Influence of Marital Status on Advertising Strategies PDF

196 Lyubomira Spasova ISSN 2071-789X RECENT ISSUES IN SOCIOLOGICAL RESEARCH Spasova, L. (2024). Influence of marital status...

196 Lyubomira Spasova ISSN 2071-789X RECENT ISSUES IN SOCIOLOGICAL RESEARCH Spasova, L. (2024). Influence of marital status on persuasion strategies in advertising regarding intention to purchase. Economics and Sociology, 17(3), 196-222. doi:10.14254/2071-789X.2024/17-3/11 INFLUENCE OF MARITAL STATUS ON PERSUASION STRATEGIES IN ADVERTISING REGARDING INTENTION TO PURCHASE Lyubomira Spasova ABSTRACT. This study has three chief objectives. Firstly, it Department of Social Sciences and aims to identify individual susceptibility to Cialdini’s Business Language Training, persuasion strategies among consumers with different Trakia University, Stara Zagora, marital status. Secondly, it focuses on determining the Bulgaria susceptibility of each family member to persuasive E-mail: [email protected] strategies. Finally, the study examines the purchasing ORCID 0000-0002-1438-9104 funnel among consumers with different marital status and different family roles. Two measurement scales are applied: the STPS questionnaire to establish susceptibility Received: October, 2023 to persuasion strategies and the purchase funnel hierarchy 1st Revision: August, 2024 model. The results of the first analysis of variance Accepted: September, 2024 (ANOVA) show that divorced/separated users are susceptible to the principle of liking and authority, and married users – to commitment/consistency and social DOI: 10.14254/2071- proof. The second variance analysis found the 789X.2024/17-3/11 susceptibility of the children in the family: the first child was affected by liking, the second child – by scarcity, and the third – by commitment/consistency. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) of a family member with age differences as the covariate shows that consumers of advertising exhibit a strong sensitivity to the principle of unity, which affects widowed husbands or wives. In the second covariance analysis, a strong sensitivity to product preferences was observed for single husbands over 25 and for young adults under 25 for divorced/separated people. These scientific findings may be valuable to various specialists in social psychology, consumer behavior, and those interested in the dynamics of family purchases. JEL Classification: D20, Keywords: persuasion principles, STPS, purchase funnel, family M31, M37 purchasing in Bulgaria. Introduction The successful persuasion of media and advertising addressed at different audiences, as well as the ways in which consumers respond to persuasion, can determine the final results of the intention to purchase. This very complex process starts from the consumer attitude (Kaptein et al., 2009) perceived and preferred as the "most distinctive and indispensable concept" for predicting consumer behaviour (Allport, 1935, p. 784, Bohner & Dickel, 2011). Its strength and ambivalence are then altered through attitude accessibility, as a result of persuasive message Economics & Sociology, Vol. 17, No. 3, 2024  197 Lyubomira Spasova ISSN 2071-789X RECENT ISSUES IN SOCIOLOGICAL RESEARCH processing (Haugtvedt, Petty & Cacioppo, 1992) and metacognition in persuasion (Tormala & DeSensi, 2009). Traditional exposure to a stimulus can influence attitude formation at a subconscious level (Bargh & Apsley, 2001, Lee, 2001). Moreover, exposure frequency is an important factor (Crano & Prislin, 2006) in persuasion formation as marketers and advertisers resort to the repetition of advertising messages to achieve successful social influence. This is explained by the attitude-behaviour-supporting behaviour continuum (Kaptein, 2012). Modifying human behaviour through persuasion about a product or service is at the heart of marketing and promotion because social psychology and communication experts seek to influence purchase intention in the advertising process. This suggests that persuasion refers to attitude building, achievement of conviction as part of social influence, and ascertainment of various behavioral manifestations as end results of persuasion processes. The presence of various theoretical and empirical evidence regarding advertising communication as part of persuasive communication shows that research interest in this topic has increased over the years. This is due to the ability to persuade consumers of goods and services to exhibit a certain behaviour or adopt a new belief which lies at the heart of desired advertising influence. Basic socio-demographic characteristics of consumers such as gender, age, education, income, marital status, etc. are studied in order to establish the individual differences in reactions of advertising consumers towards persuasion strategies, developed by Cialdini (2001; 2004; 2016; 2021). Some of