Designing Persuasive Destination Web Sites: A Mental ...326682/UQ326682OA.pdf · Designing Persuasive Destination Web Sites: A Mental Imagery Processing Perspective . 1. Introduction

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Designing Persuasive Destination Web Sites: A Mental Imagery Processing Perspective

1. Introduction

Persuasive Web sites are those that can influence the attitudes of Web site users

(Morosan & Fesenmaier, 2007). Web sites’ influence on product attitudes has been confirmed by

empirical research (Macias, 2003; Lee, Gretzel & Law, 2010). Strong attitudes that are resistant

to change are especially important in the context of tourism destinations, for which online

information is abundant (Xiang, Wöber & Fesenmaier, 2008), competition for the attention of

consumers is fierce (Gretzel, Fesenmaier, Formica & O’Leary, 2006), and expectation formation

is difficult due to the complexity and experiential nature of the destination product (Nelson,

1970). Consumers planning a vacation are also likely to encounter traveler reviews and other

forms of social media (Xiang & Gretzel, 2010) that can challenge the brand image portrayed by

the official destination Web site. Further, research has found that users typically make very quick

judgments about destination Web sites (Kim & Fesenmaier, 2008); therefore, there is a great

practical need from the destination marketing point of view to identify those features of

destination Web sites that can effectively persuade and encourage users to elaborate on the

portrayed advertising messages so they can form resistant attitudes.

Recent studies have especially addressed the importance of virtually transporting the

consumers of travel information to the destination to support the formation of concrete

expectations (Rozier-Rich & Santos, 2010; Lee et al., 2010). It is indeed a major concern of

providers of tourism products to encourage quasi-trial experiences to support travel decision-

making processes (Stamboulis & Skayannis, 2003). Since actual product trial is impossible,

being able to vividly imagine what a destination is like is the next best alternative if the goal is to

form concrete expectations (Goossens, 1995). Oh, Fiore and Jeong (2007) emphasize that

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destination choice is influenced by the mental images the tourist forms based on the expected

experience at the destination. Further, Miller and Stoica (2003) have demonstrated that

consumers' choices of vacations may be significantly influenced by mental imagery processing.

Mental imagery processing refers to high elaboration processing and involves the

representation of nonverbal information in working memory (MacInnis & Price, 1987). When

travelers engage in mental imagery processing, they experience the destination in their mind’s

eye. Such processing is believed to help in learning about a product (Elliott, 1973). Research has

also found that it helps in the persuasion process. For instance, MacInnis and Price (1990) have

pointed out that mental imagery has a positive influence on consumer attitudes and leads to

greater confidence that events will unfold as expected. Past research has revealed that imagery

can be stimulated by various external advertising elements such as pictures, concrete words,

sound effects, and instructions to imagine (Babin & Burns, 1997; Bone & Ellen, 1992; Lutz &

Lutz, 1977; MacInnis & Price, 1987; Miller & Marks, 1997). Recently, Lee et al. (2010)

identified sensory descriptions on destination Web sites as textual elements that encourage

mental imagery processing. Building on this existing research, the study presented in this paper

tests the ability of textual, auditory, and pictorial features on destination Web sites to foster

strong and resistant attitudes by eliciting mental imagery processing.

2. Theoretical Background 2.1 Mental Imagery Processing and Persuasion

Mental imagery processing can be conceptualized as “a mode of information processing

which includes sensory representations (images) in working memory that are used in the same

way as perceptions of external stimuli” (Goossens, 2000, p. 306). Similarly, it is identified by

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Lutz and Lutz (1978) as “a mental event involving visualization of a concept or relationship”

(p.611). Mental imagery theory assumes that we mentally re-present in our minds something

that was presented to us before by experience or that we imagine based on information available.

According to Burns, Biswas and Babin (1993), this mental imagery can be experienced in

different sensory modalities and can vary in terms of vividness and quantity. Research on

imagery has provided strong evidence that elaborate imagery processing may positively

influence decision outcomes (Babin & Burns, 1997; Bone & Ellen, 1990).

From the perspective of consumer research, a consumer’s mental image of a tourism

product can be the main source of information available to enhance expectations and facilitate

purchasing decisions (Walters, Sparks, & Herington, 2007). When imagery is encouraged

through vivid product information, it strongly influences consumers’ attitudinal judgments

(McGill & Anand, 1989). Most importantly, several researchers have found that attitudes

formed based on mental imagery processing tend to be stronger, more stable over time, and more

resistant to persuasion because of its high elaboration quality (Haugtvedt & Petty, 1992; Petty,

Haugtvedt, & Smith, 1995). Considering these findings, it is critically important for tourism

marketers to understand what types of stimuli on a destination Web site efficiently induce mental

imagery so that they can design persuasive sites that can successfully compete in the tourism

information space.

2.2 Narrative Information Processing

While the impact of pictures on imagery processing has been studied extensively in

consumer research (e.g. Paivio, 1971; Rossiter, 1978; Babin, Burns & Biswas, 1992; Burns,

Biswas & Babin, 1993; Babin & Burns, 1997), little empirical research exists that deals with the

effects of text formats on mental imagery processing. Brewer (1988) claims that text genre can

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indeed be an important factor in encouraging mental imagery processing and Lee et al. (2010)

also found textual qualities of destination Web sites to matter. Thus, there is a need to further

examine the relations between textual genre and mental imagery.

