본 연구에서는 어떤 대상에 대한 사전지식과 관여도가 소비자의 신념 불일치와 그 감소효과에 미치는 영향을 살펴보고자 하였다. 특히 신념체계에 대한 주관적 확률모델을 통해 논리적인 신념 불일치의 발생과 그 감소에 미치는 영향을 살펴보고자 하였다. 이에 따라 첫째, 신념 불일치의 크기는 사전지식 수준이 높은 경우에 사전지식 수준이 낮은 경우보다 더 크게 나타날 것인가? 둘째, 제품 카테고리의 관여도에 따라 사전지식이 반복측정에 의한 신념불일치 감소효과에 미치는 영향이 달라질 것인가? 라는 연구문제를 제시하였다. 연구문제 해결을 위해 두 번의 실험을 실시하였으며 그 결과는 다음과 같다. 첫째, 신념 불일치의 크기는 사전지식 수준이 낮은 경우보다 사전지식 수준이 높은 경우에 더 크게 나타났다. 둘째, 제품 카테고리의 관여도가 높은 경우에는 사전지식 수준이 높은 경우의 반복측정에 의한 신념 불일치 감소효과와 사전지식 수준이 낮은 경우의 반복측정에 의한 신념 불일치 감소효과가 차이가 없는 것으로 나타났다. 셋째, 제품 카테고리의 관여도가 낮은 경우에는 사전지식 수준이 높은 경우의 반복측정에 의한 신념 불일치 감소효과가 사전지식 수준이 낮은 경우의 반복측정에 의한 신념 불일치 감소효과보다 큰 것으로 나타났다. 결과의 의의와 시사점은 논의 부분에서 다루었다.

We frequently see people who have a lot of knowledge on a subject make biased choices and decisions instead of conducting an accurate and objective information process. In other words, when people have a high level of prior knowledge, they tend to examine external information in a way that supports their prior beliefs and thoughts. When new evidence is analyzed in a direction that maintains one`s initial beliefs, the value, validity, reliability, and evaluating behavior of the evidence differs according to whether it matches one`s beliefs. In this study we examined the mechanism of biased information process due to prior knowledge on a subject. Specifically, we examined the effect of prior knowledge on the generation of systematic belief inconsistency and the size of that inconsistency through a subjective probability model. we also examined the effect of the level of involvement on the relationship between prior knowledge and belief inconsistence during that process. The term `belief inconsistency` used in this study refers to th logical inconsistency between beliefs that appear in the subjective probability model. The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of prior knowledge and involvement levels on logical belief inconsistency, which presents two research questions; a) will the level of belief inconsistency be higher when the level of prior knowledge is high than when it is low? and b) will the effect of prior knowledge on the decrease of belief inconsistency due to repeated measurement differ according to the involvement level on the product category? In order to solve these problems we conducted two experiments. Through understanding the effect of prior knowledge and involvement in a product category on the evaluation and belief formation of that product, this study will enable us to search for a way to organize persuasive messages on product attributes and benefits. The study will also contribute to the improvement of explanatory power of probability models in which the relationship between beliefs is represented in a form of subjective probabilities. The current study showed the following results. First, the average difference between the predicted belief levels according to the subjective probability model, and the level of beliefs acquired from respondents(i.e., the level of belief inconsistency which is the absolute value of the difference between the level of belief on conclusion B inferred from the reported beliefs on the four premises and the reported level of belief on conclusion B) was 0.1486, which shows that there is a significant difference(M=.1486; t (59)=9.892, p<.01). Second, the level of belief inconsistency was higher when the level of prior knowledge was high than when the level of prior knowledge was low(M(Low)=.1181 vs. M(High)=.1719; t (58)=-1.810, p<.05). That is, when the level of prior knowledge is high, the irrational cognitive tendency to analyze information according to existing beliefs and form beliefs becomes stronger, and thus the level of belief inconsistency in the probability model became higher. Third, the average value obtained by subtracting the level of belief inconsistency of the second measure from the first measure, in other words the level of decreased belief inconsistency due to repeated measurement was 0.0302(t (51)=1.847, p<.1) in high involvement product categories and 0.0270(t (60)=2.093, p<.05) in low involvement product categories, and both values were statistically significant. Therefore we confirmed the existence of the Socratic effect. Fourth, when the level of involvement in a product category was high, the decrease in belief inconsistency due to repeated measurement did not differ according to the level of prior knowledge(M(Low)=.0280 vs. M(High)=.0318; t (50)=-.116, p>.1). Fifth, when the level of involvement in a product category was low, the decrease in belief inconsistency due to repeated measurement was higher when the prior knowledge level was low than when the prior knowledge level was high(M(Low)=.0104 vs. M(High)=.0466; t (59)=-1.408, p<.1). we found that the level of belief inconsistency was higher when the level of prior knowledge is high than when the level of prior knowledge is low, through study 1, and presented prior knowledge as a new variable that may explain the occurrence of belief inconsistency. Study 2 showed that the effect of prior knowledge levels on the Socratic effect differs according to involvement levels and we presented prior knowledge and involvement as variables that effect the Socratic effect in consumption situations. we also inquired that the level, direction, and decrease gaps of belief inconsistency differs according to prior knowledge levels and involvement through studies 1 and 2, and clarified the systematically inconsistent characteristic of belief inconsistency. The marketing implications of this study are as follows. First, it seems possible to use a differentiated approach method when organizing persuasive messages according to the level of prior knowledge of the target audience. For example, when the prior knowledge level is low and new information is provided, external information tends to be accepted word-for-word and therefore it is more effective to provide the information repeatedly. On the other hand, when prior knowledge level is high, people can make complicated deductions through an extensive range of information on the product and they tend to concentrate on information on the benefits of the product, and as you can see through the current study, they also tend to maintain their existing beliefs. Therefore it would be more effective to provide essential and professional information through a elaborate demonstrative method. In addition, it is possible to elevate the persuasive power of marketing communication through delivering information with a neutral attitude so that we do not analyze whether the audience accepts the information at a level of their self-esteem. Also since it has been shown that the Socratic effect occurs generally among different product categories, brands, product attributes and benefits, we can organize an effective communication strategy on a product or brand by applying the Socratic effect. We could induce the decrease of consumers` belief inconsistency by repetitively providing a persuasive message on the product or brand, and elevate the consistency of the belief system. A differentiated communication strategy could be applied according to the involvement level on the product category and the prior knowledge level on the brand during this process. The current study verified that the cognitive adjustment operation to adjust belief inconsistency was more active in brands with low prior knowledge levels within a product category with a high level of involvement and brands with high prior knowledge levels within a product category with a low level of involvement. Therefore the strategy to decrease the belief inconsistency of consumers by providing persuasive messages repetitively can be predicted to be more effective in these brands. On the other hand, in the case of brands with high prior knowledge levels within a product category with a high level of involvement and brands with low prior knowledge levels within a product category with a low level of involvement, the cognitive adjustment operation is not activated or disturbed. Thus strategies that apply the Socratic effect may not be effective.