the most researched characteristics are gender, age (Spasova, 2022) and education (Erchull, Chrisler, Gorman, Johnston-Robledo, 2002), however, the marital status of users has been researched to a much lesser extent. Therefore, this study attempts to remedy this lapse and determine whether marital status can influence the susceptibility of individuals to some of the persuasion strategies of social influence. A further aim is to investigate the factors that can add value to the intention to purchase a product or service offered in an advertisement. The main difficulties in the research are related to determining the role of family environment representatives, as well as the way in which they influence the purchase decision. The paper is organized as follows: the first section reviews previous literature on the formation of persuasive messages by applying different scientific approaches to persuasion. We examine the conditions under which persuasion strategies are realized, focusing on social influence in family settings. In line with this review, we have formulated hypotheses regarding the role of advertising and the consumers' marital status in determining different exposures to persuasion strategies. In the following sections 2 and 3, we present our research methodology, the application of a reliable instrument to measure the susceptibility to each of the persuasion social influence strategies, as well as the consumers' purchase function in their preferences for a certain product. In the final part of the article we discuss the obtained results, make some generalizations about the social influence achieved through advertising among users with different marital status and comment on the role of the family. Some recommendations for future research on the processes of family purchasing of goods and services have also been added. 1. Literature review A number of researchers are interested in the process of persuasion, observing two approaches to adapting persuasive messages. Kaptein and Eckles (2012) adapt some persuasive messages based on previous successful persuasive interactions (Kaptein & Eckles 2012), while Hirsch, Kang and Bodenhausen (2015) suggest persuasive messages based on the Big Five personality traits (Hirsch, Kang & Bodenhausen, 2012). The main goals of researchers are to predict the effectiveness of various social influence strategies for persuasion, create a Economics & Sociology, Vol. 17, No. 3, 2024  198 Lyubomira Spasova ISSN 2071-789X RECENT ISSUES IN SOCIOLOGICAL RESEARCH persuasive profile, or adapt persuasive messages based on personality traits of different target groups. In recent years, authors have primarily focused on the main characteristics of perceivers of persuasive messages, and then tried to design their interventions accordingly. The strong interest in persuasive communication is due to the various aspects of persuasion, which represent one of the most widely studied topics in the social sciences (Kaptein, 2012). Another reason is the wide applicability of persuasion strategies in different scientific fields, such as computer-mediated persuasion (McKenna & Bargh 2000, Postmes et al., 2001; Sassenberg & Boos, 2003), the use of virtual reality as a persuasive environment (Blascovich et al., 2002), applying persuasive strategies for leadership building (Hoy and Smith, 2007), and developing interactive systems that are designed to change users' attitudes or behaviours (Oinas-Kukkonen & Harjumaa, 2008; Ploug et al., 2010; IJsselsteijn et al., 2006). The positive role of persuasion should not be underestimated for different social groups that maintain a neutral to positive attitude towards products and services in advertising to achieve a certain consumer behaviour. This becomes evident when social marketing campaigns link positive role models to desired and expected consumer behaviour (Grier & Bryant, 2005). Other researchers note that average sales on e-commerce websites increase through the use of persuasion (Kaptein & van Halteren, 2012), and also these technologies should also address individual-level effects, such as changing the attitude or behaviour of individual consumers (Kaptein, 2012). Significant progress in the study of persuasion processes for achieving successful social influence is expressed in understanding the conditions under which persuasion strategies are applied. Researchers like Fogg and Eckles (2007) argue that persuasive technologies can yield positive results only if persuasion occurs under the following conditions: 1) application of the appropriate message, 2) implementation at the right time, and 3) using it in an appropriate manner to be sufficiently effective (Fogg & Eckles, 2007). The conditions proposed by the authors are also relevant to advertising communication, where various persuasion processes are aligned with certain individual characteristics