JOURNAL OF CONSUMER PSYCHOLOGY, 16(1), 45-56 Copyright O 2006, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.

Effects of Culture, Gender, and Moral Obligations on Responses to Charity Advertising Across

Masculine and Feminine Cultures

Michelle R. Nelson University of Wisconsin-Madison

Frkdkric F. Brunel Boston University School of Management

Magne Supphellen Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration

Rajesh V. Manchanda The University of Manitoba

Two studies investigated the effects of charity advertising on perceptions of moral obligation to help others and gauged ad evaluation. This was done in cultures that were similar in individual- ism but differed in either masculinity (United States and Canada) or femininity (Denmark and Norway). Participants read appeals that solicited donations to charity by focusing on either ego- istic or altruistic motives. In masculine cultures, men preferred the egoistic ad and women pre- ferred the altruistic one. In feminine cultures, where women are agentic and men are allowed to be nurturing, the opposite was the case. Exposure to both types of ads activated a sense of per- sonal obligation among men in feminine nations and women in masculine nations. However, their opposite-sex counterparts reacted against these ads. Implications of these findings for an understanding of culture and sex differences in advertising effectiveness are discussed.

Reactions to tragedies such as the December 2004 tsunami provide evidence that the citizens of the world are capable of extraordinary compassion and generosity. Nevertheless, the fundraising and immediate responses from governments did not go without some controversy. Some people believe that Western countries (e.g., the United States) did not provide enough funds right away, and in general do not fully support the needs of the less fortunate. Others believe that govern- ment intervention is not the best vehicle and that private indi- viduals and nonprofit organizations should be responsible for giving help. We do not wish to arbitrate this debate. Instead, we provide individual-level insights on how and why the public in North America and Northern Europe reacts differ- ently to solicitations for donating funds to charities, and how

Correspondence should be addressed to Michelle R. Nelson, University of Wisconsin-Madison, School of Journalism & Mass Communication, 5148 Vilas Hall, Madison, WI 53706. E-mail: mmelson@wisc.edu

individuals view their own versus their government's obliga- tion to help others in need.

Considerable differences exist in charity-related attitudes and behaviors. At the individual level, women are more likely than men to donate money and time to charities (Braus, 1994). At the cultural level, donor differences in the United States and Europe are noteworthy. In the United States, do- nors believe that they can spend money more effectively than the government. In contrast, Europeans are more likely to volunteer their time rather than give money and regard pri- vate philanthropy as only complementary to state activity ("Doing Well," 2004). Yet, due to their aging demographics and generally overextended welfare programs, European governments wish to bolster private philanthropy. Econo- mists suggest that European nonprofit organizations will need to raise funds more effectively. We address these issues empirically by exploring how charity messages influence perceived personal obligations to help others and by compar-

46 NELSON, BRUNEL, SUPPHELLEN, MANCHANDA

ing message evaluation for men and women in North Amer- ica and Northern Europe.

Value congruity is one of the strongest determinants of at- titudes toward charities (Supphellen & Nelson, 2001) and the evaluation of charity appeals (Brunel & Nelson, 2000). This effect has been demonstrated in cross-cultural persuasion re- search as well. Messages are usually evaluated more posi- tively if they are congruent with respondents' cultural values than if they are incongruent (e.g., Han & Shavitt, 1994; Zhang & Gelb, 1996). Such studies have typically compared individualist (independent) to collectivist (interdependent) countries. These studies often show that members of individ- ualistic cultures prefer egoistic or self-focused appeals' that reflect individualistic values (emphasizing individual differ- ences, separateness, personal welfare, or pride) over other-focused appeals that emphasize relationships with in-group members, connectedness, empathy, altruism, and collective welfare. Yet, other comparisons of individualistic and collectivist cultures have not always confirmed these dif- ferences. For instance, Aaker and Williams (1998) and Shavitt, Nelson, and Yuan (1997) reported that members of the individualist culture preferred other-focused appeals to self-focused appeals. These discrepant findings could result from a failure to consider other factors that influence mes- sage processing both between and within cultures.

This article examines individuals' responses to charity ap- peals that focus primarily on the two main motives for help- ing in a charity donation context (Bendupudi, Singh, & Bendapudi, 1996). One, other-focused appeal, emphasizes altruistic motives that is, the desirability of helping or bene- fiting others in need. The second, self-focused appeal, em- phasizes egoistic motives, that is, the desirability of donating money that will benefit oneself as well as helping others. We examine individuals' responses to these appeals within indi- vidualist cultures that vary in sex-role ideology. Although we suggest that messages that convey congruent values will be preferred over messages that convey incongruent values, we predict different culture and sex-based message responses.

In addition, we considered how the charity messages might arouse feelings of social responsibility (e.g., Horowitz, 1968) by activating perceptions of the moral obligation to help. These perceptions are often considered to be stable (Miller, 2001). Yet, Gardner, Gabriel, and Lee (1999) found that using priming techniques to shift the relative interdepen- dence of self-construals increased United States individuals' sense of obligation to help others "in ways that were once be-

'Appeals that focus on individuals' concerns (Lau-Gesk, 2003) have been referred to as individualistic (Andsager, Austin, & Pinkleton, 2002; Han & Shavitt, 1994; Shavitt et al., 1997; Zhang & Gelb, 1996), separated (Wang, Bristol, Mowen, & Chakraborty, 2000), or ego-focused (Aaker & Williams, 1998). Other-focused appeals have also been referred to as collec- tivist (Andsager et al., 2002; Han & Shavitt, 1994; Shavitt et al., 1997; Zhang & Gelb, 1996), connected (Wang et al., 2000), or interpersonally fo- cused (Lau-Gesk, 2003).

lieved to be culturally mandated (p. 325). However, they cautioned that the degree of obligation might be constrained by cultural norms and practices. We suggest that the socio- economic structure of a culture and the relative perceived re- sponsibility of government (vs. self) might influence notions of person obligation to help others.

