The Effect of Hedonistic, Eudemonic, and Social Values on Consumer Confusion in Social Media Advertisements among Yazdi Citizens

Objective
Values are essential factors in understanding human behavior. Today, to succeed in the markets, consumer values of consumers and their impact on consumer behavior are deemed vital issues. The main purpose of this article is to investigate the effect of hedonistic, eudemonic, and social values on ambiguity, overload, and similarity confusion in advertising.
In order to experience hedonic values, it is necessary to satisfy the hedonic need in order for the person to understand the hedonic values personally. Feeling pleasure and avoiding pain is an inherent psychological need that is called hedonic need (Ryan & Desi, 2001).
In order to experience the values of self-actualization, it is necessary to satisfy the need for self-actualization so that one can personally understand the values of eudemonic. Dimon showed that individual abilities and eudemonic refer to the conditions of understanding certain capabilities and abilities (Ryan & Deci, 2001).
To experience social values, it is necessary to satisfy social needs so that a person can understand social values personally. As social creatures, humans have an instinctive psychological need to feel a sense of belonging to other people and in a social group (Baumeister & Leary, 1995).
According to the theory of Turnbull et al. (2000), confusion refers to the consumer's failure to correctly interpret the various features of a product/goods during the information processing stage. Three types of consumer confusion were identified in this research, which are ambiguity confusion, overload confusion, and similarity confusion (Walsh & Hennig-Thurau, 2002). Similarity confusion is defined as a lack of understanding and potential change in consumer choice or incorrect evaluation of the brand that results in the perceived physical similarity of products or services (Mitchell et al., 2004). Similarity confusion can be attributed to significant similarities in brands, quality, attitudes, or functions of some duplicate products (Walsh & Hennig-Thurau, 2002). In addition, similar information and messages from different social media advertisements can lead to similarity confusion (Kent & Allen, 1994). Overload confusion may occur when people's minds are filled with large amounts of information and people can limit a person's ability to accurately process information. A significant increase in decision-making information and options (alternative offers) can lead to great confusion. Ambiguity confusion occurs when people are forced to re-evaluate and revise their current beliefs or assumptions about the shopping environment or product. Unintelligible, conflicting, and complex information about products is the main cause of this type of confusion (Mitchell et al., 2004).
Research Methodology
This research is descriptive in nature, practical in terms of purpose, and survey in terms of execution method. The statistical population of the research includes all consumers among the citizens of Yazdi who have been exposed to social media advertisements. The sampling method used in this research includes available random sampling, with the assumption that the statistical population is unlimited. With the help of Cochran's formula, a sample size of 174 people was obtained, in this way, the first sample of 30 people was taken from the community, and based on that, the standard deviation of the sample was calculated (σ=0.673). In this research, a questionnaire was used to collect information. The collected data were analyzed with the help of the structural equation modeling (SEM) method and using PLS and SPSS software. With the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, we checked the normality of the data, and the result of the test showed that the data were non-normal, that's why we used the PLS method. Examining model fit includes three parts: fitting measurement models, fitting structural models, and fitting the overall model. Examining the fit of the measurement model includes factor loadings, index reliability, convergent validity, and divergent validity.
Findings
First hypothesis: hedonic value has a positive and significant effect on ambiguity and confusion in social media advertisements. Considering Table 6, the t-statistic between the variables of hedonic value and ambiguity confusion is 0.639, which is less than 1.96, which indicates that the effect of hedonic value on ambiguity confusion is not significant at the 95% confidence level. This hypothesis is rejected.
Second hypothesis: hedonic value has a positive and significant effect on overload confusion in social media advertisements. Considering Table 6, the t-statistic between the variables of hedonic value and overload confusion is 1.102, which is less than 1.96, which indicates that the effect of hedonistic value on overload confusion is not significant at the 95% confidence level. This hypothesis is rejected.
