It's an arousing, fast-paced kind of world: The effects of age and sensation seeking on the information processing of substance-abuse PSAs

Annie Lang, Yongkuk Chung, Seungwhan Lee, Nancy Schwartz, Mija Shin

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

46 Scopus citations

Abstract

This article investigates how sensation seeking and age influence televison viewers' online information processing of substance-abuse public service announcements (PSAs). College students and adolescents viewed 30 PSAs that varied in terms of arousing content and production pacing. Dependent variables included substance use, self-reported emotional responses (valence and arousal), physiological responses (heart rate and skin conductance response), and recognition. Results show that high-sensation seekers prefer all messages, remember more, and exhibit lower arousal compared to low-sensation seekers. Adolescents remember more information from the PSAs than college students. All participants exhibit cognitive overload at the same point in time.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)421-454
Number of pages34
JournalMedia Psychology
Volume7
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - 2005

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'It's an arousing, fast-paced kind of world: The effects of age and sensation seeking on the information processing of substance-abuse PSAs'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this