In this research, we test whether value-expressive charity messages can activate a sense of obligation that differs be- tween men and women in culturally prescribed ways. We fo- cus on cultures with different norms regarding who is respon- sible for helping others and with dissimilar sex-role ideology and practices. Such differences are captured by the cultural dimension of masculinity-femininity (Hofstede, 2001). Thus, in two experiments, we examine when sex differences in moral obligations and advertising response will emerge in cultures that are similar in individualism but differ in mascu- linity versus femininity.

THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

Cultural Values: Individualism and Masculinity

By culture, we refer to individuals' shared perceptions of their social environments (Triandis, 1995) which can reflect stable traits that result in almost automatic processing when cultural members discern what behaviors or principles are desirable. The perceptions can vary along dimensions that capture empirically verifiable clusters of values, attitudes, and behaviors (Hofstede, 2001). The most frequently studied dimension is individualism-collectivism. Representatives of individualistic cultures, such as the United States, typically believe that ties between individuals are loose. Thus, they value autonomy, emotional independence, and initiative, and believe that people are responsible for themselves. In con- trast, individuals in collectivist cultures, such as China, are socialized into strong, cohesive ingroups, that enforce group solidarity, decisions, and obligations (Hofstede, 1984). Al- though these cultural differences have been extensively in- vestigated, difference~ along other dimensions may also be important.

We focus on four individualistic countries-Canada, the United States, Denmark, and Norway (Hofstede, 2001). Members of these countries are equally likely to endorse statements such as "I enjoy being unique and different from others in many ways" and "what happens to me is my own doing" (Nelson & Shavitt, 2002, p. 450). Nevertheless, the countries differ in values and gender roles that vary accord- ing to masculinity versus femininity (Hofstede, 2001). This dimension, which contrasts the relative strength of masculine and assertive (or ego) interests with feminine and nurturance (social, relational) interests, was confirmed in Hofstede's (1984) seminal research on managers in 40 countries. On av- erage, women considered interpersonal relationships and physical environment (social goals) to be most important,

EFFECTS OF CULTURE, GENDER, AND MORAL OBLIGATIONS 47

whereas men saw advancement and earnings (ego goals) as most important. Within the same occupations, however, the values of men and women in high masculinity countries dif- fered significantly more than the values of men and women in low masculinity countries (Hofstede, 2001). In addition, in the most feminine countries (i.e., Scandinavia), there was a reversal of gender roles, with women scoring higher on ego goals than men and men scoring higher on social goals than women.

The meaning of masculinity-femininity is sometimes confused with individualism~ollectivism. Yet, these two di- mensions are statistically independent and are based on or- thogonal factors (Hofstede, 2001). Thus, "groupiness" is a collectivist characteristic that is often based on interpersonal ties (e.g., family), but is not necessarily feminine (relation- ship-oriented). Collectivism is not altruistic; it may be in-group egoism (Hofstede, 2001). In collectivist cultures, an individual may help a relative out of obligation, but would not feel obligated to help an out-group member, even if he or she were also a member of that same culture. On the other end, the masculinity-femininity dimension distinguishes be- tween ego enhancement and relationships at the individual level, irrespective of groups (Hofstede, 2001). Characteris- tics of these cultural dimensions, and exemplars of countries that fit these patterns, are summarized in Table 1.

These differences have been replicated with various popu- lations and domains (Hofstede, 2001). Research has shown that in masculine societies, gender roles are clearly distinct. Men are supposed to be assertive, tough, and focused on ma- terial success, whereas women should be gentle and nurtur-

ing. In feminine countries, gender roles and norms overlap. Men are allowed to be gentle, feminine, and weak, and women describe themselves in their own terms: they are nur- turing but also competitive.

Individuals learn cultural values in many ways. Perhaps Scandinavia (Denmark, Norway, Sweden) consistently ranks as the most feminine culture due to its history of sharing so- cial and economic responsibilities between men and women. Women in Scandinavian Viking societies were responsible for managing villages while men were away on extended trips (Hofstede, 1984). An analysis of Old Norse literature suggests that overlapping gender roles, with strong, mascu- line roles and rights for women, have existed since an early date (Clover, 1993). Northern European women before the dawn of Christianity were allowed to own property and weapons as well as female goods (e.g., spinning imple- ments). Even today, Scandinavian women have greater equality in work opportunities and wages than do women in the United States or Canada (Baxter & Kane, 1995). An anal- ysis of television advertising across Denmark and the United States suggests that media appear to reinforce these differ- ences. Although both countries' ads reflect individualistic values, Danish ads are more likely to show gender equity and less likely to reflect achievement values than are American ads (Stein, 2004). As such, the prominent cultural values (e.g., masculinity in the United States) are perhaps more chronically accessible in memory among individuals living in the culture due to the frequency with which they are ob- served. Thus, although individuals may hold both individual- ist and collectivist (Triandis, 1995) or masculine and femi-

TABLE 1 Selected Cultural Characteristics and National Cultures Classified by Masculinity-

Femininity and Individualism-Collectivism Dimensions

Masculinity

Individualism Low (Feminine) High (Masculine)

Low (Collectivist) Characteristics Tight relationships with ingroups, overlapping

gender roles, high equality, and low freedom

Characteristics Ego-enhancement based on group, large gender-role

differences, low equality, and low freedom.

