Adult Separation Anxiety Disorder Symptomology and Susceptibility to Marketing Persuasion
Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, Vol. 36, No. 2, p. 158-169, 2017
Posted: 31 May 2017
Date Written: May 29, 2017
Abstract
Research was conducted to explore if individuals with anxiety symptoms may be particularly susceptible to certain types of persuasion. Specifically, we focused on adult separation anxiety disorder, and hypothesized that individuals with relatively elevated symptoms would be differentially favorable to an advertisement if it contained an appeal to the concept of home. In an experiment, adult separation anxiety symptomology was measured among a nonclinical sample, and attitudes toward an advertisement that either contained or did not contain an appeal to home were measured. Consistent with hypotheses, individuals relatively high in adult separation anxiety symptoms were more favorable to the advertisement when it contained a home appeal, but those with no or relatively lower symptoms did not show this pattern. This research contributes by identifying a new consequence of anxiety symptoms: susceptibility to certain marketing themes. It may benefit individuals with adult separation anxiety symptoms to be aware that they may be overly vulnerable to marketing that contains themes of home, and clinicians may be helpful in developing such insight.
Keywords: Adult Separation Anxiety, Persuasion, Vulnerability
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