A text genre very common in tourism promotion is the narrative (Rozier-Rich & Santos,

2010). Narrative in a broad sense refers to anything recounted or retold; in a narrower sense it

describes something that is told or recounted in the form of a story (Denning, 2000). It is the

latter that is of specific interest in the context of persuasion. Delgadillo and Escalas (2004)

identified two required structural features that distinguish narratives from other text genres:

chronology and causality. The first refers to events described in the narrative as being organized

with respect to a temporal sequence. Second, text elements are structured in a way that builds

relationships among characters and objects, thus allowing for causal inference. Similarly, Stein

and Albro (1997, p. 12) suggest that stories are comprised of “goal-directed action-outcome

sequences” called “episode schemata,” that is, they start from initial events that result in a

response from a character’s physical condition, psychological state, or both. These responses

develop goals that lead to courses of action and certain outcomes (Pennington & Hastie, 1986).

The specific structure of narratives influences the way in which they are processed.

According to Packer and Jordon (2001), narratives allow the human mind to “collapse

boundaries of space and time, drawing attention to previously undetected connections, creating

links between disparate ideas and elements (p. 174).” Some researchers claim that this is the

case because the structure of narratives resembles the associative way the human mind stores

knowledge (Schank & Abelson, 1995). They are also inherently entertaining (Brewer, 1988).

Green and Brock (2002) stress that mental imagery may be facilitated by narratives because they

allow for deep immersion and, thus, “transportation” into the story. Transportation into a

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narrative world is conceptualized as a distinct mental process, which may mediate the impact of

narratives on beliefs, and may derive its force from individuals’ general ability to create vivid

mental images (Green & Brock, 2000; Escalas, 2004).

Narrative processing has indeed been linked to persuasion. Padgett and Allen (1997)

contend that narrative advertising would be the most effective way to communicate, especially in

the context of an experiential product such as tourism. This argument has also been made by

Mattila (2000). Escalas (2007) finds that self-referenced narratives enable consumers to generate

a positive evaluation of an advertised product no matter what level of argument strength they

include. When narrative ads are presented in the form of stories, potential customers are likely to

envision functional consequences and derive symbolic meanings to interpret the advertisement

(Padgett & Allen, 1997). Phillips and McQuarrie (2010) also point out that the greater the

transportation into a story, the greater the belief that the world within the story is true, since there

will be less critical examination of the ideas that were presented in the story world.

In the context of tourism, Gretzel (2006) suggests that “travel stories help us understand

and make meaning of our travel experiences and encourage us to relive and reflect on trips, as

well as integrate travel experiences with the rest of our experiences and knowledge” (p. 175).

Adaval and Wyer (1998) found that vacations at unfamiliar destinations were more positively

evaluated by consumers who were exposed to advertising information in a narrative format

rather than in a list of attributes. According to research by Tussyadiah and Fesenmaier (2008),

the narrative structure of travel blogs allows readers to feel empathy and associate the

experiences of the blogger with their own. A connection between the reading of travel narratives

and narrative transportation was established by Rozier-Rich and Santos (2010).

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While tourism-related print and TV advertising make extensive use of sensory

descriptions and narrative texts, destination Web sites often contain functional lists of, for

example, attractions or accommodation establishments (Gretzel & Fesenmaier, 2002). The

question is whether including a greater amount of narrative text on destination Web sites will

increase the persuasiveness of these Web sites.

2.3 Processing Pictures and Sounds

As mentioned above, pictures have been studied extensively in the context of mental

imagery processing (Rossiter 1978; Shepard, 1967; Kisielius & Sternthal, 1984). In addition,

Lutz and Lutz (1977, 1978), Alesandrini and Sheikh (1983), and Rossiter and Percy (1983)

investigated the effects of various types of pictures specifically on recall and attitude. Babin et al.

(1992) found a picture superiority effect which demonstrated that visual information would be

remembered over verbal information. In the context of destination marketing, Olson,

McAlexander, and Roberts (1986) found that pictures presented in destination advertisements

have an influence on a consumer’s perception of the vacation experience through the association

of variety of pictures with certain types of experiences. Furthermore, Miller and Stoica (2003)

indicated that photographic images of beach scenes effectively stimulated mental imagery

processing. More recently, Walters, Sparks and Herington (2007) asserted that the presence of

more concrete pictures affects the extent of elaboration and the quality of consumers’

consumption visions. Adaval and Wyer (1998) noted that the addition of pictures to a narrative

format can encourage readers to imagine the sequence of events, and can facilitate the

construction of a representation to be used as a basis for judgment. In a more recent study they

reconfirmed that a picture presented in combination with narrative text can cause a verbal event

description to be more vivid, help the recipients to enhance perceptual links between events, and

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increase the story’s coherence (Adaval, Isbell, & Wyer, 2007). On the other hand, Goossens

(1995) claimed that using pictorial images may smother individuals’ imagination as they become

over-reliant on the featured image as an information source rather than elaborating on their own

mentally created images.