High (Individualist)

Countries Countries Chile (28, 23) Hong Kong (57,25) Guatemala (6, 37) Japan (95,46) S. Korea (39, 18) Mexico (69, 30) Thailand (34,20) Venezuela (73, 12)

Characteristics Characteristics Loose relationships will all others, overlapping Ego-enhancement based on self, large gender-role

gender roles, high equality, and high freedom. differences, low equality, and high freedom. Countries Countries

Denmark (22,74) Canada (52, 80) Netherlands (14, 80) Germany (66,67) Norway ( l0,69) United Kingdom (66,89) Sweden (5,71) United States (62,91)

Note. Data based on Hofstede (2001). Numbers in parentheses indicate the masculinity index score and the individualism index score, respectively, for each national culture. Scale mean for Individualism was 53 and for Masculinity was 53. Cultural characteristics based on Hofstede (2001), except Equality and Free- dom based on Rokeach (1973).

48 NELSON, BRUNEL, SUPPHELLEN, MANCHANDA

nine values (e.g., Bem, 1974), countries can be classified on the basis of the prevailing cultural orientation (Hofstede, 200 1).

The state bears the responsibility for others' welfare in feminine cultures, whereas self-responsibility is predomi- nant in masculine cultures (Markus, Mullaly, & Kitayama, 1997). Thus, although members of individualistic cultures are free to pursue their own interests and to express attitudes freely and independently, those in feminine, individualistic cultures believe in equality, whereas members of masculine individualistic cultures believe in equal opportunity. These priorities are also reflected in different national spending pat- terns for the welfare of people and different personal obliga- tions in the form of income taxes. Thus, in the present research, we expected that members of cultures that differ in masculinity would see different moral obligations as normative.

Moral obligations develop out of cultural environments and determine who has the responsibility to act in particular situations (Miller, 2001). As such, they vary in the perceived amount of personal versus institutional obligation to help others. In social welfare states, such as Scandinavia, individ- uals (a) believe that the government ought to help those who are less fortunate (Esping-Andersen, 1990), and (b) may re- port lesser personal obligations to give money to charities, particularly those within their countries (Brooks, 2002; Chua & Wong, 1999). However, in countries such as the United States, personal rights and responsibilities are championed (Kohlberg, Levine, & Hewer, 1983), and individuals are granted tax incentives for donations. We believe that per- ceived personal versus institutional responsibility for helping others are key cultural markers for understanding responses to charity appeals.

Dynamic Construction and Knowledge Activation

Most cross-cultural studies of persuasion have examined how individual values in individualist versus collectivist cul- tures relate to advertising evaluation or processing (e.g., Aaker & Williams, 1998; Han & Shavitt, 1994; Shavitt et al., 1997; Zhang & Gelb, 1996). Such studies have obtained mixed results, however, suggesting that individualism-col- lectivism is not a reliable predictor of these characteristics (e.g., Takano & Osaka, 1999). In contrast, the dynamic view of culture suggests that the influence of individual cultural values on thoughts and actions may depend on which knowl- edge structures are accessible in memory at the time (Hong et al., 2003). This conception of culture allows for the influence of multiple cognitive structures beyond a single cultural con- struct such as individualism-collectivism. Furthermore, it suggests that latent values can vary in their accessibility in memory, and therefore, the likelihood that they are spontane- ously activated and applied in given situations (see Higgins, 1996, for a general discussion of the effects of knowledge accessibility).

Situational cues or stimuli can activate cultural values in memory (Brumbaugh, 2002), which then influence individu- als' interpretations of these stimuli. Highly internalized cul- tural values are more easily activated, perhaps because they are frequently reinforced. Thus, accessible values tend to have a greater influence on subsequent interpretations of external stimuli than do less accessible ones. The content of advertise- ments can activate shared cultural values. For example, the headline, "You've earned it, now enjoy it" for Park Avenue au- tomobiles reflects the masculine values of hard work and achievement to attain material and personal happiness most prominent in the United States (Nelson & Shavitt, 2002). In the United States, therefore, this advertising copy is likely to acti- vate these values, which may then influence ad evaluation. Yet, this same ad could elicit different reactions in members of a culture who do not share these masculine values.

Researchers have used advertisements to activate knowl- edge structures such as cultural values or identity, which are then used to interpret the message and construe its implica- tions (Aaker & Williams, 1998; Brumbaugh, 2002; Forehand & Deshpande, 2001; Whittler & Spira, 2002). When acti- vated cultural values are self-relevant, then assimilation ef- fects may occur in line with sociocultural and gender expec- tations. However, if activated values are not self-relevant or are in opposition to one's values, then contrast effects may occur.

We expected that a message that emphasizes one's duty to help others would activate personal or governmental obliga- tions to help, depending on normative cultural differences in masculinity versus femininity. Specifically, solicitations for charity donations should activate greater feelings of personal obligations in masculine countries but greater perceptions of the government's obligation in feminine countries. Further, the altruistic values reflected in the messages should activate chronically accessible caring values according to culturally predominant sex-role ideologies. Thus, because women in masculine cultures are socialized to be nurturing and compli- ant (Johar, Moreau, & Schwarz, 2003), a charity request should activate the norm of nurturing and a perceived moral obligation to help others. However, the same values or obli- gations may not resonate or be as accessible for men in mas- culine cultures. In contrast, in feminine cultures, where women are socialized to be strong and men are "allowed to be gentle, feminine, and w e a k (Hofstede, 2001, p. 3 12), the op- posite pattern of results may occur. Thus, differences in mas- culinity versus femininity may predict when men or women's perceived moral obligations are likely to be influenced by charity appeals.

H 1 : Women in masculine cultures and men in feminine cultures will feel greater personal obligation to help when they are faced with charity appeals in general and altruistic appeals in particular. In contrast, men in mas- culine cultures and women in feminine cultures will feel less obligated to help in response to charity ap-

EFFECTS OF CULTURE, GENDER, AND MORAL OBLIGATIONS 4 9

peals, particularly when the appeals emphasize altruis- tic values that emphasize helping others.