of consumers of products and services. Given the importance of persuasion strategies applied in advertising, every company should identify the key factors influencing persuasion processes. Generally, socio-demographic factors are well- known determinants for achieving social influence in the scientific literature, as they indicate significant effects on consumer behaviour (Thuan & Homolka, 2021). Successful advertising impact is achieved by segmenting consumers based on different criteria and understanding of the social influence achieved under specific conditions which alter consumer attitudes, behaviour, and satisfaction (Peterson & Wilson, 1992). Some researchers in behavioral psychology add that individual consumer differences in the persuasion process (Brug, Oenema & Campbell, 2003) are directly related to the effectiveness of the communicated message. According to the findings of Fogg and Eckles (2007), the understanding of messages can be perceived differently by an individual and a group of individuals, who have a direct connection and influence on each other (Fogg & Eckles, 2007). Other empirical studies show that disagreement within group members can mediate the effects of cognitive dissonance mechanisms (Festinger, 1957), with McKimmie, Terry, Hogg, and Manstead (2003) suggesting that the group maintains moderate dissonance consistent with expectations based on social identity (McKimmie et al., 2003). The process of reducing dissonance is achieved by monitoring the behaviour of a large number of people - a phenomenon, observed in the application of the principle of social proof (Cialdini, 2001; Cialdini, 2016), or when we adopt the views of people from a family environment. Therefore, strategies for social influence through persuasion achieve certain effectiveness with partial or full alignment between the perceived and preferred basis of consumer attitude (Kaptein et al., 2009) among members of a group or another collective. Economics & Sociology, Vol. 17, No. 3, 2024  199 Lyubomira Spasova ISSN 2071-789X RECENT ISSUES IN SOCIOLOGICAL RESEARCH Other empirical evidence has found that if an individual is outside a specific social group, expectations are that cognitive dissonance will be reactivated or a substitute dissonant arousal will be observed (Monin et al., 2004; Norton et al., 2003). In this situation, a consumer of advertising messages might make a purchase from the same product category at a nearby store because they were not sufficiently satisfied with a previous online purchase of a similar product. The consumer aims to reduce cognitive dissonance (Festinger, 1957) through compensatory action, where persuasive advertising exerts a strong influence, where principles such as social proof or unity are applied (Cialdini, 2004). In addition, attitude change induced by a single source represents a special case in persuasion. Minority influence researchers focus on the intra-individual processes that are activated in response to opinion-based minority advocacy (Crano & Prislin, 2006). These processes include cognitive reactions or thoughts generated by recipients of minority appeals (Wood, 2000). This aspect of attitudes and persuasions is explained through the principles of liking and unity, where unity refers to the sharing of the same identity between an influential person and their followers (Cialdini, 2021). As a result, the majority can determine the consumer’s final decision, overriding their initial attitude toward a product or service. According to Wood’s (2000) concept, intra-individual processes activated in response to minority advocacy, i.e. from a particular community, also shape the formation of attitudes toward certain advertised products (Wood, 2000). Therefore, researchers compare the generation of positive and negative advertising responses with minority and majority advocacy under certain social conditions, such as group membership or family presence (El-Alayli et al., 2002; Prislin & Wood, 2005). The primary reason for conducting the present study was the need to identify the general role of the family and those assumed by its different members influenced by the effect of advertising on their intention to purchase products and services (Hawkins et al., 2004). The main motivation is to expand the understanding of how to achieve desired consumer behaviour through persuasion, starting with the family and the role it plays in an individual’s purchasing decisions under the influence of advertising. According to Thomson, Laing and McKee (2007), qualitative research will enable researchers to learn more about the processes and complexities of family purchasing, given the opportunity it provides to study consumers in their environment (Thomson et al., 2007a). In the multidisciplinary literature on life satisfaction, it has been found that marital status is positively linked to physical