Abstract
Previous research has demonstrated that physical activity messages are more effective when presented in a gain-framed manner (Latimer et al. 2010). However, the factors through which this facilitating effect occurs is unclear. The amount of attention directed towards the physical activity messages may play an important role in the framing effect (Petty et al., 2002; Bassett et al., 2011). The present study examined how the framing of a message impacts viewers' attention towards advertisements promoting physical activity. Thirty undergraduate students aged 18-35 viewed 10 gain- and loss-framed advertisements while their eye movements were recorded using eye-tracking technology. Attention was measured by examining eye fixations and dwell time. RM ANCOVAs revealed that the framing of the message significantly affected both fixation and dwell time measures. Participants had significantly more fixations per word (p <.001) and longer dwell times per word (p <.001) on the gain-framed advertisements than the loss-framed advertisements. These findings may have implications for the way in which physical activity messages are presented.Acknowledgments: Funding: Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, Canada Research Chairs Program