Psychophysiological Methods in Media Research

Abstract

(from the introduction) The author makes a plea in favor of the use of psychophysiological measures (as opposed to self-report measures) in research on emotional reactions to TV pictures. He adds weight to his arguments by presenting some results of a cross-national study that did collect the type of data recommended. This study was designed to uncover, among other things, differences in emotional reactions between Austrian and Slovak viewers of anxiety-inducing TV reports on nuclear power plants. Results indicated, for example, that Austrian viewers were more easily emotionally aroused by news reports on the environmental hazards attached to nuclear power plants than were Slovakians, whereas the reverse was true for news reports on the misinformation the Soviet authorities provided during the Chernobyl disaster. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved) (introduction)