Reconceptualizing Excitation Transfer as Motivational Activation Changes and a Test of the Television Program Context Effects

Abstract This study theorizes that activation and decay of dual motivational systems function as the mechanisms underlying excitation transfer theory. Following this reconceptualization, a physiological experiment simultaneously examines the influence of program valence and arousing content on subsequent ads. As predicted, sympathetic arousal (indicated by skin conductance) was greater during ads following arousing compared to calm programs, and in both conditions, it decreased across ad blocks. Cognitive effort was higher (indicated by slower heart rate) during ads following the positive arousing program and was lower (indicated by faster heart rate) following the negative arousing program. The recognition and free recall data generally support the prediction that, immediately following the program, they would be at the levels predicted by the motivational activation elicited by the program context. Notes We thank the editors and anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments. 1. Free recall of the brand name was coded as either 0 (failed to recall) or 1 (successfully recalled). Free recall of the ad content was coded as the sum of the following two scores. First, overall whether the main content of the ad was recalled was coded as 0 (failed to recall any content), .5 (partially correctly recalled the main content), or 1 (correctly recalled the main content). Second, .5 point was given to any visual or audio content detail that was correctly recalled (e.g., "a woman in blue suit" "green zucchinis were shown in the refrigerator," and "give 10 years back to the look of your skin"), and up to 2 points can be awarded for the details. Thus, free recall of the ad content range from 0 to 3.