With regard to the effects of sound on mental imagery, several researchers found that the

inclusion of sound effects increased mental imagery processing (Ferrington, 1994; Miller &

Marks, 1992, 1997). Lee et al. (2010), however, did not identify any significant sound effects.

Interestingly, Frick (1984) discovered that if processing was evoked visually with a set of items

followed by a series of auditory items, recall was better than if both sets of items were elicited by

auditory or visual modes alone. With regard to mixing sound and narrative text, Kerr (1999)

claimed that sounds add critical information to narrative text. Even more persuasively,

Verhallen, Bus, and De Jong (2006) showed that stories accompanied by multimedia features

including video, sounds and music were able to stimulate people to construct meaning and gain a

deeper understanding of the story line. Specifically, presenting the story with sounds can result

in a listener’s greater ability to process the story and to construct a more coherent mental

representation of the story events (Verhallen et al., 2006). These findings are consistent with

dual coding theory.

Dual coding theory developed by Paivio (1971) points out that people learn better when

stimuli include related verbal and pictorial information compared to verbal information alone or

pictorial information alone. He also indicated that information presented via the pictorial channel

is more salient and better remembered than information presented through the verbal channel

(Paivio, 1991). Richardson (1999) also pointed out that information is likely to be retrieved

more accurately when it is encoded using dual codes rather than just one code. If one code is

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forgotten, the other code can still facilitate the retrieval of all the information. Lukosius (2004)

claimed that the more codes (e.g. picture, sound, text, touch, etc.) used, the better the recall.

Multimedia learning theory developed by Mayer (1997) suggests that multimedia presentations

can foster focused attention and immersion into the content and, consequently, can make it more

meaningful. The ability of destination Web sites to include both visual, verbal and auditory

stimuli should therefore contribute to their persuasiveness.

Along with multimedia learning theory and dual coding theory, media richness theory,

which was initially posited by Daft and Lengel (1986), also asserts that multiple cues embedded

in messages support information processing tasks. Rich media are especially important in

ambiguous communication contexts (Daft, Lengel & Trevino, 1987; Dennis & Kinney, 1998). In

the context of online consumer behavior, a recent study noted that the perceived richness of

online stores may have a significant impact on consumers’ intentions to buy online (Brunelle &

Lapierre, 2008). However, a priori statements of one medium being richer than another are

inappropriate as they neglect the specific communication context (Dennis & Valacich, 1999).

Furthermore, D’Ambra (1995) asserted that the measures provided by Daft et al., (1987) were

highly unreliable and unidimensional. Due to these reasons, this study adopted dual coding

theory and multimedia learning theory as theoretical frameworks to guide the research.

2.4. Communication Effects of Mental Imagery Processing

Mental imagery plays a significant role in mediating ad-evoked feelings and attitudes

(Bone & Allen, 1990, 1992; Burns et al., 1993; Mitchell, 1986; Mitchell & Olsen, 1981). Since

mental imagery is self-generated cognitive processing, it can be expected to be more personally

relevant (Escalas, 2007). Thus, it may result in self-generated persuasion and stronger attitudes

(MacInnis & Jaworski, 1989). Importantly, mental imagery can lead to self-sell and therefore

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greater belief that the formed attitude is correct (Tormala & Petty, 2004). The literature also

infers stronger attitudes as a result of mental imagery processing from the fact that it involves

high elaboration processing (Haugtvedt & Petty, 1992; Petty et al., 1995). Petty and Krosnick

(1995) noted that there are two dimensions of strong attitudes: the first is related to the

persistence of an attitude (stability), which is the degree to which an attitude remains unchanged

over an extended period. The other is resistance: the attitude’s ability to withstand an attack.

Research by Petty and Cacioppo (1986) indicates that strong attitudes are more likely to come to

mind faster, persist over time, resist counter persuasive attempts and guide behavior more than

weak attitudes. Several researchers have also found a connection between attitude certainty and

resistance to persuasion (Bassili, 1996; Krosnick & Abelson, 1992; Swan, Pelham, & Chidester,

1988; Pomerantz, Chaiken, & Tordesillas; 1995; Tormala & Petty, 2002). Such resistance to

persuasion is of great importance in an online travel planning context, where new and potentially

negative information about a destination is only a click away.

3. Conceptual Framework and Hypotheses

While there is strong theoretical and, in part, also empirical support for the positive

effects of narrative, pictorial and auditory stimuli on mental imagery processing and for mental

imagery processing leading to stronger attitudes, no empirical study has so far tested these

relationships in a comprehensive model. A comprehensive model is important to simultaneously

test the effects and also to identify interaction effects. Further, most of the research on which the

theories are based was conducted using print advertising. In contrast, the current study seeks to

examine whether these assumptions hold true in the context of multimedia environments such as

destination Web sites.