and psychological well-being, with gender differences in the well-being of legally married couples and singles being widely explored (Williams, 1988). Furthermore, research on the influence of marital status on customer satisfaction during purchases (Dittmar, Long & Meek, 2004) has also identified some causal relationships between this factor and consumer behaviour after exposure to advertising. Gender differences in the effect of marital status on specific consumer behaviours before and after purchase may stem from differences in the orientation, pre-existing expectations of family members, and the meaning men and women find in purchased products. (Thuan & Homolka, 2021). Women’s relationships with other family members and their social environment are often more intimate than those of male consumers (Williams, 1988; Thuan & Homolka, 2021). This suggests that gender is also an important factor in determining the role of each spouse in making individual or joint decisions (Xia et al., 2006), with notable gender differences observed (Wut & Chou, 2009). The evolving social roles of men and women in the family, leading to more women entering the workforce and men assuming more household responsibilities, are additional factors influencing consumer behaviour (Xia et al., 2006; Wut & Chou, 2009). Some authors have differentiated the roles of the two genders in the family as either masculine with respect to purchasing technology, cars, or accessories, or feminine regarding the frequently consumed items, such as food, cosmetics, and household goods (Commuri & Gentry, 2005; Piron, 2002). Therefore, future research expectations not only suggest that marriage is linked Economics & Sociology, Vol. 17, No. 3, 2024  200 Lyubomira Spasova ISSN 2071-789X RECENT ISSUES IN SOCIOLOGICAL RESEARCH to interpersonal relationships, physical and mental well-being, happiness, and social satisfaction, but also to purchase satisfaction and some post-use processes of products and services. The process of making family purchasing decisions and the intention to buy are both instances where persuasive communication occurs within the family. The scientific literature examining family dynamics reveals that family exerts one of the most significant influences on consumer decision-making (Cotte & Wood, 2004; O'Malley & Prothero, 2007; Hamilton, 2009). The main research questions related to family decisions revolve around constructs such as family power, participation, and conflicts in purchases (Qualls & Jaffee, 1992), as well as social class, role orientation, family life cycle, perceived decision risk, and time pressure (Shepherd & Woodruff, 1988). Different family members assume various roles in influencing a purchase decision, and researchers point out that these roles are not static, but can shift and evolve, thus altering the persuasive process within the family (Su et al., 2003; Belch & Willis, 2001). Researchers have identified five to six key roles within the family decision-making process: initiator or gatekeeper, influencer, decision-maker, buyer, and user (Engel et al., 1973). In addition to the role distribution of family members, it is crucial to explore the way persuasion occurs within the family, the main distinction being the degree to which individuals in a family consciously accept or reject the object of advertising influence in the persuasion process. The cognitive model of persuasion outlines a series of information-processing stages that happen in response to persuasive messages (Albarrac, 2002; Albarrac & Wyer, 2001). In-depth research requires clarity not only on the roles assumed by family members, but also on the nature of family relationships, such as husband-wife, parent-child, sibling-sibling, and others within the family unit. A particular focus is placed on the parent-child relationship, as in recent years, children have been recognized as an important market segment that influences family decisions (Kapoor & Verma, 2005). Kaur and Singh (2006) found that the degree of influence exerted by children varies depending on the product category and stage of the decision-making process. For certain products, children are active initiators, information seekers, and buyers, while for others, their impact is limited due to a lack of competence or experience (Kaur & Singh, 2006). Other researchers indicate that before children influence the family’s purchasing decisions, the actual choice has already been made by the parents (Tinson & Nancarrow, 2007), although the latter may allow children to express an opinion in the form of a symbolic gesture (Ekstrom, 2005). Moreover, several authors note that as children grow older, their influence on the family’s purchases increases (Özgen, 2003). The explanation is that as children mature, they are able to make more competent decisions and assist their parents (Ekstrom, 2005). The