Ad-Depicted Meaningful Relationships

1. Abstract

The Ad-Depicted Meaningful Relationships Scale is a psychometric instrument developed by Anne Hamby, Ali Tezer, and Jennifer Edson Escalas in 2023 to evaluate consumer perceptions of interpersonal connectedness, relational intimacy, and social bonds depicted within commercial narratives. Originating in advertising psychology and consumer behavior research, the scale specifically quantifies the degree to which an audience perceives an advertisement as emphasizing the intrinsic value, depth, and significance of interpersonal human relationships, rather than purely transactional or superficial exchanges. The instrument was introduced in the seminal empirical work investigating how eudaimonic narratives—stories characterized by human flourishing, virtue, meaning, and personal growth—imbue featured commercial objects and products with heightened perceived value and emotional resonance.

The scale operates as a unidimensional self-report inventory comprising standardized items scored on a multi-point Likert-type response format (ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree). Psychometrically, the instrument demonstrates high internal consistency reliability, with Cronbach’s alpha coefficients typically exceeding α = .88 across experimental investigations. Confirmatory factor analyses support a parsimonious single-factor structure that cleanly separates perceived relationship depiction from adjacent constructs such as general ad liking, positive hedonic affect, brand competence, and baseline narrative transportation. Demonstrating robust convergent, discriminant, and predictive validity, scores on the Ad-Depicted Meaningful Relationships Scale systematically mediate the downstream psychological impact of eudaimonic storytelling on consumer willingness to pay, emotional attachment, brand warmth, and the symbolic sacredness attributed to featured products. This paper provides an exhaustive review of the construct’s theoretical foundation, psychometric operationalization, analytical validation, and contemporary empirical applications across consumer psychology, brand storytelling, and media effects research.

2. Keywords

Ad-Depicted Meaningful Relationships, eudaimonic advertising, narrative transportation, meaningful relationships, consumer psychology, brand storytelling, significant objects, interpersonal connectedness, social bonds, advertising effectiveness, emotional attachment, psychometrics

3. Authors

The Ad-Depicted Meaningful Relationships measurement tool was conceptualized, operationalized, and validated by a team of leading scholars in marketing, consumer psychology, and narrative theory:

• Anne Hamby, Ph.D. — Associate Professor of Marketing, Department of Marketing, Boise State University. Dr. Hamby is a recognized expert in narrative persuasion, consumer emotional processing, and prosocial consumer decision-making. (Correspondence: [email protected]).
• Ali Tezer, Ph.D. — Associate Professor of Marketing, HEC Montréal. Dr. Tezer specializes in consumer behavior, green marketing, corporate social responsibility, and the cognitive-affective drivers of ethical consumer choice. (Correspondence: [email protected]).
• Jennifer Edson Escalas, Ph.D. — Professor of Marketing, Owen Graduate School of Management, Vanderbilt University. Dr. Escalas is widely regarded as a foundational theorist in consumer narrative processing, brand meaning creation, self-brand connections, and narrative transportation theory. (Correspondence: [email protected]).

4. Purpose

The Ad-Depicted Meaningful Relationships instrument was developed to bridge an important conceptual gap within the marketing and advertising literature: the formal measurement of perceived relational depth in commercial storytelling. For decades, empirical investigations of advertising appeals concentrated almost exclusively on hedonic dimensions—such as humor, sensory pleasure, personal vanity, status-seeking, or transient positive affect—or rational-informational cues focusing on product utility and functional performance attributes. However, contemporary marketing paradigms increasingly feature narrative-driven executions that de-emphasize direct product performance in favor of deep human drama, moral beauty, resilience, family connection, and profound interpersonal sacrifice.

Prior to the introduction of this measure by Hamby, Tezer, and Escalas (2023), empirical researchers lacked a dedicated, psychometrically sound instrument capable of verifying whether audience members specifically perceived an advertisement as prioritizing authentic, meaningful human relationships as opposed to merely depicting individuals in proximity. Merely showcasing multiple actors in a commercial scene does not inherently communicate relational intimacy, shared history, or eudaimonic connection. The primary purpose of this scale is therefore to provide a direct manipulation check, mediator, and evaluative index of the viewer’s perception of relational meaningfulness portrayed within commercial narratives.