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As illustrated in Figure 1, specific Web site features (text information in narrative format,

presence of picture and presence of sound) are posited as predictor variables, while

communication effects in the form of attitude strength, attitude confidence, and attitude

resistance are assigned as dependent variables. Mental imagery serves as a mediator to

accentuate or attenuate the effects of the predictor variables on the dependent constructs. Overall,

the conceptual framework indicates that an imagery-eliciting Web site feature is assumed to

evoke mental imagery, which in turn is expected to lead to stronger attitudes, i.e., attitudes that

are more resistant to counter-persuasion attacks.

As described in the literature review, narratives, pictures and sounds enrich information,

foster immersion, and encourage a deeper and more extensive processing of content. Therefore,

the following hypotheses are proposed:

H1: Narrative text on a destination Web site has a positive influence on mental imagery

processing.

H2: Pictures on a destination Web site positively affect mental imagery processing.

H3: The presence of sound on a destination Web site encourages mental imagery

processing.

According to the cognitive theory of multimedia learning (Mayer 1997), a story

supplemented with multimedia such as pictures or sounds may foster a deeper understanding of

information. Additionally, research by Verhallen et al. (2006) suggests that presenting pictures

or sounds can increase the ability to process a story and construct a more coherent mental

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representation of story events. Stories can uniquely incorporate pictures or sounds to enhance

perceptual links between events and to increase the story’s coherence (Adaval et al., 2007). Thus,

there is strong support for interaction effects to take place among the mental imagery inducing

stimuli.

H1a: The positive impact of narrative text on imagery processing will be even greater

when pictures are present.

H1b: The positive impact of narrative text on imagery processing will be even greater

when sounds are present.

H1c: The positive impact of narrative text on imagery processing will be the greatest

when pictures and sounds are both present.

H2a: The positive impact of pictures on imagery processing will be greater when sound

is present.

The reviewed literature suggests that mental imagery processing is a form of cognitive

processing that is elaborate and focused and very influential when it comes to attitude formation.

Consequently, when customers surf destination Web sites, imagery processing allows them to

form more concrete expectations and engage in greater information elaboration, which will likely

instill confidence and make their attitudes stronger and more resistant to change.

H4: Mental imagery processing leads to positive communication effects, namely greater

attitude strength and confidence.

H5: Attitude strength and confidence effects generated through mental imagery

processing significantly influence attitude resistance to change.

4. Research Methodology

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An experiment was designed to examine the influence of Web site design features

including narrative texts, presence of pictures, and sound effects on attitude strength, confidence

and resistance, with the assumption that this influence is mediated by mental imagery processing

induced by these Web site elements.

4.1 Design

The study used a 2 (narrative text vs. expository text) × 2 (picture vs. no picture) × 2

(sound vs. no sound) full factorial between-subjects design to determine the main and interaction

effects of the influence of narrative content, pictures, and sounds on mental imagery processing

and ultimately attitude strength, confidence and resistance. The Web site designed for the

purpose of the experiment showed a fictitious island destination. Only the homepage of the Web

site was visible, with the links indicated on the page not being active to achieve controlled

exposure to the text/picture/sound elements. There were a total of eight experimental conditions.

The contents and lengths of the text included on the sites were the same, only the text structure

varied. Narrative text and expository text differ in that narrative text portrays a sequence of

events, includes protagonists, and connects parts of the text by means of suggesting causal

relationships (Wolfe, 2005). In contrast, expository text is descriptive, does not refer to

protagonists, and does not seek to connect the individual text elements (Figure 2). The narrative

text condition is presented in Figure 3. The Web site shown to the subjects only included the

logo and text in the no-picture condition. The picture condition (Figure 3) included a series of

four revolving pictures of island, beach, and ocean scenes. In the sound condition, the Website

included ocean sounds (crashing waves and seagulls). All conditions were pre-tested to ensure

their appropriateness.

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4.2 Measures 4.2.1 Mental Imagery. To measure the mental imagery construct, the present study adapted an

imagery scale developed by Miller, Hadjimarcou, and Miciak (2000). This mental imagery scale

consists of four dimensions: 1) vividness; 2) quantity; 3) valence; and, 4) modality. Quantity and

modality were measured using seven-point rating scales ranging from 1 (Strongly disagree) to 7

(Strongly agree), including three items for quantity and two items for modality (Table 1). Only

taste and scent were tested as modalities as sound and visual stimuli were provided in some of

the conditions and touch was not applicable in the context of the study. The vividness and

valence scales were measured using seven-point semantic differential scales, including five items

for vividness and five for valence (Table 1). The items were preceded by the introductory

statement “The mental imagery I experienced was…”.

4.2.2 Attitude Scales. As dependent variables, the current study explored attitude strength,

confidence, and resistance of attitude to counter-arguments. The scales for attitude strength and

confidence were adapted and modified from Bizer, Tormala, Rucker, and Petty (2006) using

seven-point rating scales (Table 1). Attitude strength was measured with four items and

confidence with two. In order to measure attitude resistance, subjects were exposed to a negative

destination review that contradicted the initial destination description. Attitude strength was

measured before as well as after the exposure to the reviews. Accordingly, an attitude resistance

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measure was produced by subtracting the attitude strength score of each item in time two from

attitude strength scores in time one.

