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In advertising literature, individual differences in terms of values, such as
individualism/collectivism (e.g., Leach & Liu, 1998; Wang & Mowen, 1997), and in terms of
personality traits, such as self-monitoring (e.g., Snyder & DeBono, 1985), have been well
explored. These individual differences have been demonstrated to affect the persuasiveness of
ads featuring different product images or the effectiveness of various ad appeals. However,
other important dimensions of individual differences that have been extensively explored in
psychology literature have drawn relatively less research attention among advertising researchers.
This study will probe into the role of individual differences with regard to masculinity and
femininity, well explored personality trait dimensions in psychology research, in processing
advertising messages.
Masculinity and femininity are conceptualized as two independent and important
dimensions of self-concepts (Bem, 1981). It is generally believed that masculinity and
femininity are learned in individuals’ socialization processes (Bem, 1979). Individual
differences on masculinity and femininity have been shown to explain significantly more of the
variance of how message perceivers respond to gender-related information after the influence of
their biological gender has been taken into account (Skitka & Maslach, 1996). It has also been
suggested that consumers’ self-definitions with regard to masculinity and femininitymay play a
more important role in consumer behavior than their gender (Worth, Smith & Mackie, 1992).
In addition, similar to the construct of individualism/collectivism, masculinity and femininity are
dimensions that can capture both culture-level variations and individual-level differences.
Therefore, as important personality trait dimensions, they warrant research in exploring
advertising effects.
Advertising imbues a product with personality traits by portraying the lifestyles and values
of typical users (e.g., Biel, 1993) or featuring appropriate celebrity endorsers (e.g., McCraken,
Convention