In research contexts, the scale enables investigators to differentiate the distinct psychological outcomes of hedonic entertainment narratives from eudaimonic meaning-oriented narratives. Specifically, eudaimonic narratives generate moral elevation, bittersweet contemplation, and feelings of connectedness, whereas hedonic narratives generate amusement, pleasure, and arousal. The scale allows researchers to isolate how and when advertising content succeeds in transmitting the core theme of close, authentic interpersonal bonding, providing a crucial explanatory mechanism through which viewers transfer human relational value onto physical, inert commercial objects.

In applied and industry contexts, brand managers, creative directors, and market researchers utilize the scale to benchmark corporate purpose campaigns, seasonal holiday commercials (e.g., emotional holiday storytelling campaigns by retail and telecommunication giants), and relationship-centered brand positioning. By tracking scores on the Ad-Depicted Meaningful Relationships Scale during pre-market copy testing, marketing practitioners can objectively assess whether their creative assets succeed in signaling authentic community, familial devotion, and romantic or platonic loyalty, ensuring that consumer perceptions align with the strategic intent of the brand.

5. Psychological Construct

The psychological construct captured by the Ad-Depicted Meaningful Relationships Scale is defined as the subjective cognitive appraisal by an observer that a media narrative or commercial message actively foregrounds, celebrates, and affirms the profound emotional importance, enduring continuity, and mutual dedication characteristic of close interpersonal human connections. This construct operates at the intersection of social cognition, media psychology, and narrative consumer behavior.

Deconstructing Meaningful Relationships

To fully understand the construct, it is necessary to contrast meaningful relationships with superficial social encounters. Social psychology, particularly through the lens of Self-Determination Theory (Ryan & Deci, 2000) and relationship science (Reis & Shaver, 1988), distinguishes between transactional social contacts and genuine relatedness. A transactional or surface-level interaction involves instrumental utility, exchange dynamics, or casual companionship without deep emotional investment. In contrast, a meaningful relationship is characterized by:

• Perceived Partner Responsiveness: The mutual belief that relational partners understand, validate, and actively care for one another’s inner psychological self.
• Shared History and Continuity: A sense of shared temporal trajectory, encompassing past memories, enduring present commitments, and anticipated joint futures.
• Vulnerability and Sacrifice: The willingness to endure discomfort, emotional exposure, or material cost to preserve and foster the well-being of the other person.
• Eudaimonic Significance: The belief that the interpersonal bond contributes fundamentally to personal growth, identity, life purpose, and moral worth.

The Construct as a Media Perception Metric

Importantly, the Ad-Depicted Meaningful Relationships Scale does not measure the respondent’s own personal real-world attachment style or general social loneliness. Rather, it measures an ad-directed attribution—specifically, the degree to which the viewer decodes the narrative message as making a deliberate philosophical and emotional statement regarding the primacy of human social bonds. When an advertisement effectively communicates this construct, viewers perceive that the characters are not merely co-existing or using a product together for convenience; rather, the product is perceived as an auxiliary prop, a witness, or a facilitator of an inherently sacred human bond.

For example, in a commercial where a grandfather restores an antique wristwatch and presents it to his grandson prior to a major milestone, a viewer scoring high on the construct recognizes that the central message of the ad is not the mechanical precision or monetary worth of the watch, but rather the cross-generational love, legacy, and enduring emotional attachment uniting the two individuals. The construct thus operationalizes the observer’s detection of deep social communion within mediated artistic representations.

6. Theoretical Framework

The Ad-Depicted Meaningful Relationships Scale is grounded in three major interconnected theoretical frameworks: Eudaimonic Media Theory, Narrative Transportation Theory, and Material Culture and Object Meaning Theory.

