Track: Master Thesis Competition

Abstract

This study examined the effects of poster design components on guilt response, the moderating effect of clarity of purpose between the design attributes and guilt response, and the effects of guilt appeals on social distancing behavioral intention. In this research, poster design attributes such as background color and textual components were manipulated in terms of hue, color saturation, and message type in creating different stimuli for the actual experiment. A 2 (hue) x 3 (saturation) x 3 (message type) between-subjects experiment was conducted wherein eighteen (18) stimuli were evaluated by 162 target participants through an actual experiment measured in terms of clarity of purpose, guilt response, and social distancing behavioral intention. The effects of hue, saturation, textual components, and the moderating effect of clarity of purpose on guilt response were tested using analysis of variance (ANOVA). Whereas, the effect of guilt response on social distancing behavioral intention was analyzed using structural equation modelling (SEM). Findings showed that red hue, anticipatory message type, and the interaction between red hue and anticipatory message type had significant positive effects on guilt response. However, the interaction between hue and saturation presented no significant effect on guilt and clarity of purpose also had no moderating effect between the design attributes and guilt response. Ultimately, the SEM results reported that guilt response had a direct significant effect on social distancing behavioral intention.