4.3 Participants

This study intended to obtain a minimum of 25 responses per experimental cell; thus, at

least 200 participants were needed. The goal of the study was to test a theoretical model rather

than to describe occurrences of a phenomenon in a population; also, influences of visual, textual

and auditory stimuli on mental imagery processing are based on very basic cognitive processes in

which social characteristics should not play a role. Thus, a student sample was deemed to be

appropriate. Problems arising from potential gender differences were avoided by using random

assignment to the experimental conditions. A $3 gift card was given to each participant as an

incentive to join the study. The recruitment effort resulted in 252 responses. However, seven

students could not complete the survey due to technical problems, and six students completed the

survey but indicated the same response for every question. Consequently, a total of 239 subjects

were included in the analysis.

4.4 Procedure

When subjects arrived at the research lab, they were greeted by a research assistant and

informed that an online travel agency was interested in developing a newly created destination

Website. Next, they were seated at a computer and randomly assigned to an experimental

condition based on the order of their appearance. The subjects were instructed to carefully look

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at the Website and read the vacation destination description provided. After being exposed to the

Website for two minutes, they were presented with an online, self-administered questionnaire

asking them to evaluate the Website and rate their attitude toward the destination. The Web-

based survey then presented a negative review of the destination. The participants were asked to

indicate their attitudes toward the destination again after their exposure to the negative review.

After completing the survey, all subjects were debriefed and compensated.

4.5 Manipulation Checks

To make sure that the manipulations were reliable and effective, this study conducted

several manipulation checks during pre-tests by asking pre-test subjects about the believability of

the Website and the destination review as well as the suitability of the texts, pictures and the

sound. More specifically, 15 graduate students and 20 students from the same subject pool as the

main study were involved in a series of pre-tests to evaluate the validity and score reliability of

the scales used in this study as well as to test whether subjects could successfully distinguish the

narrative text from the expository text; pre-testing determined that this was the case. During the

main study, manipulation checks aimed to make sure that the subjects actually paid attention to

the manipulations. First, all subjects in the picture conditions stated that they saw pictures.

Second, all of those in the sound conditions indicated that they had heard sound.

4.6 Analysis

The hypothesized relationships between independent, mediator, and dependent measures

were tested by means of structural equation modeling (SEM) using Amos 5.0 (Arbuckle, 2003).

To address problems with large sample size requirements, unreliability, and non-normal or

coarsely measured item-level data, parceling was used (Landis, Beal, & Tesluk, 2000). The idea

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of creating and using item parcels was originally introduced by Cattell (1956), and further

explored by Cattell and Burdsal (1975). Parceling is usually done by summing or averaging

several items that presumably measure the same construct (Meade & Kroustalis, 2005). For the

current study, a total of six parcels were created for each dimension underlying a latent construct.

First, under the mental imagery construct, quantity, modality, vividness and valence parcels were

created by averaging the item scores. In the context of the communication effect construct,

attitude strength and attitude confidence parcels were produced. However, attitude resistance

was measured using its four items separately since the construct consisted of only one dimension.

5. Results

5.1 Measurement Model

The originally proposed measurement model was estimated using maximum-likelihood

estimation. As suggested by Hu and Bentler (1999) and Quintana and Maxwell (1999), several

indices were used to assess goodness of fit for the model. The initial test of the measurement

model resulted in poor model fit (Chi-Square/df = 4.1; CFI = .95; NFI = .93, RMSEA =.10). In

particular, the mental imagery construct exhibited very poor construct reliability, as indicated by

the fact that the four parcel indicators loaded inappropriately onto the latent construct.

Additional analyses suggested that vividness and valence variables were causing the problems.

Therefore, an alternative model was estimated that only included quantity and modality as

dimensions of mental imagery processing. As discussed by other researchers (Gefen, Straub &

Boudreau, 2000; Chin & Todd, 1995; MacClallum, Roznowski & Necowitz, 1992), the dropping

of measurement items to improve model fit should be executed with caution as it can generate an

overfitting of the model to the data. As recommended in the literature (MacCallum et al. 1992),

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only a few model modifications were made to fix the relatively severe model-fit problems. Also,

appropriateness from a theoretical point of view was a major decision criterion. The overall

model fit improved: Chi-Square/df=3.0, which is appropriate (Kline, 1998); CFI = .97; NFI

= .95; and RMSEA =.09; consequently, the alternative model was adopted. The discriminant

validity of the constructs was tested by calculating the squared roots of average variance

extracted (AVE). As shown in Table 2, all AVE scores were higher than the threshold of .5 as

recommended by Fornell & Larcker (1981) for all three constructs (mental imagery= .65;

communication effect= .84; attitude resistance= .84). Second, the convergent validity of the

constructs was examined. All items had factor loadings higher than .5, which suggests good

convergent validity (Nunnally, 1967). Composite reliability was computed to assess the internal

consistency of the constructs. As shown in Table 2, the composite reliability values of all of the

constructs exceeded the minimum .60 suggested by Nunnally and Bernstein (1994).

5.2 Structural Model

The overall model fit and the regression paths were estimated to determine if the

proposed model described the data well. As shown in Table 3, the model fit is acceptable. The

normalized chi-square statistic indicated an adequate fit (Kline, 1998). Further, the

recommended threshold is 0.9. for NFI, CFI and GFI (Brown, 2006), and RMSEA values less

than .08 are seen as indicating satisfactory fit (Hu & Bentler, 1999).

