A Study On The Effect Of Message Sensation Value On The Memory Of Anti-Drug Media Messages Using Eyetracking Software

Many programs have been created to reduce the prevalence of drug abuse. One approach is through the use of public service announcements (PSAs) targeted towards high sensation seekers (HSSs), who are high risk individuals. Therefore, these targeted PSAs incorporate high sensation value (HSV) elements such as novel ideas, intense or fast-paced scenes, ambiguity, suspense, or graphic images. Previous research has shown that PSAs targeted to HSSs through the incorporation of HSV elements help decrease the incidence of drug abuse. The aims of this research were (a) to analyze the attentive processing of PSAs, by analyzing eye tracking data as they watched the PSAs and then making mixed ANOVAs, analysis of variance, and (b) to determine the role of sensation value in memory of the persuasive message, by subjecting the participants to an incidental memory test seven weeks after the viewing of the PSAs and then correlating it with sensation value. It was hypothesized that the HSSs would be more attentive to HSV messages than to low sensation value (LSV) messages and the opposite or the same for low sensation seekers (LSSs). Similarly, increased attention, indicated by eye tracking measures, would correlate with better memory of the persuasive message of the PSAs. This research indicated that HSSs were more attentive to HSV PSAs and less attentive for LSSs. It also indicated there is a positive correlation between eye fixations and memory and a negative correlation between saccade amplitude (average distance between two fixations) and memory