Persuasion Effects and Message Focus

A further consideration arises, however. Messages for solicit- ing donations can be written in many ways. On one hand, they might appeal to an individual's altruistic values for help- ing others (Martin, 1994). For instance, the organization Food for the Hungry on its Web site promotes giving money to "help others," and the Prostate Cancer Charity suggests that a donation can help "hundreds of men and their fami- lies." These are other-focused appeals because they are con- sistent with the alignment of one's actions with those of an- other and reflect empathy (Aaker & Williams, 1998; Bendapudi et al., 1996). On the other hand, messages that ap- peal primarily to egoistic motives or self-oriented values are also fairly common. These appeals respond to a motive for avoiding punishment or gaining a reward for donating (Cialdini et al., 1987). For example, the Australian Cancer

between men and women within our chosen individualistic cultures based on the masculinity versus femininity dimen- sion. That is, we expect that women in masculine, individual- ist cultures should indicate more favorable attitudes toward other-focused appeals that reflect traditional gender norms (e.g., caring or nurturing values) than to self-focused appeals, but that their male counterparts should have more favorable attitudes toward self-focused appeals. Based on differences in sex-role ideology, we predict the opposite pattern to occur in feminine, individualist cultures.

H2: Women in masculine cultures and men in feminine cultures will favor other-focused charity appeals over self-focused appeals. However, men in masculine cul- tures and women in feminine cultures will favor self-focused appeals over other-focused appeals.

STUDY 1

Research Foundation solicits donations on its Web site by ex- Study investigated the relation of sex and cultural back- plaining the following: "it has the potential to save your life ground on perceptions of both their personal ob- or 'he life of "meone you love." This 'ype of ligation to help others and the goverllment's obligations to do a desire to help oneself but also recognizes that the donation so. In addition, it determined whether charity ads could in-

be used to such may duce differences in these perceptions. Finally, it examined be considered individually or self-focused appeals because sex and cultural influences on evaluations of both they frame the donation in terms of attending to personal self-focused and other-focused charity appeals. welfare (Lau-Gesk, 2003).

Past research has mainly reported cultural-level persua- sion effects whereby individuals in individualistic cultures responded best to self-focused appeals rather than other-focused appeals, and individuals in collectivist cultures preferred other-focused to self-focused appeals (e.g., Han & Shavitt, 1994; Zhang & Gelb, 1996). Other studies have noted gender-level effects. Within the United States (an indi- vidualistic culture), women preferred other-focused appeals and men preferred self-focused appeals (Andsager, Austin, & Pinkleton, 2002; Brunel & Nelson, 2000; Wang, Bristol, Mowen, & Chakraborty, 2000). Yet, we expect differences

Method

Design and participants. Denmark and the United States are individualistic cultures that vary along the mascu- linity-femininity dimension (Hofstede, 1984; Nelson & Shavitt, 2002; see Table 2 for a series of measures showing how the cultures are different along the masculinity-femi- ninity dimension). Communication students from a Danish university (47 men, 35 women,) and a United States univer- sity (55 men, 97 women) participated. They were matched on

TABLE 2 A Comparison of Masculine and Feminine National Cultures on Macro Indicators

Key Indicators

Gender empowerment measure (2000)" Percentage of parliament seats by women (2004)" Ratio of female-to-male income (2001)" Human poverty index and rank amongst 17 OECD countries (2000)* Public expenditure on education as percentage of GDP (2001)* Population living below 50% of median income (2000)* International development assistance as percentage of GDP (2002)* Personal income taxation rates (based on highest percentage bracket)

Mascirline Clrlt~rres Feniinine Cultures

Curzudu Unites States

-- - -

Note. OECD = Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development; GDP = Gross Domestic Product. Data are based on the 2004 Hurnc~n Develop- ment Repor? from the United Nations (http://hdr.undp.org/reports/globa1/2004/).

50 NELSON, BRUNEL, SUPPHELLEN, MANCHANDA

demographics to make valid contrasts (van de Vijver & Leung, 1997).

Male and female representatives of each culture were ex- posed to either two charity ads (one of which was self-focused and the other of which was other-focused) or two control ads. Then, they evaluated the ads they had seen. Finally, they reported their perceptions of personal obliga- tions to help and the government's obligation to help. These judgments were evaluated as a function of cultural group (masculine vs. feminine), participant sex (male vs. female), and ad type (charity appeal vs. control).

Procedure. Participants in moral-obligation conditions were told that the experiment was a copy-testing study for a charity, and under this pretense, were asked to consider a pair of ads soliciting donations to charity. In contrast, participants in control conditions were given two ads promoting a floor lamp. In each condition, participants read the ads, evaluated them, and then responded to other measures pertaining to moral obligations and demographic characteristics.

The charity appeals, which were presented in counterbal- anced order, asked respondents to donate money to cancer re- search. One of these appeals indicated that the research would help all others (other-focused), and the other indicated that it would help one's self and family in particular (self-focused). Copy was based on existing letters by the Na- tional Foundation for Cancer Research and was similar to ap- peals in previous research in Canada and the United States (Brunel & Nelson, 2000; Maio & Olson, 1995). The other-focused ad contained the headline, "Save People's Lives. Help Researchers Find Cures for Cancer And Help Others Live," and the first sentence read, "As a caring person, you understand the importance of helping others in need." The self-focused ad was introduced with the headline, "Save Your Life. Help Researchers Find Cures for Cancer And Pro-

tect Your Future," and the first sentence read, "As a success- ful person, you understand the importance of making sure that you and your family remain healthy and happy." The control stimuli were lamp advertisements that promoted the energy-saving qualities of the product or its design. For Den- mark, the copy and questionnaires were translated and back-translated into Danish by two bilinguals. Contact infor- mation for the organization was localized.