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The squared multiple correlation coefficients (SMC; R2) for indicator variables were

assessed. SMCs lie between 0 and 1 (the closer to 1, the more of the latent construct can be

explained by the model). The results reveal that the model does not explain mental imagery

(R2=.07) and attitude resistance (R2=.10) very well. However, it explains a large portion of the

communication effects construct (R2= .72).

Figure 4 shows the hypothesized structural model paths. Most of the model paths yielded

significant parameter estimates. However, in the context of the impact of multimedia stimuli

(e.g., narrative text, pictures, and sound) on mental imagery processing, only pictures showed a

significant effect (β=.23, p < .01). These results provide support for Hypothesis 2, but not for

Hypotheses 1 and 3. Additionally, the interaction effects were not significant. Thus, the results

of the structural model did not support H1a, H1b, H1c, and H2a.

Most importantly, Figure 4 reveals that the mental imagery construct strongly influenced

the communication effects construct (β=.85, p < .01), which is represented by attitude strength

and attitude confidence. In other words, evoked mental imagery leads to positive

communication effects, which supports Hypothesis 4. In addition, the results presented in Figure

4 show that attitude strength and confidence have a significant impact on attitude resistance

(β=.32, p < .01). This implies that the stronger the attitude the more resistant it is to negative

stimuli. This finding supports Hypothesis 5. In addition, this study confirmed full mediation of

mental imagery processing as the modification indices for the model did not suggest the need for

modeling additional relationships among the constructs.

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6. Implications

The purpose of this study was to generate insights into the nature of imagery-evoking

Website features including narrative text, pictures, and sounds, and to explore the relationship

between these Web site features and communication effects that are encouraged through mental

imagery processing. The overarching goal was to see whether certain Website features can

induce changes in attitudes that are resistant to subsequent persuasion attempts.

6.1 Theoretical Implications

Prior research has found that mental imagery processing can be evoked by various

external advertising stimuli (Babin & Burns, 1997; Bone & Ellen, 1992; MacInnis & Price,

1987; Miller & Marks, 1997; Lutz & Lutz, 1977). Most of this research has focused on print

advertising and has usually only included one stimulus, which does not allow for interaction

effects to be tested. Mental imagery research in the context of Websites has mainly dealt with

the effects of object interactivity (Schlosser, 2003; Macias, 2003) and sensory information (Lee

et al., 2010). Thus, the current study has contributed to mental imagery research by

simultaneously testing three different stimuli in the context of a Website. Further, in the tourism

field very little research has been conducted on the effects of features (Lee & Gretzel, 2008) and

particularly pictures (Jeong & Choi, 2004) included in destination Websites. Thus, the findings

certainly contribute to this body of literature as well.

The most important finding of the study is that mental imagery processing indeed not

only leads to very strong attitudes but also greater confidence in attitudes. This issue had not

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been addressed in the context of tourism nor in the context of online information processing . In

the present study, mental imagery processing was confirmed as an important element of

persuasive communication in the context of travel planning, even if the persuader is not a human

communicator or a traditional advertising medium but a Website. Consequently, more emphasis

needs to be placed on studying mental imagery processing in the context of tourism marketing

and travel decision-making as well as online communication environments.

With respect to attitude resistance, this study also successfully supports past research

indicating that strong attitudes significantly influence attitude resistance (Haugtvedt & Petty,

1992; Petty et al., 1995). Based on these findings, it can be stated that once subjects form strong

attitudes and confidence in the destination through mental imagery processing, they are more

likely to resist negative reviews of the destination. Given that very little research has been

conducted regarding attitude resistance in the realm of tourism marketing while the likelihood of

tourism consumers being exposed to reviews is increasing, the findings of this study are an

important contribution to tourism marketing research.

6.2 Practical Implications

With the growing amount of information available on the Internet and the increasing

number of destination options available to travel consumers, it will be ever more important to

create persuasive Website designs that can help consumers learn about destinations and form

strong attitudes about them. Moreover, in the context of successful tourism marketing, with the

rocketing amounts of consumer-generated contents that include personal stories, pictures, and

sound available on tourism Websites, a persuasive Website effectively instills confidence in

consumers and helps them form attitudes that are more resistant to counter-arguments. Also,

21

given the many benefits for marketing that can be assumed to result from imagery processing, it

appears to be critical for online tourism marketing to be better informed about the effectiveness

of imagery processing and the stimuli that can encourage it. When consumers evaluate

experience products, they may have a higher degree of uncertainty compared to other physical

products. Running a simulation-like scenario in one's mind can facilitate the process of

destination decision making and lead to more confidence in the decision. While customers

consume information on travel Websites, imagery processing enables them to engage in greater

information elaboration and to form more certain expectations (Goossens, 2000). Tourism

marketers should make an effort to help travel planners to imagine what it would be like to

experience the destination, which can lead to positive attitudes and build confidence.