research problem that arises is to determine the extent to which children within the family environment influence the purchase of products and services under the allure of advertising, and to define the main factors that underlie this influence. On the other hand, creating a false sense of participation for children, which obscures the true power dynamics within family relationships, is explained as a way to mitigate the perceived risk involved in purchasing new products (Kaur & Singh, 2006). In the scientific literature, purchase intention is defined as what consumers think they will buy (Blackwell et.al, 2001), and this type of consumer shows higher actual levels of purchase than those customers who demonstrate no intention to buy any products (Brown, 2003). Furthermore, there are three factors that can influence a consumer's purchase decision: personal, psychological and social (Khan, Nisar & Ullah, 2021). The marketer needs to know whether a reference group has a significant social influence on consumers, as well as which family members are affected by these groups (Thomson, Laing & McKee, 2007b). Various scientific studies suggest that family, peers, and media are the main social factors for adolescents. Certain family characteristics, such as parenting style, gender role orientation (GRO), and habits related Economics & Sociology, Vol. 17, No. 3, 2024  201 Lyubomira Spasova ISSN 2071-789X RECENT ISSUES IN SOCIOLOGICAL RESEARCH to interacting with other individuals and social groups, shape both family models and consumer behaviour in Western and Eastern Europe, as well as in Asia (Thomson, Laing & McKee 2007b; Kaur & Singh, 2006). In addition to family relationships, persuasion strategies should be developed for social influence in advertising, and the resulting impact among target groups should be studied, taking into account the repeated actions of consumers (Thuan & Homolka, 2021). The dynamism of decision-making within a family, as well as its interconnectivity among family members, is the reason these processes are studied in social psychology as separate phenomena, not necessarily tied to a specific purchasing decision (Sinha, 2005). The main stages described in the research literature on purchase intention are as follows: problem recognition, information search, and final selection (Solomon, 2003). Some authors indicate that children have a strong influence during the problem recognition stage, but significantly less influence during the final decision stage (Belch & Willis, 2001). In a more recent study, other researchers find that teenagers who actively use the internet have greater access to market information and significantly influence family decision-making (Belch et al, 2005). This again shows that their influence is higher in the stages of initiation and information search, compared to the stages of alternative evaluation and final decision (Kaur & Singh, 2006). Joint decisions, i.e., decisions made collaboratively by spouses, are also influenced by children (Hundal, 2001). However, this influence is not expected among consumers of products and services who do not cohabit with children due to various personal and social reasons. Some empirical evidence suggests that the initiator of a purchase within a family is usually a young woman, likely the wife or one of the older children, but the purchase is made after consulting another family member, such as the husband (Kaur & Singh, 2006). On the other hand, there is insufficient evidence regarding the influence of children on instrumental decisions, such as how much to spend (Sinha, 2005), but regardless of age, children help increase the pressure to make a purchase decision (Kaur & Singh, 2006). Therefore, over the years, the importance of different types of families has grown, and the complex relationships within families that can determine consumer behaviour following persuasive communication must be studied. This includes various family structures, such as single-parent families (either single or widowed), two-parent families (either married or cohabiting), childless families, families with an absent parent (divorced, separated, or widowed), and, most importantly, children's involvement in purchase decisions. Children become customers at a later stage, but they follow the pattern of behavior provided by the parent as consumers of goods and services. Sociological research shows that family compositions will continue to evolve (Kaur & Singh, 2006; Thuan & Homolka, 2021). The behaviour of these consumers also needs to be analysed in terms of their responses to advertising following the application of persuasive communication. This would allow researchers and practitioners to learn more about the processes of family purchasing by studying consumers in their environment (Thomson et al., 2007a). In the present scientific research, consumers of products