Jae, H., Delvecchio, D. S., & Cowles, D. (2008). Picture-text incongruency in print advertisements among low- and high-literacy consumers. Journal of Consumer Affairs, 42(3), 439-451.

Jae, H.; Delvecchio, D.; Cowles, D.

2008

Jae, H., Delvecchio, D. S., & Cowles, D. (2008). Picture-text incongruency in print advertisements among low- and high-literacy consumers. Journal of Consumer Affairs, 42(3), 439-451.

While low-literacy consumers rely heavily on pictorial information when making market-based decisions, they also do attempt to read relevant information. When the advertisement picture and text are aligned, so too should be the conclusions low-literacy consumers draw. We ask what happens when the pictures and accompanying text are incongruent. Results of an experiment indicate that low-literacy consumers misinterpreted an advertisement with text-picture incongruity more regularly than did high-literacy consumers. Furthermore, low-literacy consumers demonstrated errors in comprehension that reflect picture-based processing. However, despite comprehension differences between low- and high-literacy consumers, attitudes toward the advertisement did not differ.

The current research suggests that pictures in print advertisements, particularly when incongruent with ad text, may degrade comprehension among low-literacy consumers. Moreover, and potentially of negative consequence for low-literacy consumers, the lower levels of comprehension exhibited by low-literacy participants were not associated with less positive attitudes toward the advertisement

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