PROCESSING PSAS: PRODUCTION PACING, EMOTION, AND AROUSAL

Indiana University Bloomington, Bloomington IN

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Abstract

DESCRIPTION (Adapted from the Applicant's Abstract): The long term objectives of this project are: 1) to be able to produce, knowledgeably, public service announcements that are both educational and persuasive, in hopes that they will positively affect individual health-related decisions, and; 2) to better understand how adolescents process mediated messages and how their processing of mediated messages changes between ages 12 and 17. Specifically, these studies attempt to determine how the pacing of audio and video production features and emotionally arousing content in radio and TV public health messages affect viewers' memories for the information imparted, attitudes toward the subject matter, and likely behavioral consequences. Physiological data reflective of attention and arousal will be collected, along with self-reported attitudes and memory, from viewers aged 12 - 24 who are exposed to public service announcements which vary systematically in production features and emotional arousal. Form and arousing content are manipulated because previous research suggests that both can increase viewers' physiological arousal in ways which can negatively influence memory and persuasion. Subject populations will include equal numbers of males and females in five age groups, 12-13, 14-15, 16-17, 18-21, 22-24. Groups will be ethnically diverse to the extent practicable. Results should provide findings that will greatly expand our knowledge of how adolescents process media and can be applied to make PSAs that are more memorable and have greater behavioral impact on young people.