Third hypothesis: hedonic value has a positive and significant effect on similarity confusion in social media advertisements. Considering Table 6, the t-statistic between the variables of hedonic value and similarity confusion is 0.425, which is less than 1.96, which indicates that the effect of hedonic value on similarity confusion is not significant at the 95% confidence level and causes this hypothesis to be rejected.
fourth hypothesis: eudemonic value has a negative and significant effect on ambiguity and confusion in social media advertising. The t-statistic between the variables of eudemonic value and ambiguity confusion is 2.094, which is more than 1.96, which indicates that the effect of eudemonic value on ambiguity confusion is significant at the 95% confidence level and confirms this hypothesis. According to the path coefficient of -0.222 in this hypothesis, the eudemonic value negatively affects ambiguity confusion.
fifth hypothesis: eudemonic value has a negative and significant effect on overload confusion in social media advertisements. The t-statistic between the variables of eudemonic value and overload confusion is 3.322, which is more than 1.96, which indicates the significance of the effect of eudemonic value on overload confusion at the 95% confidence level. And it confirms this hypothesis. According to the path coefficient of -0.312 in this hypothesis, the eudemonic value has a negative effect on overload confusion.
Sixth hypothesis: eudemonic value has a negative and significant effect on similarity confusion in social media advertisements. The t-statistic between the variables of eudemonic value and similarity confusion is 1.984, which is more than 1.96, which indicates that the effect of eudemonic value on similarity confusion is significant at the 95% confidence level and confirms this hypothesis. According to the path coefficient of -0.23 in this hypothesis, eudemonic value has a negative effect on similarity confusion.
Seventh hypothesis: social value has a positive and significant effect on ambiguity and confusion in social media advertisements. The t-statistic between social value and ambiguity confusion is 0.779, which is lower than 1.96, which indicates that the effect of social value on ambiguity confusion is not significant at the 95% confidence level, and this hypothesis is rejected.
eighth hypothesis: social value has a positive and significant effect on overload confusion in social media advertising. The t-statistic between social value and overload confusion is 1.902, which is less than 1.96, which indicates that the effect of social value on overload confusion is not significant at the 95% confidence level and causes this to be rejected. this hypothesis is hypothesized.
Ninth hypothesis: social value has a positive and significant effect on similarity confusion in social media advertisements. The t-statistic between social value and similarity confusion is 0.638, which is less than 1.96, which indicates that the effect of social value on similarity confusion is not significant at the 95% confidence level, and this hypothesis is rejected.
Discussion & Conclusion
In this research, we have considered a model that examines the effect of hedonistic, eudemonic, and social values on ambiguity confusion, overload confusion, and similarity confusion in social media advertisements. After testing the assumptions of the model, we concluded that the hedonic value does not have a significant effect on ambiguity confusion, overload confusion, and similarity confusion in social media advertisements. Social value does not have a significant effect on ambiguity confusion, overload confusion, and similarity confusion in social media advertisements. The value of eudemonic has a negative and significant effect on ambiguity confusion, overload confusion, and similarity confusion in social media advertising.
While many studies have been conducted on hedonic, eudemonic, and social values and so ambiguity confusion, overload confusion, and similarity confusion, none of them have investigated the relationship of all these variables at the same time and have not been evaluated among consumers and social media advertisements. Therefore, in the present research, an attempt has been made to investigate the effect of hedonistic, eudemonic, and social values on ambiguity confusion, overload confusion, and similarity confusion of consumers in social media advertisements among Yazdi citizens in the framework of a model.
Examining the impact of hedonic, eudemonic, and social values on consumers' confusion in social media advertising will help planners and policymakers in the consumer and social media fields reduce consumers' confusion in social media advertising by increasing the value of eudemonic or satisfying eudemonic needs in consumers by inducing a sense of accomplishment, pride, glory, and competence through purchasing goods that give a person a sense of pride.
According to the results of the research, in order to reduce confusion, the values of eudemonic should be increased, that is, the eudemonic need should be satisfied. The eudemonic need is satisfied through a sense of personal development, success, and pride, and the satisfaction of progress in achieving one's goal, buying goods that increase one's competency, and buying goods that fulfill one's tasks. The eudemonic need is satisfied through buying goods that give a person a sense of growth and perfection, buying goods that have great success for a person, buying goods that make a person successful in his work, and buying goods that develop a person's talents.