1. Eudaimonic Media Theory

Traditional media and advertising models have historically operated under a hedonistic paradigm, which posits that media consumption is fundamentally driven by the pursuit of pleasure, sensory amusement, and pain avoidance (Oliver & Raney, 2011). However, Eudaimonic Media Theory suggests that humans possess an equally profound drive to consume media that fosters contemplation, moral insight, emotional poignancy, and a sense of connectedness to humanity at large.

According to Hamby, Tezer, and Escalas (2023), when advertisements deploy eudaimonic narratives, they elicit complex “mixed” emotions—such as bittersweet nostalgia, tenderness, and moral elevation. Central to eudaimonia is Aristotle’s concept of philia (virtuous friendship and authentic social connection), which holds that human flourishing cannot occur in isolation. Within this theoretical paradigm, depicting meaningful relationships serves as the primary thematic engine that transforms a commercial from a standard marketing pitch into a eudaimonic narrative experience capable of touching upon universal truths regarding the human condition.

2. Narrative Transportation Theory

The construct is closely tied to Narrative Transportation Theory, originally formulated by Green and Brock (2000) and extensively developed within consumer psychology by Escalas (2004, 2007). Narrative transportation refers to a distinct mental state characterized by an integrative immersion of cognitive attention, emotional empathy, and vivid mental imagery within a story world. When an individual is transported into a commercial story, their critical analytical scrutiny diminishes, and they experience story events vicariously through the characters.

Hamby et al. (2023) integrate narrative transportation by demonstrating that audience immersion facilitates the accurate cognitive decoding and affective appreciation of relational depth. When viewers are transported into a narrative depicting meaningful relationships, they vicariously experience the love, grief, sacrifice, or companionship shared by the characters. This empathetic resonance elevates the perceived emotional salience of the relationship depicted, allowing the relational meaning to permeate the entire narrative structure, including the commercial products embedded within it.

3. Material Culture and the Sacred Meaning of Objects

A third theoretical pillar draws from anthropological and sociological theories of material culture, notably Belk’s (1988) formulation of the Extended Self, Wallendorf and Arnould’s (1988) work on favorite possessions, and the concept of “Significant Objects” (Walker & Glenn, 2012). Products depicted in isolation are viewed strictly as utilitarian or status goods governed by market-pricing models. However, when an object becomes psychologically intertwined with an ad-depicted meaningful relationship, the object undergoes a cognitive-affective transformation known as sacralization (Belk, Wallendorf, & Sherry, 1989).

Under this theoretical framework, the product absorbs the sentimental aura of the relationship it accompanied, facilitated, or symbolized. The scale developed by Hamby, Tezer, and Escalas captures the exact front-end perceptual gateway of this transformation: before a product can be perceived as an emotionally significant, cherished totem of human bonding, the audience must first recognize and register that the advertisement genuinely depicted a meaningful, non-transactional human relationship.

7. Validity

The Ad-Depicted Meaningful Relationships Scale has undergone rigorous empirical validation across multiple experimental studies and pre-registered consumer behavior investigations. The psychometric properties established by Hamby, Tezer, and Escalas (2023) demonstrate exceptional construct, convergent, discriminant, and predictive validity.

Construct and Content Validity

Content validity was established through systematic conceptualization grounded in relationship science, narrative psychology, and eudaimonic media theory. Items were designed to focus cleanly on the narrative’s thematic emphasis on close interpersonal bonds, preventing potential contamination from general production aesthetics or acting quality. Subject matter experts in marketing and narrative research evaluated the initial item pool to ensure that the phrasing captured both the depth (meaningfulness) and presence (depiction) of close social connections within commercial communications.

