University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Did I see this ad because of you or me? Exploring the effects of attributional cues and ad-context congruence on advertising effects

Sun, Ruiheng

This item is only available for download by members of the University of Illinois community. Students, faculty, and staff at the U of I may log in with your NetID and password to view the item. If you are trying to access an Illinois-restricted dissertation or thesis, you can request a copy through your library's Inter-Library Loan office or purchase a copy directly from ProQuest.

Permalink

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/129633

Description

Title
Did I see this ad because of you or me? Exploring the effects of attributional cues and ad-context congruence on advertising effects
Author(s)
Sun, Ruiheng
Issue Date
2025-05-08
Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)
Wise, Kevin
Committee Member(s)
  • Maslowska, Ewa
  • Ham, Chang-Dae
Department of Study
Advertising
Discipline
Advertising
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
M.S.
Degree Level
Thesis
Keyword(s)
personalized advertising, attributional cues, ad-context congruence
Abstract
Social media platforms provide personalized advertising based on users’ online activities and social networks. These advertisements often feature attributional cues such as “suggested for you because …” to enhance personalization and transparency. According to attribution theory, attributional cues could be either internal (e.g., based on users’ own actions) or external (e.g., based on users’ social networks). The effects of these cues, as well as the possible moderating influence of ad-context congruence, remain underexplored. This thesis aimed to test the effects of attributional cues and ad-context congruence on users’ perceived personalization, selective exposure, and attitude towards the ad through an online experiment. Results showed that self-attributional cues elicit a more favorable attitude towards the ad than friend- and no-attributional cues, and perceived personalization mediates this relationship; however, no difference was found regarding ad-context congruence.
Graduation Semester
2025-05
Type of Resource
Thesis
Handle URL
https://hdl.handle.net/2142/129633
Copyright and License Information
Copyright 2025 Ruiheng Sun

Owning Collections

Graduate Dissertations and Theses at Illinois PRIMARY
Graduate Theses and Dissertations at Illinois