title: Individual differences in motivational activation influence responses to pictures of taboo products.
abstract: In this article, the authors investigated responses to pictures of products whose use is socially or legally restricted for teens and young adults (e.g., beer, liquor, cigarettes). The authors theorized and found that these pictures are motivationally relevant and therefore elicit automatic activation in the appetitive/approach or aversive/defensive motivational systems, which leads to increased attention, arousal, emotional response, and memory for the risky products. The authors also found that these responses are mediated by individual differences in motivational reactivity. The authors suggest that placing images of these products in prevention messages may work against the prevention goal by increasing appetitive activation and positive emotion in populations more inclined to take risks.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Communication Research, Department of Telecommunications, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana 47405-5501, USA. anlang@indiana.edu
authors.forename: Annie
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lang
authors.forename: Narine
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Yegiyan
mesh_terms: D001143:Arousal; D005260:Female; D006293:Health Promotion; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation; D010781:Photography; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013609:Taboo; D014481:United States; D055815:Young Adult