Question

Two collections of magazines, identical except that one includes Time and the other Newsweek, are shown to different sets of consumers who are asked to guess what type of person would be a subscriber. This is known as the __________ technique.

Answer 1

The described technique is the matched-guise technique, used to measure consumer perceptions based on minimal differences between similar stimuli, such as between Time and Newsweek magazine subscribers.

Step-by-step explanation:

The technique described in the student's question is known as the matched-guise technique. It is a method used in social psychology and marketing research to discern and measure attitudes and perceptions towards certain products or groups, by presenting similar stimuli with a single differing characteristic. In the example given, two similar collections of magazines are used, one including Time and the other Newsweek, to understand consumer perceptions about the type of person who would subscribe to each. Given that there are around five thousand magazines published, spanning numerous topics, and considering that publications such as Time and Newsweek cover political and social issues, the technique helps researchers infer what subscribing to a particular magazine says about an individual's interests and viewpoints.

Knowing that five publishers control a significant portion of the total revenue generated by magazines, the influence of specific publications becomes an area of interest. This overlaps with concepts such as the minimal effects theory and the cultivation theory, which examine the impact of media on people's beliefs and worldview.