Dependent measures. After reading the ads, respon- dents answered attitudes toward the advertisement measures. Attitudes toward each ad were assessed by four 7-point seman- tic differential scales (good-bad, like very much-dislike very much, pleasant-unpleasant, and irritating-not irritating). Responses to these items were assignednumbers from 1 to 7 so that higher numbers reflected more favorable attitudes. Then, two types of perceived obligations to help others were as- sessed using scales from I (disagree) to 7 (agree): personal ob- ligation ("I have a moral obligation to help anyone in need") and government obligation ("Our government has a moral ob- ligation to help all those in need in our country").

Results

Moral obligations. Table 3 summarizes perceptions of personal and governmental obligations to help as a function of participant sex, cultural dimension (masculine-United States vs. feminine-Denmark), and the type of ads to which participants were exposed (charity appeals vs. controls). Analyses of these data (using type of obligation as a repeated measure) indicated that participants generally perceived the government to have more obligation to help others (M = 5.02) than they personally did (M = 4.17), F(1, 211) = 51.97, p < .001. However, this difference was significantly greater in feminine cultures (5.3 1 vs. 3.98, Mdqf = 1.33) than in mascu- line cultures (4.74 vs. 4.36, Mdfl= 0.38), F(l,21 I ) = 1 5 . 3 5 , ~

TABLE 3 Perceived Personal and Governmental Obligations to Help Others, and Attitudes Toward Charity Appeals,

as a Function of Ad Condition, Culture, and Sex (Study 1)

Feminine Culture (Denmark)

Measures Men Women

Masculine Culture (United States)

Men Women

Exposure to charity ads Perceived government obligation to help others Perceived personal obligation to help others

Exposure to control ads Perceived government obligation to help others Perceived personal obligation to help others

Difference (charity vs. control) Perceived government obligation to help others Perceived personal obligation to help others

Attitudes toward the charity ads Attitude toward other-focused ad Attitude toward self-focused ad

Difference

Note. All scales range from I to 7 with a higher score indicating greater obligation or more favorable attitudes.

EFFECTS OF CULTURE, GENDER, AND MORAL OBLIGATIONS 51

< .001, and was greater among women (5.22 vs. 4.1 I , Mdlff= 1.1 1) than among men (4.84 vs. 4.23, Mdlff= 0.61), F(1,211) = 4.49, p < .05.

Finally, the influence of advertising type can be seen from the differences in moral obligations when charity ads were presented and or when control ads were presented. These dif- ferences, shown in the third section of Table 3, indicate that the charity ads increased people's perceptions of the govern- ment's responsibility relative to their own responsibility for everyone but American women. In contrast, the latter partici- pants decreased their perceptions of the government's re- sponsibility relative to their own. These findings are con- firmed by a significant three-way interaction of obligation type, sex, and ad type, F(l ,211) = 5 . 4 7 , ~ < .05, and a signifi- cant four-way interaction of these variables and culture, F(1, 21 1) = 5.75, p < .05.

According to Hypothesis 1, charity appeals should have a positive influence on the perceptions of personal obligations to help reported by women in masculine cultures (U.S.) and men in feminine cultures (Denmark). However, they should have a negative impact on the perceptions reported by men in masculine cultures and women in feminine cultures. As shown in Table 3, and as predicted, exposure to charity ads increased American women's and Danish men's feelings of personal obligation to help relative to control conditions (Mdfl= 0.42 and 0.24, respectively), but decreased American men's and Danish women's perceptions of this obligation (MM = -0.83 and -0.62, respectively). This pattern of data was confirmed by an interaction of sex, culture, and type of appeal in an analysis of participants' perceptions of their per- sonal obligations to help alone, F(1, 218) = 5.38, p < .05.

Charity ad evaluations. According to Hypothesis 2, women in feminine cultures and men in masculine cultures should report higher evaluations of the self-focused ad relative to the other-focused ad, whereas women in masculine cultures and men in feminine cultures were expected to have higher evaluations of the other-focused ad than the self-focused ad. Data shown in the bottom section of Table 3 confirm this pre- diction. As expected, American men evaluated the self-fo- cused ad more favorably (M = 5.03) than the other-focused ad ( M = 4.64), whereas Danish men did not differ in their evalua- tions of the ads (4.27 vs. 4.34, respectively). In contrast, Amer- ican women preferred the other-focused ad (M = 5.00) to the self-focused ad (M = 3.87), whereas Danish women liked the self-focused ad more than the other-focused ad (M = 5.34 vs. 4.27). These differences are confirmed by a three-way interac- tion of ad appeal, sex, and culture, F(1,109) = 1 1 . 3 5 , ~ < .005, and two-way interactions of culture with both types of appeal, F(l,109)=4.54,p<.05,andsex, F(l,109)=5.38,p<.05).

Discussion

Danish men and women felt that the government had more of an obligation to help others than they personally did. More- over, exposure to charity ads that solicited their individual do-

nations actually increased their perceptions that the govern- ment should help others. In fact, exposing Danish women to charity ads appeared to decrease their personal sense of obliga- tion to help others. In contrast, although American women also believed that the government had more obligation to help than individuals had, the charity ads had opposite effects on their beliefs. In this case, the ads increased their perceptions that in- dividuals rather than the government were obligated to pro- vide help. Finally, American men, unlike other participants, believed that individuals had more responsibility to help than the government had, but the ads increased their belief that the government was responsible relative to individuals. Thus, these participants appeared to react against the charity ads that insinuated a personal obligation to help others.

We assumed that participants who read the ads compared them to their own values or normative beliefs. When the values matched, this led to increased personal obligation. However, when the values in the ad did not match, the implications of the ad were rejected, as reflected in both reported feelings of per- sonal obligation and evaluations of the ad itself. Women in masculine cultures preferred the other-focused ad over the self-focused ad, but there were no significant differences in ad evaluation among men in feminine cultures. As expected and in line with sociocultural gender roles, men in masculine cul- tures and women in feminine cultures preferred the self-fo- cused ad over the other-focused one.

