Sensation-seeking and differentially arousing television commercials

The authors predicted (a) that disinhibited consumers would react more favo rably to advertising that was high in arousal and (b) that inhibited consum ers would react more favorably to advertising that was low in arousal. They tested these predictions by having U.S. college students evaluate both the commercial and the product being marketed in 1 of 2 beer commercials. The prospective buyers then completed a measure of dispositional sensation-seek ing tendencies. Although the participants who differed in disinhibition rea cted differently to the 2 commercials, the nature of their responses was mo re complex than predicted.