesassociated with warm feelings created by the lawnmower sounds.

Consistent with the predictions of the propositionalrepresentations model, when mental imagery pro-cessing was associated with stronger, positive emo-tions (i.e., warmth) more favorable attitudes aboutthe commercial resulted. Also, for the lawn mowercommercial, the increased imagery activity resultedin greater learning of brand information on all mea-sures. Thus, from the perspective of the model, itseems that the new brand information was encodedwith more elaborate sensory memory structures inlong term memory and, therefore, was more acces-sible during the tasks involving evaluation of thecommercial and learning of brand-related information.

While it was expected that the processing of mentalimagery associated with warmer feelings should haveresulted in more favorable brand evaluations, thiswas not the case. Perhaps the strength of the positiveemotions evoked were not sufficient to "carry over" tothe brand evaluation. This lack of results of imageryon brand attitude has been encountered before (cf.Bone and Ellen 1992; Kisielius and Stemthal 1986;also see Taylor and Wood 1983 for a discussion of the"weakness" of the vividness effect).

For the tire commercials the lack of predicted im-agery-effects was unexpected. The increased imageryprocessing generated by the auto accident sound ef-

fects might logically have been expected to result instronger negative feelings as well as in a decrease inthe strength of warm and upbeat feelings. However,the only significant change in emotional response be-tween message-only and sound effect treatments was,of course, a decrease in the strength of warm feelings.

The observed decrease in warm feelings should havebeen associated with more unfavorable attitudes to-ward the commercial and brand but this was notfound. Also, theoretically, the increased imagery ac-tivity should have resulted in more learning of mes-sage-related information by subjects in the sound ef-fect treatment but did not.

This pattern of results suggests that the auto crashsound effects interfered with the processing of thetire commercial. This may have occurred in at leasttwo ways.

First, the addition of screeching tires and a crashmay have produced anxiety in the listeners. Two itemsin the Edell and Burke (1987) feeling scale happen torelate to anxiety. These items ask subjects to rate thestrength (very strongly...not at all strongly) of theirfeelings of calmness and peacefulness. Subjects whoare not feeling calm or peaceful may be feeling anx-ious. An examination of a summated score for the twoitems (alpha=.7) revealed that subjects hearing thetire commercial with sound effects were significantlyless calm and peaceful (more anxious) than those inthe message-only tire commercial (mean 6.4 vs 8.0,t=3.56, p

90 Journal of Advertisir^

commercial (mean=4.5 vs. 6.4, t=2.94, p

December 1992 91

conjectured hypothesis in a way that will introducesystematic error into the results. Experience hasshown when subjects are exposed to a single trial asin experiments such as this one, rarely do they for-mulate the correct experimental hypothesis. Also,while it is clear that subjects guess and act on somehypothesis, it is highly unlikely that a large proportionof the subjects in this study guessed and acted in thesame systematic way.

Conclusions

Imagery research in the past has often used pic-tures and instructions to generate imaging. This studyextends the existing research through the use of non-verbal sound effects to create mental imagery. Con-sistent with theoretical prediction, the use of imagery-evoking sound effects in advertising can, under certaincircumstances, strengthen emotional responses to acommercial, create more favorable attitudes towardthe commercial, and improve the learning of brandinformation. Also of importance, as demonstrated bythe results of the tire commercials, the use of soundeffects may have unintended consequences, such asthe disruption of the processing of the advertisingmessage. Clearly advertisers must use caution in theway in which they employ sound effects in radiocommercials. Further, it would seem useful for ad-vertising researchers to try to isolate the specific fac-tors which determine whether a sound effect generatesthe desired effects on emotions, attitudes, and learn-ing.

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92 Journal of Advertising

TableMean Values and Standard Deviations on Variables of Interest

Variable:

Quantity/Ease of Imagery

Vividness of Imagery

Warm Feelings

Upbeat Feelings

Negative Feelings

Unaided Recall

Aided Recall

Recognition

Attitude Toward theCommercial

Attitude Toward the Brand

LawnMessage-Only(n=28)

21.04(5.83)22.40(7.47)23.36(7.77)62.00(22.69)30.29(6.57)2.11(1.20)3.25(1.82)5.82(2.11)12.43(4.61)21.71(6.32)

MowerSoundEffect(n-28)

24.04a(4.48)25.82a(4.78)28.64a(8.26)68.82(18.14)29.22(5.67)3.19a(2.18)4.93a(2.37)7.21a(2.35)14.57a(3.70)23.11(5.69)

TiresMessage-Only(n-35)

19.77(5.47)22.83(5.51)28.23(6.71)60.24(16.77)37.50(9.72)2.92(1.78)3.94(1.76)5.69(1.77)12.00(3.85)25.29(4.73)

SoundEffect(n-33)

22.45a(4.31)23.36(6.28)25.82a(4.81)54.19(13.27)36.61(9.67)2.18(1.29)3.64(1.60)5.03(1.77)13.45(3.17)24.61(4.45)

Significant differences on means between message-only and sound effects treatments indicated by (a) p < .05.Standard deviations are within parentheses.

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December 1992

Appendix ACommercial Scripts

Lawn MowerSpring is just a few weeks away and it's almost time to begin that unrelenting chore of mowing the lawn. Maybe

this is the year that you should replace that old worn-out mower. If so, consider the Lawn Wizard model 21. TheLawn Wizard 21 features 4-horsepower performance, the rugged reliability of a 2-cycle engine, and a virtuallyeffortless pull-start. The mowing deck is made of 14-gauge steel which means unsurpassed durability and theLawn Wizard's 21-inch cutting width helps you get the job done quickly. All this for less than $120. All LawnWizard mowers come with a 5-year limited warranty. The Lawn Wizard 21 — turns the lawn mowing chore into apleasure. Available at all K-mart locations.

Auto TiresFailure to replace old worn-out tires might mean that you won't have proper control of your car in those

situations when you need to make a sudden stop or change of direction. For the sake of your loved ones youcannot afford to be without strong, reliable tires. For the utmost in safety and durability, have Sam's Tire Serviceinstall Dunlop's best all season steel-belted radials on your car. Buy three Dunlop ST4 steel-belted radials thismonth and Sam's will give you the fourth one free. The ST4 features an advanced rib pattern that gives yousuperior traction and handling in all kinds of weather. Three two-ply steel belts give you unsurpassed protectionduring sudden stops and against road hazards. All Dunlop tires come with a 50,000 mi. limited warranty. Come toSam's Tire Service — Locations in Elyria, Willoughby Hills, Brook Park, North Randall, and Mentor.

Appendix BItems from the Ellen and Bone (1991) Imagery Scale

Quantity/Ease Items

1. As you listened to the commercial, to what extent did any images come to mind? (To a very smallextent—To a very great extent)

2. While listening to the commercial, I experienced: (Few or No Images—Lots of Images)3. All sorts of pictures, sounds, tastes, and/or smells came to my mind as I listened to the commercial

(Strongly Agree—Strongly Disagree)4. How difficult or easy were the images to create? (Extremely difficult—Extremely easy)5. How quickly were the images you had aroused? (Not at all quickly—Very quickly)6. I had no difficulty imagining the scene in my head (Strongly disagree—Strongly agree)

Vividness Items

Subjects responded to seven adjectives on a five-point scale with end points labeled "Does Not Describe At All"and "Describes Perfectly." The instructions read, "The imagery which occurred while I listened to the commercialwas:" Clear, Detailed, Vivid, Intense, Lifelike, Sharp, Weil-Defined.