Furthermore, the generated high levels of certainty foster resistance to subsequent negative

persuasion, which is of high practical relevance given the likely exposure to social media content

in travel information searches (Xiang & Gretzel, 2010).

These findings can help tourism marketers understand how critical it is to invest in

careful Website design and also to evaluate the effectiveness of particular designs. The current

study especially emphasizes the importance of pictures. While many tourism marketers

intuitively know that they are important, this study shows that they can make a significant

difference; thus, decisions to place pictures on Websites need to be made with an understanding

that changes will affect the Website’s persuasiveness. In general, Websites are often designed by

practitioners based on past experience, existing examples, or technological considerations. The

research presented in this paper argues very strongly for a more scientific approach to Website

design.

22

6.3 Limitations and Future Research

The current study should be considered in light of its limitations. First, while the

manipulations were extensively pre-tested there always remains the question of whether they

were strong enough. Second, using just a beach destination for this experiment may constrain

the generalizability of the results found in this study. The use of Websites for a broader array of

tourism products such as hotels, events and festivals, and other destinations may generate

different results in terms of mental imagery processing. Third, the use of student subjects was

limiting in that students can be different from older and less educated individuals in terms of

their experience or proficiency in interpreting information (James & Sonner, 2001). However,

given that the research aim of the current study was to focus on theoretical explanation rather

than the generalization of the study to a population, using student subjects was appropriate

(Sternthal, Tybout & Calder, 1994; Peterson, 2001; Walters, Sparks & Herington, 2007).

Moreover, as is typical for experiments, the context was artificially created and did not represent

a real travel planning scenario, which can influence motivations to process the information.

Further, the problems in measuring the vividness and valence of mental imagery processing

suggest that a stable measure has yet to be developed to assess these dimensions. The lack of

visible effects could have been due to only measuring the quantity and modality of the mental

imagery.

Future research in this area should be extended to include a greater variety of

potentially imagery-evoking Website features. For example, it may be interesting to investigate

how interactive or customized features such as interactive maps or chatting with travel experts on

the Website influence mental imagery processing. On the other hand, presenting just pictures to

subjects without any other conditions, or pictures with narration in the form of audio instead of

23

narrative text, or videos that combine moving pictures with narrative and sound may result in a

different level of mental imagery processing. Also, varying the length of the narratives and the

type and quality of sound might produce different results. Additionally, while instructions to

imagine have been widely tested for evoking mental imagery processing, they have not been

tested in online environments, and thus can be a subject for future research. Further, the

experiment was conducted using traditional computer screens. However, Fogg, Booker and Don

(2004) assert that recently developed mobile phones are more compelling platforms for

narratives. They claim that mobile phones are highly personal devices, thus people are more

likely to experience content from those phones in a way that is more personal and influential than

content from a computer. If people are indeed more receptive to persuasive messages through

mobile phones, it will be valuable to study mental imagery processing while using these other

types of platforms, which are increasingly used in the context of travel and tourism.

Several issues need to be discussed with regard to the text manipulation. First, all

subjects were exposed to a text in either expository or narrative form. Thus, even though the

findings of this study revealed that the narrative versus expository text did not influence mental

imagery processing, it is highly possible that the information contained in the text by itself might

have evoked mental imagery processing. The proposed structural model showed that the picture

condition significantly affected mental imagery, but indicated a small standardized coefficient

β=0.23, which means that the pictures had a small influence on mental imagery. Nevertheless,

many of the subjects reported mental imagery. It needs to be asked what generated this mental

imagery. Indeed, both text conditions contained a large number of sensory words. Previous

research has found that the proper mixture of sensory information presented on Websites can

strongly evoke mental imagery, which can greatly influence consumer attitudes and behavioral

24

intentions (Lee et al., 2010; Miller et al., 2000; Schlosser, 2003). Another aspect that might have

to be considered is the length of the text as it was rather short to avoid burdening the study

subjects. In real trip planning contexts, individuals are highly motivated to process information

and will probably consume more text, which might make effects more visible.

Of the stimuli included in the study, only pictures significantly affected mental imagery

processing. The result is consistent with existing research (Babin et al., 1992; Kisielius &

Sternthal, 1984; Paivio, 1971; Rossiter, 1978; Shepard, 1967; Hirschman & Solomon, 1984;

Starch, 1966) that finds pictures to more efficiently evoke mental imagery processing than other

stimuli. However, the insignificant results for the other modalities are inconsistent with research

that claims that narrative texts and sounds support mental imagery processing. More research is

needed to examine whether the specific context (i.e. destinations) is the reason for this or if other

types of manipulations are needed to evoke effects.

In addition, the current study revealed that sound does not influence mental imagery.

Some researchers claim that when imagery processing and auditory perception compete for the

same resources, elaboration of information can be reduced (Unnava, Agarwal, & Haugtvedt,

1996). In other words, they assert that imagery generated by subjects selectively interfered with

the processing of externally provided information (Unnava et al., 1996). For example, while

conducting the experiment for this study, subjects were informed that they would see the

Website of an island destination. At that time, subjects might have generated auditory imagery

by themselves before they actually heard waves and seagull sounds. In this case, based on

Unnava et al. (1996), the interference between self-generated auditory imagery and actual sounds

can adversely affect cognitive elaboration. Not enough research currently exists to address this

issue in a definitive manner.

