From Exposure to Engagement: Implicit and Explicit Mechanisms of Consumer Response to Native Advertising in Social-Media Environments

The rapid integration of advertising into social media feeds has fundamentally transformed how commercial messages are encountered and processed. Native advertising, designed to match the visual and functional format of surrounding content, challenges consumers’ ability to distinguish between sponsored and organic posts. While prior research has primarily relied on self-report measures or isolated stimulus presentations, these approaches provide limited insight into how users perceive and process native advertising in dynamic, continuously scrolling environments. This dissertation investigates the implicit and explicit mechanisms that shape consumer responses to native advertising on social media.

Drawing on theories such as the Persuasion Knowledge Model, Schema Theory, and the Covert Advertising Recognition and Effects (CARE) framework, the research examines how attention, emotional responses, and persuasion knowledge interact in the recognition and evaluation of native advertisements. To capture these processes, the dissertation adopts a multimethod approach combining eye-tracking, physiological measurements of emotional arousal (electrodermal activity and facial expression analysis), and self-report measures within experimentally controlled social-media feed environments.

Across three empirical studies, the results reveal that native advertisements often receive visual attention comparable to organic posts, while disclosure cues designed to signal sponsorship frequently attract limited attention. Emotional responses during feed browsing are shaped by the broader affective flow of surrounding content rather than by the presence of advertising alone. Furthermore, consumer differences in persuasion knowledge influence how users interpret and evaluate sponsored posts, though these differences do not always translate into distinct engagement behaviors.

By integrating perceptual, affective, and cognitive perspectives, this dissertation contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of how advertising is processed in contemporary digital environments. The findings advance theoretical discussions on covert advertising recognition and provide methodological insights into the study of implicit media processing. Practically, the results offer implications for the design of disclosure practices, advertising transparency, and regulatory approaches aimed at protecting consumer autonomy in increasingly immersive digital media ecosystems.