Departmental Papers (ASC)
Document Type
Technical Report
Date of this Version
2015
Publication Source
Journal of Media Psychology
Volume
27
Issue
3
Start Page
93
Last Page
109
DOI
10.1027/1864-1105/a000146
Abstract
In this study, we combined approaches from media psychology and neuroscience to ask whether brain activity in response to online antismoking messages can predict smoking behavior change. In particular, we examined activity in subregions of the medial prefrontal cortex linked to self- and value-related processing, to test whether these neurocognitive processes play a role in message-consistent behavior change. We observed significant relationships between activity in both brain regions of interest and behavior change (such that higher activity predicted a larger reduction in smoking). Furthermore, activity in these brain regions predicted variance independent of traditional, theory-driven self-report metrics such as intention, self-efficacy, and risk perceptions. We propose that valuation is an additional cognitive process that should be investigated further as we search for a mechanistic explanation of the relationship between brain activity and media effects relevant to health behavior change.
Copyright/Permission Statement
Journal of Media Psychology, 27, no. 3, © 2015 by Hogrefe Verlag. This version of the article may not completely replicate the final version published in the Journal of Media Psychology. It is not the version of record and is therefore not suitable for citation. The final version is available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1027/1864-1105/a000146
Keywords
neuroimaging, behavior change, smoking, brain-as-predictor, cognitive neuroscience
Recommended Citation
Cooper, N., Tompson, S., O'Donnell, M. B., & Falk, E. B. (2015). Brain Activity in Self- and Value-Related Regions in Response to Online Antismoking Messages Predicts Behavior Change. Journal of Media Psychology, 27 (3), 93-109. https://doi.org/10.1027/1864-1105/a000146
Included in
Biological Psychology Commons, Cognition and Perception Commons, Cognitive Neuroscience Commons, Cognitive Psychology Commons, Communication Technology and New Media Commons, Graphic Communications Commons, Health Communication Commons, Health Psychology Commons, Personality and Social Contexts Commons, Substance Abuse and Addiction Commons
Date Posted: 15 June 2018
This document has been peer reviewed.