25

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Table 1. Descriptive Statistics for Each Construct

Items in Scale Internal Consistency Construct

Name Item No. Item Wording Mean SD

Cronbach’s Alpha

Quantity

Q12a Many images came to my mind 5.23 1.34

0.92 Q12b A lot of images came to my mind 4.96 1.45

Q12c I experienced various images in my mind 5.02 1.41

Modality Q12d I imagined tastes 3.38 1.71

0.82 Q12e I imagined scents 3.72 1.85

Vividness

Q13a Vivid-Vague 2.77 1.49

0.93 Q13b Clear-Unclear 2.90 1.44 Q13c Sharp-Dull 3.34 1.60

Q13d Intense-Weak 3.69 1.61 Q13e Well-defined-Fuzzy 3.28 1.61

Valence

Q13f Pleasant - Unpleasent 2.20 1.21

0.96

Q13g Good-Bad 2.37 1.26 Q13h Nice-Awful 2.38 1.30 Q13i Likable-Not likeable 2.21 1.23

Q13j Positive-Not positive 2.08 1.16

Attitude Strength-Time 1

Q14 How good would the destination be for a pleasure trip? 6.12 1.02

0.94 Q15 How positive would you say is your impression of the destination? 5.88 1.01

Q16 How much do you think you would like this destination? 6.02 1.05

Q17 How favorable is your impression of the destination? 5.86 1.05

Attitude Confidence

Q18 How certain are you of your attitude toward this destination? 5.40 1.23 0.84

Q19 How sure are you that your current impression of the destination is correct? 4.85 1.39

Attitude Strength-Time 2

Q20 How good would the destination be for a pleasure trip? 3.68 1.48

0.95 Q21 How positive would you say is your impression of the destination? 3.46 1.36

Q22 How much do you think you would like this destination? 3.72 1.54

Q23 How favorable is your impression of the destination? 3.47 1.32

32

Table 2. Alternative Measurement Model Analysis

Latent Variable Indicators Factor Loadings Construct Reliability

Average Variance Extracted

(AVE)

Mental Imagery Quantity .72

.60 .65 Modality .58

Communication Effect

Attitude Strength .96 .82 .84

Attitude Confidence .69

Attitude Resistance

Attitude Resistance 1 .76

.90 .84 Attitude Resistance 2 .78

Attitude Resistance 3 .86

Attitude Resistance 4 .94

33

Table 3. Model-Fit Indices for Structural Model Model-Fit Statistics χ

2 df χ2/df CFI GFI NFI RMSEA

132.49 65 2.03 .93 .93 .89 .065

34

Figure 1. Conceptual Framework

Website Characteristics

Narrative Text vs. Expository Text

Presence of Picture vs. No Picture

Presence of Sound vs. No Sound

Mental Imagery

Processing

H1

H3

H2

H4

Attitude Strength

& Confidence

Attitude Resistance

H5 H5

35

Figure 2. Experimental Condition: Expository Text Only

36

Figure 3. Experimental Condition: Narrative Text, Picture, No Sound

37

**denotes significance at the 0.5 level

Figure 4. Hypothesized Structural Model.

Mental Imagery

Q M

e e

Communication Effects AC

AS e

e

Attitude Resistance AR3

AR2 e

e

AR1 e

AR4 e

Sound

Narrative × Picture

Narrative × Sound

Picture

Narrative

Narrative Picture Sound

Picture × Sound

.07 (ns)

.23**

.00 (ns)

- .05 (ns)

.07 (ns)

.06 (ns)

- .07 (ns)

.76 .81

.88

R 2 = .72

R 2 = .10

.92 .72 .58

R 2 = .07

.95

.70

.85** .32**

× ×

d

d

d

38

Appendix 1.

Intercorrelations Among Proposed Indicators 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

1. AtRes1 - 2. AtRes2 .39** - 3. AtRes3 -.66** -.48** - 4. AtRes4 -.65** -.36** .78** - 5. Quan .54** .39** -.66** -.70** - 6. Modality .40** .42** -.56** -.50** .66** - 7. Vividness .20** -.03 -.05 -.14* .23** -.01 - 8. Valence .19** .04 -.12 -.16* .30** .13* .72** - 9. AttiS .25** .24** -.37** -.28** .23** .17** .00 -.01 - 10. AttiC .03 .11 -.01 .01 -.01 .02 .10 .05 -.15*

Note. N = 239. 1=AtRes(Attitude resistance) ,2= AtRes2 , 3= AtRes3 , 4=AtRes4 , 5=Quantity ,6=Modality, 7= Vividness , 8=Valence 9=Attitude Strength , 10=Attitude Confidence * p < .05. ** p < .01.

2. Theoretical Background2.2 Narrative Information Processing2.4. Communication Effects of Mental Imagery Processing

3. Conceptual Framework and Hypotheses4.1 Design4.2 Measures4.3 Participants4.4 Procedure4.5 Manipulation Checks5.1 Measurement Model5.2 Structural Model6.1 Theoretical Implications