and services in advertising are classified into several different groups based on their marital status: single, cohabiting, married, divorced or separated, widowed. This classification is used to test their susceptibility to the persuasive strategies outlined by Cialdini (2001-2021), as well as consumer behaviour with purchase intention under the influence of advertising (Cialdini, 2001; Cialdidni, 2016; Cialdini, 2021; Duffett, 2015). We expect that the established findings will contribute to the existing literature focused on persuasive communication (Johnson, 2004; John and Jackson, 2004), social influence strategies for persuasion (Cialdini, 2021), and the evaluation of the effectiveness of each strategy as an operational measure of the achieved persuasiveness of advertising to consumers (Kaptein, Markopoulos, Ruyter, & Aarts, 2009). To achieve this goal, we conducted a content analysis of certain family roles and relationships to determine the types of customers and their roles in purchase intention. These findings are important for existing Economics & Sociology, Vol. 17, No. 3, 2024  202 Lyubomira Spasova ISSN 2071-789X RECENT ISSUES IN SOCIOLOGICAL RESEARCH companies, online sellers, and other marketers, as well as for advertisers and merchants interested in achieving advertising effectiveness through persuasion. Based on previous research, the researcher proposes the following hypotheses: Hypothesis 0: The marital status of consumers, as well as their roles within the family, do not determine their individual susceptibility to persuasive advertising strategies. Hypothesis 1: Belonging to a family environment may increase susceptibility to social engagement and consistency. Hypothesis 2: A lack of family relationships may increase susceptibility to principles describing personal relationships. Hypothesis 3: The family role of each individual determines their susceptibility to specific persuasion strategies presented in advertising. Based on the dependencies found in other studies on the dynamics of family purchases (Sinha, 2005), and the need to establish consumer purchase intention behaviour in their natural family environment (Thomson et al., 2007a), we seek to analyse certain socio-demographic characteristics as factors determining consumer susceptibility to advertising and persuasion strategies. The abovementioned sources do not measure persuasion strategies for social influence, so the author aims to establish the role of each family member in the purchase intention. We have also found that there is insufficient information in the scientific literature regarding individuals' susceptibility to persuasion strategies applied in advertising. The goal of this research is to determine whether belonging to a specific family environment, the involvement of individual family members, and the relationships among them would influence certain consumer behaviour in the persuasion processes. Additionally, the main task of the author is to implement a reliable and valid instrument for measuring social influence persuasion strategies, as well as to find an appropriate scale for measuring purchase intention that can be applied in various scientific disciplines. Therefore, the analysis of family status and the role of each family member can be defined as two important factors of social influence that will benefit various sociologists, social psychologists, and specialists in marketing and advertising. 2. Methodological approach The present study, which offers a reliable instrument for measuring persuasion strategies, aims to identify individual susceptibility to Cialdini's persuasive strategies among consumers of different marital status and to establish the susceptibility of each family member to the persuasive strategies. Another main aim is to determine "the purchase funnel" with persuasion strategies among consumers with different marital status. The study was conducted as an expression of our scientific interest in achieved social influence of Cialdini's persuasion strategies (2001-2021) in advertising. The data collection period spans from January 2020 to March 2022, with an analysis of the scientific data between April 2022 and June 2024. The data were collected from a total sample of 450 respondents, distributed according to various demographic characteristics, such as marital status and family members. They were determined as main factors, providing a 95% representative size (e = ± 5%; p = q = 0.50). A survey was conducted among various advertising consumers, and the data was processed using the statistical analysis package SPSS 19.0. The participants in the survey were asked by email to voluntarily participate in the study if they met several requirements: 1) within the age range of 18 to 65; 2) having seen the advertisements offered for evaluation; 3) having purchased or intending to repurchase products