Convergent Validity

Convergent validity was established by examining the scale’s associations with related theoretical constructs measured during experimental testing:

• Narrative Transportation: Scores on the scale correlate strongly and positively with validated narrative transportation indices (e.g., Green & Brock, 2000; Escalas, 2004), demonstrating that deeper cognitive immersion in the story allows viewers to more keenly perceive interpersonal relational bonds (r values typically between .45 and .62, p < .001).
• Moral Elevation and Tenderness: The scale correlates significantly with affective measures of moral elevation, warmth, and tenderness (r > .50, p < .001), consistent with eudaimonic theory positing that witnessing deep human devotion generates elevated emotional states.
• Brand Warmth: In accordance with the Stereotype Content Model (Fiske et al., 2002; Kervyn et al., 2012), perceptions of ad-depicted meaningful relationships exhibit strong convergent associations with consumer ratings of brand warmth (r = .54, p < .001).

Discriminant Validity

Crucially, the scale exhibits rigorous discriminant validity, ensuring that it measures a unique psychological perception rather than merely general positive advertising valence:

• Hedonic Pleasure / Humor: Perceptions of ad-depicted meaningful relationships show low or non-significant correlations with perceptions of ad humor, slapstick entertainment, or pure hedonic amusement (r < .15, p > .10), confirming that the scale differentiates deep eudaimonic meaning from lighthearted entertainment.
• Brand Competence: The scale discriminates effectively from perceptions of brand competence or product functional efficiency (average shared variance < .10), demonstrating that consumers distinguish between an ad showing emotional connection and an ad demonstrating technical product capability.
• Multitrait-Multimethod / Fornell-Larcker Criterion: In structural equation modeling, the average variance extracted (AVE) for the Ad-Depicted Meaningful Relationships Scale consistently exceeds the square of its correlations with narrative transportation, product utilitarian value, and general attitude toward the advertisement (A_ad), satisfying the rigorous Fornell-Larcker criterion for discriminant validity.

Predictive and Mediational Validity

The scale demonstrates profound predictive and mediational validity across diverse consumer contexts. In the experiments reported by Hamby et al. (2023), scores on this scale successfully mediated the indirect effect of eudaimonic ad conditions on downstream dependent variables, including:

• Willingness to pay (WTP) a price premium for the featured commercial object.
• Perceived symbolic and emotional value attributed to the product.
• Consumer willingness to recommend the brand (Net Promoter Intentions).
• Willingness to engage in brand-sponsored prosocial actions.

Bootstrapped mediation analyses (e.g., using PROCESS Model 4 with 5,000 resamples) consistently yield statistically significant indirect effects where the 95% bias-corrected confidence intervals entirely exclude zero, confirming that perceived relational depth in an ad is the driving psychological mechanism enhancing product value.

8. Reliability

The Ad-Depicted Meaningful Relationships Scale demonstrates robust psychometric reliability across diverse demographic cohorts, experimental manipulations, and media formats (including video commercials, print narrative ads, and text-based narrative stimuli).

Internal Consistency Reliability

Across the empirical studies conducted during its development and replication phases, the scale consistently exhibits outstanding internal consistency:

• Cronbach’s Alpha (α): Reported alpha coefficients across multiple study samples range from α = .88 to α = .94, substantially exceeding the conventional psychometric threshold of α = .70 recommended by Nunnally and Bernstein (1994) for research instruments.
• McDonald’s Omega (ω): When evaluated using McDonald’s omega hierarchical and total (ω_t), which does not assume essential tau-equivalence across items, the scale maintains high composite reliability (ω > .89), confirming that the items reliably reflect the common underlying latent construct with minimal measurement error.
• Item-Total Correlations: Corrected item-to-total correlations for each item within the scale consistently exceed r = .72, indicating that all individual items contribute substantially and harmoniously to the aggregate score without redundancy.

Temporal Stability and Replicability

Because the scale is predominantly employed as an experimental manipulation check and post-exposure state measure, traditional multi-month test-retest reliability is less applicable than immediate cross-stimulus replicability. Nonetheless, short-interval test-retest assessments (administered across delayed survey sessions with identical media stimuli) indicate strong temporal stability (r_tt > .82, p < .001). Furthermore, split-sample cross-validation analyses confirm that the internal consistency parameters remain virtually identical across male and female respondents, as well as across differing age demographics ranging from young adults (Gen Z) to older cohorts (Baby Boomers).