STUDY 2

Because participants in Study 1 were exposed to both charity appeals in the same study, it was difficult to know which of the ads may be driving the activation of moral obligation to help others. Study 2 was designed to clarify this matter. This experiment was expected to replicate the results of the first experiment under conditions in which participants were ex- posed to only one of the two charity ads.

Method

Cultural dimension and participants. Two individu- alistic and masculine countries (Canada and the United States) and two individualistic and feminine countries (Nor- way and Denmark; Hofstede, 1984) were selected. Business students were recruited across cultures: 83 Canadians (39 men, 36 women), 112 Americans (43 men, 66 women), 90 Danes (45 men, 45 women), and 119 Norwegians (59 men, 60 women). They were offered extra credit for participation.*

2By including Canada and Norway in this study, we aimed at showing that Study 1 results could hold beyond the United States and Denmark. We conducted a series of analyses by country to verify that our patterna of results were duplicated. Because no substantial between-country differences within each culture were found, we collapsed data from the United States and Can- ada in one group (masculine cultures), and Norway and Denmark into an- other (feminine cultures).

Members of each culture were exposed to one charity ad that focused on primarily donating to help other people (other-focused) or one that focused on donating to help self as well (self-focused).

Procedure. The experimental protocol was similar to Study 1 except that participants viewed no control ads and only one of the two charity ads. Participants were first ex- posed to either the self-focused or other-focused ad, then they reported their attitude toward the ad and answered the moral obligation and background demographic questions. All measures were translated into Norwegian or Danish and back-translated into English by bilinguals. Participants read the materials in their native languages.

Dependent measures. Attitude toward the ad was measured through two 7-point semantic differential scales (good-bad; like very much-dislike very much, r = .85). These items were reverse scored so that the higher the number, the more favorable the attitude. Also, the same moral obligation measures were used as in Study 1.

Results

Moral obligations. Table 4 shows perceptions of obli- gation as a function of culture (feminine vs. masculine), sex, ad type (self-focused vs. other-focused), and obligation type (personal vs. governmental). Analyses of these data indicate that participants perceived the government's obligation to help others (M = 5.46) to be significantly greater than their personal obligation to help (M = 3.97), F(l ,379) = 3 6 5 . 0 , ~ < .001. However, this difference depended on both the type of ad to which participants were exposed and the cultural di- mension they represented. The other-focused ad induced a greater increase in feminine cultural representatives' beliefs

that the government was more obligated to help than they were (5.73 vs. 3.84; Md8 = 1.89), as opposed to the self- focused ad (5.53 vs. 4.20; Md8= 1.33). However, the ad in- duced a similar increase in masculine cultural representa- tives' beliefs that the government was more responsible than themselves regardless of whether the ad was other-focused (5.45 vs. 4.11; MdR = 1.34) or self-focused (5.17 vs. 3.72; M M = 1.45). These differences are confirmed by an interac- tion of culture, ad type, and obligation type, F(l,379) = 3.50, p = .06.

To confirm Hypothesis 1, we again looked specifically at how ad appeals activate personal obligations to help others. We expected that women in masculine cultures and men in feminine cultures would feel more personal obligation to help others after exposure to the altruistic (other-focused) charity appeal. Conversely, we predicted that men in mascu- line cultures and women in feminine cultures would feel less obligated to help others after exposure to this appeal. Results showed that men and women in masculine nations reported higher personal obligations to help after exposure to the other-focused ad (M = 4.1 1) than after viewing the self-focused ad (M = 3.73), whereas individuals in feminine nations reported less obligation to help others in the former condition than in the latter (3.85 vs. 4.20). These differences are confirmed by an interaction of ad type and culture, F(1, 385) = 6.23, p < .05. However, the expected three-way inter- action for culture, ad type, and sex was not found.

Charity ad evaluation. According to Hypothesis 2, women in masculine cultures and men in feminine cultures should favor the other-focused message over the self-focused message, whereas men in masculine cultures and women in feminine cultures should favor the self-focused message over the other-focused message. Data pertaining to this hypothe- sis are shown in the bottom section of Table 4. Analyses of

TABLE 4 Perceived Personal and Governmental Obligations to Help Others and Attitudes Toward

the Ad as a Function by Ad Appeal, Sex, and Culture (Study 2)

Feminine Cultures Masculine Cultures

Measures by Ad Condition Men Women Men Women

Other-focused ad Government to help others Personal obligation to help others

Self-focused ad Government obligation to help others Personal obligation to help others

Difference (other-focused vs. self-focused) Government obligation to help others Personal obligation to help others

Attitude toward the ad Other-focused ad Self-focused ad

Difference

Note. All scales range from 1 to 7 with a higher score indicating greater obligation or more favorable attitudes

EFFECTS OF CULTURE, GENDER, AND MORAL OBLIGATIONS 53

these data as a function of cultural dimension, participant sex, and ad type indicated that individuals in masculine coun- tries evaluated the appeals more favorably than individuals in feminine countries (4.35 vs. 3.44), F(1, 387) = 53.81, p < .001. In addition, women reacted more favorably to the ads (M = 4.01) than did the men (M = 3.78), F(1,387)=3.38, p < .067. As predicted in Hypothesis 2, women in masculine cul- tures had relatively more favorable attitudes toward the other-focused ad than toward the self-focused ad, but men in the feminine cultures had similar feelings about both ads. Also in support of H2, females in feminine cultures and men in masculine cultures had more favorable attitudes toward the self-focused ad than toward the other-focused ad. These dif- ferences are confirmed by an interaction of appeal type, cul- ture, and sex, F(1, 387) = 4.06, p < .05.