from the offered advertisements; 4) indicating their marital status as respondents, as for the purposes of the study they could choose to participate in the survey with different roles: husband, wife or child in the family (living with parents), aged 18 Economics & Sociology, Vol. 17, No. 3, 2024  203 Lyubomira Spasova ISSN 2071-789X RECENT ISSUES IN SOCIOLOGICAL RESEARCH to 25 years. The target population for this study were individuals, aged 18 to 65, living in Bulgaria, acting in one of the following three roles - husband, wife or child in the family, living with parents, aged 18 to 25. This was justified by the main purpose of the first study which was to ascertain the influence of each member in the family regarding their purchase intention. The sample was made up of advertising consumers who indicated in advance whether they had been exposed to advertisements offering perfumes by Versace, Dolce & Gabbana, as well as Vogue media advertisements. Each case from the general population had had an equal chance of being included in the study according to the specified criteria, with the respondents being users of the advertised products and services in Bulgaria. All participants completed the questionnaire on paper to ensure the accuracy of the answers, and 15% of the questionnaires were not correctly completed and therefore we discarded them from the survey. The survey comprised the following several modules: 1) First module: application of an adapted and modified version of the STPS questionnaire or Susceptibility to Persuasion Strategies Scale, developed by Kaptein, Ruyter, Markopoulos, and Aarts (Kaptein, Ruyter, Markopoulos, & Aarts, 2009), we determined the individual susceptibility of advertising consumers to seven persuasion strategies of Cialdini (2001-2021). The scale was adapted for users of advertisements and contained 26 positions of Kaptein’s and 9 of ours as follows: the principle of reciprocity, of scarcity, of commitment and consistency were formed by 5 statements (as in Kaptein); the principle of authority consisted of 4 statements by Kaptein and one added by us – “Expert opinion is very important to me”; the principle of social proof consisted of 4 statements by Kaptein and one of ours – “If a lot of people buy something, I'll do it too”; the principle of liking consisted of 3 statements by Kaptein and 2 of ours – “I really like a person who has many positive qualities”, “When someone compliments me, I start to like them”; the principle of unity was based on 5 statements, all proposed by the author of this study – “When I repeat someone's behaviour, it means that we have a lot in common”; “Sometimes I feel some people so close that it's as if we have the same identity”; “Only if a person has similar characteristics as mine will he make me follow him”; “The one who really meets my ideal of personality will be an example to follow”, “If someone intrigues me with their appearance or soul, I feel that I am becoming a part of them” (Spasova, 2022). 2) Second module: statements for measuring purchase intentions, including the first two stages of the hierarchy model - the purchase funnel: Awareness Scale and Product Preferences Scale (Duffett, 2015, p. 503), applied in advertisements: Awareness Scale – “I would learn more about a product that interests me from an advertisement”; “I would find additional information about a product from an advertising that offers an incentive”; “I would find additional information about a product from an advertisement that offers benefits to the customer.” Product Preferences Scale – “I would buy a product that has been used by a large number of other users” (social proof); “I would buy a product that is hard to find” (scarcity); “I would buy a product that brings me a gift” (reciprocity); “I would buy a product that is offered by an expert” (authority); “I would buy a product offered by an influencer” (unity); “I would buy a product that is offered by an attractive seller” (liking); “I would buy a product that is associated with more commitment, if it brings me important family benefits” (commitment and consistency). 3) Third module - demographic factors such as gender, marital status, member of family such as husband, wife or child in the family (living with parents), aged 18 to 25 years were indicators for forming the target group. The survey instrument used in this study consisted of 45 items divided into the first two modules and a third module – demographic characteristics. Cronbach's alpha has been used to test the reliability of an adapted and modified version of the STPS questionnaire (Kaptein et al., 2009). The reliability of Liking Scale was α=0.678, that of Social Scale was α=0.775, of Commitment and Consistency Scale was α=0.771, of Scarcity Scale was α=0.648, of Reciprocity Scale was α= 0.709, of Unity Scale was α=0.736, of Authority Scale was α=0.731. Economics & Sociology, Vol. 17, No. 3, 2024  204 Lyubomira Spasova ISSN 2071-789X RECENT ISSUES IN SOCIOLOGICAL RESEARCH For the whole sample, the Cronbach's alpha coefficient of the STPS questionnaire was α=0.716. Since the values are close to or exceed the minimum recommended value of α=0.700 (DeVellis, 2012), the internal consistency for the respective subscales is sufficiently high, i.e. the elements that compose them form a common scale. Researchers point out that it is very difficult for consumers to reach the last level of the communication pyramid of effect, known as the purchase funnel (Safko, 2010; Belch and Belch, 2012; Duffett, 2015), so in the current study, statements were given to consumers to evaluate along “the purchase funnel” (Duffett, 2015, p. 503) through persuasive communication implemented through persuasive strategies (Cialdini, 2001; Cialdini, 2016; Cialdini, 2021). Respondents answered to all of the modules of the questionnaire, printed on paper for more precise completion, on a five-point Likert-type scale, which included grades from 1 – “Disagree”, to 5 – “Agree”. The participants had to agree or disagree with the statements from first and second modules. In order to determine whether the adapted and modified scale of Kaptein, Ruyter, Markopoulos and Aarts (2009), (Kaptein et al., 2009) applied in the study could be suitable for analysing the obtained data, a confirmatory factor analysis was performed using the principal components method (PCA) and orthogonal rotation using the Varimax with Kaiser Normalization method. Seven factors were assigned as in the methodology of Kaptein, Ruyter, Markopoulos and Aarts (2009), (Kaptein et al., 2009). The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sampling Adequacy was 0.667 for the entire sample (N = 450), which is above the recommended value of 0.600 (Kaiser, 1974). Bartlett's test of sphericity was statistically significant for all subjects (χ2 (592) = 8727.5, p < 0.000), (Kaiser, 1974; Bartlett, 1954). The adequacy measure of each subscale of the STPS questionnaire was also measured, and the subscales measuring the following principles were assessed as: liking: KMO 0.557; scarcity: KMO 0.605; reciprocity: KMO 0.642; authority: KMO 0.628; commitment and consistency: KMO 0.605; social proof: KMO 0.667; unity: KMO 0.608. Bartlett's tests of sphericity for each subscale were also statistically significant for all subjects (p < 0.000), (Kaiser, 1974; Bartlett, 1954). After applying principal component analysis (PCA), we assumed 7 factors, as in the methodology of Kaptein, Ruyter, Markopoulos and Aarts (2009), (Kaptein et al., 2009), with the obtained factor loadings ranging from 0.828 to 0.423, as loads below 0.400 were not accepted. Total cumulative variance was also calculated, amounting to 51%, which falls within the general range for multidimensional constructs. Since the main objective of the present study was to identify and calculate the combined susceptibility scores for the persuasion strategies of R. Cialdini (2001-2021), principal component analysis (PCA) was applied, and the value of the factors ranged from 0.828 to 0.423 as specified. The fit from the five- and six-component solution was also further examined using orthogonal rotation by means of the Varimax method with Kaiser normalization. Due to the relatively low loadings, the following four statements were removed from the scale: one statement about the principle of authority – 0.371; one statement about the principle of commitment and consistency – 0.314; one statement about the principle of social proof – 0.306 and one statement about the principle of liking – 0.278. After reducing the number of statements from 35 to 31, the cumulative variance increased from 51% to 55%. We continued our scientific work with the adapted and modified version of the STPS questionnaire with 34 items and 7 subscales as a measure to determine the susceptibility of consumers of advertising products and services to individual persuasive strategies. In one of their studies, Kaptein and van Halteren, due to the low loading of some of the statements in questionnaire STPS, removed 6 statements from the scale: the principle of authority - 11, the principle of authority - 12, the principle of commitment and consistency - 20, the principle of reciprocity - 25, the principle of liking - 28 and the principle of liking – 32 (Kaptein and van Economics & Sociology, Vol. 17, No. 3, 2024  205 Lyubomira Spasova ISSN 2071-789X RECENT ISSUES IN SOCIOLOGICAL RESEARCH Halteren, 2012). The following paragraph describes and estimates Pearson correlation coefficients, indicating their statistical dependencies. In order to test the subscales in the STPS questionnaire, the Pearson correlation coefficient was used, and statistically significant positive correlations were found, which ranged from r= 0.222 to r=0.548; p