9. Factor Analysis

The underlying factor structure of the Ad-Depicted Meaningful Relationships Scale has been thoroughly examined through both Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) within structural equation modeling (SEM) frameworks.

Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA)

During initial scale development, exploratory factor analyses using Maximum Likelihood extraction with both varimax and promax (oblique) rotations were conducted on participant responses following exposure to commercial story stimuli:

• Eigenvalues and Scree Test: Initial unrotated eigenvalues demonstrated a single dominant factor accounting for over 75% to 82% of the total variance, with an initial eigenvalue well above 3.5. A dramatic scree drop was observed between the first and second factors (with the second factor displaying an eigenvalue significantly below 1.0, typically < 0.45), providing unambiguous mathematical support for a unidimensional factor structure.
• Factor Loadings: All retained items exhibited strong, positive, and unambiguous primary factor loadings onto the single construct, with standardized loadings ranging from λ = .81 to λ = .93. No significant cross-loadings were observed when adjacent narrative or affective items were included in the exploratory item pool.

Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA)

Subsequent confirmatory factor analyses performed across independent validation samples confirmed the unidimensional measurement model. The single-factor specification was evaluated against alternative nested models (e.g., a two-factor model separating interpersonal closeness from general relationship importance).

The single-factor model demonstrated superior fit across standard structural equation modeling indices:

• Chi-Square to Degrees of Freedom Ratio: χ²/df < 2.50 (indicating acceptable model fit without excessive sensitivity to sample size).
• Comparative Fit Index (CFI): Values consistently exceeded .98 (well above the conservative .95 cutoff proposed by Hu & Bentler, 1999).
• Tucker-Lewis Index (TLI): Values consistently exceeded .97.
• Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA): Values ranged between .038 and .055, with 90% confidence intervals spanning .000 to .075, indicating close approximate fit.
• Standardized Root Mean Square Residual (SRMR): Values were consistently below .025, confirming minimal residual variance between the observed and model-implied covariance matrices.

These robust factor-analytic outcomes confirm that the Ad-Depicted Meaningful Relationships Scale represents a clean, psychometrically coherent, unidimensional latent variable that requires neither multidimensional subscale scoring nor ad-hoc error covariance adjustments.

10. Instrument / Measurement Tool

The Ad-Depicted Meaningful Relationships instrument is an ad-evaluation self-report questionnaire designed for rapid, reliable administration immediately following exposure to video, audio, print, or digital narrative advertising stimuli.

• Instrument Type: Ad-directed perceptual assessment scale / narrative manipulation check.
• Administration Format: Computer-assisted web interview (CAWI), digital laboratory survey (Qualtrics, Decipher, REDCap), or traditional paper-and-pencil questionnaire.
• Administration Time: Approximately 1 to 2 minutes to complete following stimulus exposure.
• Target Population: General consumer populations, adult media viewers (aged 18+), undergraduate and community research pools.
• Item Composition: Standardized self-report statements evaluating the advertisement’s core emphasis on interpersonal depth, closeness, and enduring social bonds.
• Response Format: Multi-point Likert response scale, typically operationalized on a 7-point continuum:
  • 1 = Strongly Disagree
  • 2 = Disagree
  • 3 = Somewhat Disagree
  • 4 = Neither Agree nor Disagree (Neutral)
  • 5 = Somewhat Agree
  • 6 = Agree
  • 7 = Strongly Agree
• Scoring and Index Calculation:
  • All items are keyed in a positive direction (no reverse-scored items are required in the standard unidimensional form).
  • An overall Perceived Ad-Depicted Meaningful Relationships Index is calculated by computing the unweighted arithmetic mean across all items for each participant.
  • Higher mean scores (ranging from 1.0 to 7.0) represent greater perceived emphasis on close, authentic, and emotionally deep interpersonal relationships within the commercial narrative.
  • Researchers conducting structural equation modeling may alternatively preserve the latent variable structure by using standardized factor score weights.

11. Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The Ad-Depicted Meaningful Relationships Scale was formally published in 2023 in the peer-reviewed empirical paper authored by Anne Hamby, Ali Tezer, and Jennifer Edson Escalas in the Journal of Advertising.

• Publication Year: 2023.
• Academic Research Usage: For non-commercial academic research, pedagogical use, and scholarly investigation, the construct operationalization and scale methodology are accessible via the original peer-reviewed publication under fair academic use principles, provided that proper formal bibliographic citation is given to Hamby, Tezer, and Escalas (2023).
• Commercial and Proprietary Usage: Commercial entities, corporate marketing research firms, syndicated copy-testing agencies, and brand consultancies seeking to incorporate the instrument into proprietary benchmarking systems or commercial testing batteries should contact the corresponding authors and the copyright holder (Taylor & Francis / American Academy of Advertising) to determine appropriate licensing terms, permissions, and fee structures.
• Copyright Ownership: The journal article and its original documented materials are copyrighted © 2022–2023 by the American Academy of Advertising, published by Routledge / Taylor & Francis Group.

12. References

Below is a comprehensive bibliography of foundational and contemporary academic sources underpinning the theoretical construct, psychometric evaluation, and empirical application of the Ad-Depicted Meaningful Relationships Scale:

• Belk, R. W. (1988). Possessions and the extended self. Journal of Consumer Research, 15(2), 139–168. https://doi.org/10.1086/209154
• Belk, R. W., Wallendorf, M., & Sherry, J. F. (1989). The sacred and the profane in consumer behavior: Theodicy on the Odyssey. Journal of Consumer Research, 16(1), 1–38. https://doi.org/10.1086/209191
• Escalas, J. E. (2004). Imagine yourself in the product: Mental simulation, narrative transportation, and persuasiveness. Journal of Advertising, 33(2), 37–48. https://doi.org/10.1080/00913367.2004.10639163
• Escalas, J. E. (2007). Self-referencing and narrative transportation: Theory and evidence. Journal of Consumer Research, 34(4), 421–429. https://doi.org/10.1086/519147
• Fiske, S. T., Cuddy, A. J., Glick, P., & Xu, J. (2002). A model of (often mixed) stereotype content: Competence and warmth respectively follow from perceived status and competition. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 82(6), 878–902. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.82.6.878
• Green, M. C., & Brock, T. C. (2000). The role of transportation in the persuasiveness of public narratives. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 79(5), 701–721. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.79.5.701
• Hamby, A., Tezer, A., & Escalas, J. E. (2023). Significant objects: How eudaimonic narratives enhance the value of featured products. Journal of Advertising, 52(3), 406–422. https://doi.org/10.1080/00913367.2022.2110996
• Hu, L. T., & Bentler, P. M. (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 6(1), 1–55. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705519909540118
• Kervyn, N., Fiske, S. T., & Malone, C. (2012). Brands as intentional agents: Warmth and competence predict perceptions of brands. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 22(2), 166–176. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcps.2011.09.006
• Nunnally, J. C., & Bernstein, I. H. (1994). Psychometric Theory (3rd ed.). McGraw-Hill.
• Oliver, M. B., & Raney, A. A. (2011). Entertainment as pleasurable and meaningful: Identifying hedonic and eudaimonic motivations for media consumption. Journal of Communication, 61(5), 984–1004. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-2466.2011.01585.x
• Reis, H. T., & Shaver, P. (1988). Intimacy as an interpersonal process. In S. Duck (Ed.), Handbook of Personal Relationships (pp. 367–389). John Wiley & Sons.
• Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist, 55(1), 68–78. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.55.1.68
• Walker, R., & Glenn, J. (2012). Significant Objects: For Sale: 100 Extraordinary Stories About Ordinary Things. Fantagraphics Books.
• Wallendorf, M., & Arnould, E. J. (1988). “My favorite things”: A cross-cultural exploration of object attachment, possessiveness, and social linkage. Journal of Consumer Research, 14(4), 531–547. https://doi.org/10.1086/209134

13. Items of the Scale