Discussion

Masculine cultural representatives felt more personal obliga- tion to help others after exposure to the other-focused ad than after exposure to the self-focused ad. In contrast, members of feminine cultures felt less obligated to help others when ex- posed to the other-focused ad. Individuals in feminine cul- tures were more likely to feel that the government is largely deemed responsible for helping others. Therefore, when pre- sented with an ad appeal that asks an individual to donate to charity because he or she should help all others, individuals appeared to react against the request.

The effects of sex and culture on evaluations of the adver- tisement were similar to those observed in Study 1. Further- more, the fact that these effects were evident in a broader sample of masculine and feminine cultures suggests that they are robust.

GENERAL DISCUSSION

This research contributes to the understanding of culture and gender in the context of persuasion and moral obligations. As described earlier, cross-cultural research focuses almost en- tirely on individualism-collectivism. This body of research has provided structure to the construct of culture (Kim, Triandis, Kagitcibasi, Choi, & Yoon, 1994) and offers impor- tant insights into the differences between Eastern and West- em cultures in particular. Yet, findings across disciplines also show mixed results for the usefulness of the construct for pre- dicting attitudes or behaviors (Oyserman, Coon, & Kemmelmeier, 2000). Persuasion researchers typically pre- dict that members of individualist cultures will prefer self-focused appeals, whereas those in collectivist cultures will prefer other-focused appeals. Similar1 y, research on gen- der often assumes traditional sex roles for women and men. Findings show that women across cultures prefer other-focused or altruistic appeals and men prefer self-focused or egoistic appeals (e.g., Andsager et al., 2002;

Brunel & Nelson, 2000; Wang et al., 2000). Our research challenges these views.

Culture, Gender, and Persuasion

These studies were among the first to consider cultural differ- ences in persuasion beyond individualism-collectivism. In two experiments, we showed that men and women in individ- ualist cultures respond differently to value-expressive charity appeals based on sex-role ideology as predicted by the mas- culinity-femininity dimension. Thus, not all individuals in individualistic cultures resonated with the self-focused ap- peal. Neither did all women in these cultures respond favor- ably to the other-focused appeal.

When respondents in Study 1 viewed both self-focused and other-focused ads, masculine cultural representatives responded in accord with traditional sex-role patterns, repli- cating past research (e.g., Andsager et a]., 2002; Wang et a]., 2000). That is, men preferred the self-focused ad and women preferred the other-focused ad. However, the oppo- site results were found for men and women in the individu- alistic, feminine culture (Denmark). Study 2 replicated these response patterns in a between-subject design for an- other set of individuals in two masculine cultures (Canada, United States) and two feminine cultures (Denmark, Nor-

way). The message manipulations (other-focused vs.

self-focused) conveyed values in part by using a labeling technique (e.g., as a caring person, you . .. ), which is com- mon in charity messages. The underlying principle for this compliance tactic is, if the label fits the audience member, then it should motivate that person to behave in a la- bel-consistent manner. As such, it is an explicit form of con- veying cultural values that should encourage persuasion i f they match with those of the audience member. Bendapudi et al. ( 1 996) suggested that labeling people as kind, generous, or helpful will elicit greater motivation to help based on evi- dence by Swinyard and Ray (1977). However, our research shows that this sort of labeling does not always work-if the audience doesn't accept the "caring" label or the values con- veyed in the message, then the message may have a boomer- ang effect. This was true of both women in feminine cultures and men in masculine cultures.

These persuasion findings conform to the interplay of na- ture and nurture on gender norms. Women in masculine cul- tures might resonate with other-focused claims that label them as caring because of socialization forces that encourage them to focus on others (Putrevu, 2004). Thus, these values are accessible and easily activated and match well with altru- istic message claims. In contrast, women in feminine cultures are socialized to fill more agentic roles and indicate more egoistic values than their male counterparts (Hofstede, 2001). Therefore, these women resonated with the self-focused appeal in our studies. Gender norms for men in feminine cultures suggest that they are allowed to be weak or

54 NELSON, BRUNEL, SUPPHELLEN, MANCHANDA

nurturing, whereas men in masculine cultures are not (Hofstede, 2001). Men in masculine cultures clearly did not resonate with the other-focused ("caring") messages in our studies, whereas men in feminine cultures did not distinctly prefer one ad over the other.

The interactive effects of sex and culture may have impli- cations for previous findings. For example, the contingency of the effects of United States participants' responses on sex leads us to wonder if previous studies of United States partic- ipants' preferences for other-focused appeals (e.g., Aaker & Williams, 1998; Shavitt et al., 1997) employed predomi- nantly women as participants. Yet, few studies in cross-cultural research report the gender makeup of their sample or include gender in their analyses, despite the fact that distinct gender differences can exist both between and within cultures and the sex-role system is at the center of cul- tural norms (Chetwyn & Hartnett, 1978). We are one of a handful of studies to investigate the nature of gender re- sponses across cultures (see also Kashima et al., 1995; Wang, et al., 2000). We contend that research conducted within and across cultures should include gender as an important vari- able, and be mindful of differential value activation and re- sponses. Gender may be another form of "culture," in that the effects of both nationality and gender on our mental pro- gramming are largely unconscious (Hofstede, 2001). Thus, individuals have multiple, opposing identities across dimen- sions other than individualism-collectivism. Which values or identities are activated may well depend on the situation (Briley & Wyer, 2001). In the situation of value-expressive messages (Darley & Smith, 1995), gender and culturally as- cribed differences in masculinity-femininity should espe- cially be considered.

Moral Obligations and Knowledge Activation

Our research also contributes to the understanding of moral obligation in general and in the context of charity giving. Moral obligations develop out of moral beliefs and help to determine who is responsible for whom. Some people view obligations as fairly stable and universal across cultures (Singer, 1981), whereas others note the special consider- ations for culture or gender (see Miller, 2001). We report variation in perceived personal obligation for helping others across culture and gender and also show that such percep- tions can shift after exposure to charity appeals.

