E-Cigs and the “Wild West” of Advertising: Reaching Youth via Social Media and PSI

• In Event: Message Processing and Effects

Abstract

This experimental study will explore how blog posts on Instagram can influence attention, arousal, emotional response, and parasocial interaction among young women in a 3 (source type: blogger, celebrity, layperson) x 4 (health behavior: e-cigarette use, diet pill use, alcohol use, control/no health behavior shown) x 3 (stance: pro-use, anti-use, control/neither pro or anti) x 2 (message repetition) x 2 (order) [x 15 (seconds)] within-between factorial design. The overall hypothesis is that exposure to bloggers promoting e-cigarettes will result in more behavioral change to use e-cigarettes and more parasocial interaction than other treatments tested, as moderated by stronger persona involvement and lower risk perception (HBM variables).

Author

• Erika Katherine Johnson, University of Missouri