Personal moral obligations predict attitudes toward char- ity (Moore, Bearden, & Teel, 1985) and behavioral intentions to donate in other ways (e.g., give blood; Gorsuch & Ortberg, 1983). Researchers have suggested that macroenvironmental variables such as governmental policies or socioeconomics may be important moderators for charity donations, yet they are virtually unexplored (Bendapudi et al., 1996). We are one of the first studies to investigate the tension between per- ceived personal and institutional responsibility to help others as it is manifested within and across cultures. We show that

such perceived obligations can be attributable to cultural dif- ferences in masculinity-femininity, which explains underlying patterns for national spending and priorities, in- cluding social welfare. We also show that perceived govern- mental obligations can shift after viewing charity messages.

Specifically, when participants in Study 2 were not ex- posed to charity ads, everyone but American men believed that the government had more responsibility to help others than they had personally. This tendency was evident among members of feminine cultures regardless of sex. These find- ings are consistent with other data on charity giving across Europe and North America ("Doing Well," 2004). The indi- cation that United States women also believe that the govern- ment has a responsibility to help others is also consistent with evidence reported elsewhere (Inglehart & Norris, 2003).

However, charity appeals can also shift the norms or obli- gations that are perceived by members of different cultures. Study 1 demonstrated that viewing charity appeals activated personal obligations to help others in individuals who are so- cialized to hold caring values and behaviors (Hofstede, 1984). Thus, women in a masculine culture (United States) and men in a feminine culture (Denmark) both reported feel- ing more obligation to help others after viewing charity ads than after viewing control ads. The opposite was true of women in feminine cultures or men in masculine cultures. In Study 2, where participants were exposed to only one type of appeal, viewing an altruistic appeal activated a sense of per- sonal responsibility in North Americans but not in Scandina- vians. Scandinavians appeared to react against the plea to help all others and subsequently indicated that the govern- ment should be more responsible.

Our findings shed light on other studies that have used un- related stimuli to activate interdependent or relational feel- ings. For instance, Gardner et al. (1999) asked individualists (Americans) and collectivists (Chinese) to read stories that emphasized either personal gain or family obligations. They suggested that when Americans were exposed to a culturally inconsistent prime (family obligation), they expressed obli- gation values consistent with that prime. We show that expo- sure to other-focused stimuli may not result in such assimilative patterns for all members of individualist cul- tures. That is, representatives of feminine cultures appeared to react against these appeals and to feel less personal obliga- tion to help after message exposure.

Our results are consistent with a dynamic constructivist approach to culture whereby elements of advertisements ac- tivate cultural constructs, which then are positively related to ad evaluation (e.g., Aaker & Williams, 1998; Brumbaugh, 2002; Forehand & Deshpande, 2001; Whittler & Spira, 2002). This line of research goes beyond the consideration of a simple match between individuals' values and those repre- sented in the advertisement, taking into account the influence of advertising exposure as well. Future research, however, should control for order of experimental materials or mea- sure for the influence of external stimuli (such as ad mes-

EFFECTS OF CULTURE, GENDER, AND MORAL OBLIGATIONS 55

sages) on cultural values. In our studies, for example, partici- pants' responses to moral obligation questions could reflect their desire to justify the attitudes toward the ads that they re- ported earlier, and might not be an indication of their "true" perceptions.

Further Considerations

Our approach adds to a growing body of evidence that within-culture differences can'be as or more important than between-culture differences (e.g., Triandis & Gelfand, 1998). For instance, within individualist or collectivist coun- tries, there is variation along an orthogonal horizontal and vertical dimension. Horizontals value equality and view the self as the same in status as others, and verticals see them- selves as different from others and accept a hierarchical so- cial structure (Triandis, 1995). Indeed, there appear to be similarities between the horizontal-vertical dimensions and masculinity-femininity. In our research, the masculine cul- tures were vertically individualistic and the feminine cultures were horizontally individualistic. Conceptually, individual egoism and achievement goals related to masculinity are also positively associated with vertical individualism (Nelson & Shavitt, 2002). Danish and American respondents evaluated horizontal individualism statements in similar ways (Nelson & Shavitt, 2002). Thus, perhaps individuals in these coun- tries only vary in verticality or in masculinity. However, ver- tical or horizontal dimensions do not allow for differences in gender socialization or norms. Thus, they do not adequately explain our sex-based differences with respect to moral obli- gation activation in Study 1 or ad evaluations in both studies.

A limitation of our research is that we used societal indi- cators and Hofstede scores as indicators of masculinity, rather than measuring values at the individual level. How- ever, there are always significant measurement errors when comparing cultural dispositions cross-culturally, and such measures often do not improve much on using country as a proxy for culture (Briley, Morris, & Simonson, 2000). Thus, we believe that our approach is justified. Other cross-cultural consumer research has also used country as a proxy for cul- ture (e.g., Aaker & Maheswaran, 1997; Aaker & Williams, 1998.)

Finally, representatives of feminine cultures evaluated ads generally more negatively than did representatives of mascu- line cultures. These results conform to findings from Eurodata (1991), which showed that individuals within mas- culine cultures demonstrated more confidence in the adver- tising industry than their feminine counterparts. This is con- sistent with previous evidence that Danes express more critical attitudes toward advertising than do Americans (Durvasula, Andrews, Lysonski, & Netemeyer, 1993; Stein, 2004). DeMooij (1998) asserted that some of the negativity toward advertising in feminine (especially Scandinavian) re- gions may be due to the fact that much of their advertising originates in the United States and is only modestly tailored

to their cultures, if at all. Indeed, in this study, the appeals originated in the United States-Canadian context and were only translated into the native languages of the feminine cul- tures. Future research might approach ad effectiveness through an emic approach-by gauging ad response to ap- peals that originate in each culture.

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Received: January 15, 2005 Accepted: June 17,2005