Enrica Modica

Neuroelectrical Indexes for the Study of the Efficacy of TV Advertising Stimuli

In this chapter, we present the findings of an experiment aimed to investigate cognitive and emotional changes of cerebral activity during the observation of TV commercials. In particular, we recorded the electroencephalographic (EEG), galvanic skin response (GSR) and heart rate (HR) from a group of 24 healthy subjects during the observation of a series of TV advertisements. The group was equally divided also by gender (male, female) and age (young, old). Comparisons of cerebral and emotional indices previously defined have been performed to highlight gender differences between TV commercial and scenes of interest of specific commercials. Findings show how EEG methodologies, along with the measurements of autonomic variables, could be used to obtain information not obtainable otherwise with verbal interviews. These cerebral and emotional indexes could help to analyze the perception of TV advertisements according to the consumer’s gender and age.

A pilot study on the neurometric evaluation of “effective” and “ineffective” antismoking public service announcements

Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable death and smoking-related illness worldwide. Research has shown that antismoking advertising may help reduce this habit. Nowadays, public service announcements (PSAs) are considered “Effective” or “Ineffective” on the base of official reports concerning behavioral/attitudinal changes toward healthier patterns and health-related savings following the exposure to the PSA. In this pilot study, we described the results of the use of three neurometric indexes for the evaluation of the efficacy of a couple of antismoking PSAs in a reduced sample of voluntary participants. The study applied the gathering of the electroencephalographic (EEG) rhythms variations, as well as the heart rate (HR) and galvanic skin response (GSR). The neurometric indicators here employed were the Approach-Withdrawal (AW), the Effort (EfI) and the Emotional (EI) indexes. Results suggest a significant higher values for AW, Effort and Emotional indexes (p=0,02; p= 0,03 and p= 0,01 respectively) related to the perception of the “Effective” antismoking PSAs against the perception of the “Ineffective” one. Since this is a pilot study, the results obtained need further investigation, in terms of enlarged stimuli sample and number of participants to provide indications concerning the relevant features to be included in the realization of effective anti-smoking PSAs.

Gender and Age Related Effects While Watching TV Advertisements: An EEG Study

The aim of the present paper is to show how the variation of the EEG frontal cortical asymmetry is related to the general appreciation perceived during the observation of TV advertisements, in particular considering the influence of the gender and age on it. In particular, we investigated the influence of the gender on the perception of a car advertisement (Experiment 1) and the influence of the factor age on a chewing gum commercial (Experiment 2). Experiment 1 results showed statistically significant higher approach values for the men group throughout the commercial. Results from Experiment 2 showed significant lower values by older adults for the spot, containing scenes not very enjoyed by them. In both studies, there was no statistical significant difference in the scene relative to the product offering between the experimental populations, suggesting the absence in our study of a bias towards the specific product in the evaluated populations. These evidences state the importance of the creativity in advertising, in order to attract the target population.

EEG-based Approach-Withdrawal index for the pleasantness evaluation during taste experience in realistic settings

The taste is a vital sense in humans, because of its active role in regulating nutrition or avoiding harmful substances. Several studies showed the important role of the brain Pre-Frontal Cortex in decoding information coming from the gustatory system. It is also widely known, in neuroscientific literature, that the asymmetry of Pre-Frontal Cortex Activity is closely linked to the feeling of pleasantness experienced by the subject during sensorial stimulation. In this regard, from the electroencephalographic (EEG) signal it is possible to estimate the Approach/Withdrawal (AW) index, which has been largely investigated and validated in scientific literature, regarding visual, acoustic and olfactory stimuli.

An eye tracking index for the salience estimation in visual stimuli

Every day we face visual stimuli able to catch our attention, but this aspect becomes crucial if the visual material has the purpose to spread a message aimed at engaging the observer. In this framework, a worthy aspect is how to measure the “visual engagement” produced by visual stimuli exposure. To this purpose, in the present study, employing the eye tracking technique, an index of visual attention (VA) has been proposed, and applied to pictures belonging to antismoking public service announcements, so to investigate the saliency of health-promoting messages in a young sample. The VA index is a non-dimensional index, defined as the ratio between the percentage of the total time spent fixating an area of interest (AOI) weighted on the total time the picture is showed on the screen, and the percentage of the area occupied by the AOI weighted on the total dimension of the picture. It could be predicted that AOI reporting higher VA values will be the ones having more saliency. Three antismoking Public Service Announcements (PSAs) images have been selected for the study and for each of them were identified: i) “picture” (such as a young man with a sarcastic expression depicted while smoking a cigarette, or the image of a lady who underwent a tracheotomy) and ii) “writing” (text of the antismoking message) AOIs. Main results of the analysis revealed that writing AOIs obtained statistically significant higher VA values than visual AOIs (p=0.03), but these held true only for an ineffective PSA, probably because the text was not perceived as pertinent with the surrounding image. On the other hand, an effective PSA obtained higher VA values in response to visual than writing AOIs observation (p=0.02). The VA index appears therefore to represent a useful tool to measure the saliency of visual stimuli elements.

Transparency and Reliability in Neuromarketing Research

In this chapter, we discuss about the transparency and reliability issues in the practice of the application of neuroscience-based methodologies on relevant marketing stimuli (e.g., neuromarketing). It is hypothesized that one of the reasons of the misperception and overestimation by the public opinion and mass media of the actual capabilities of the neuromarketing to inform marketing researcher is due to the lack of the transparency about the methodologies employed by the neuromarketing companies. In fact, different companies offer services that are based on proprietary computational methods and approaches that are not fully validated or disclosed through scientific publications to the scientific community. This opacity in the methodologies employed by some companies makes it difficult for the scientists to separate supported and unsupported claims of validity of the services offered by those companies. Such confusion is reflected in an often misplaced communication toward the public opinion and the final users of these methodologies about the effective capability of such approach to capture the generation of the decision making of the persons in front of marketing stimuli.

Neuroelectrical indices evaluation during antismoking public service announcements on a young population

Cigarettes smoking continues to exact a devastating roll of society of entire world. Recent estimates suggest that about 5.8 trillion cigarettes were smoked worldwide and cigarette consumption is still on the rise. This behavior occurs in spite of well-documented evidence indicating that cigarette smoking can lead to severe health consequences, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, and chronic obstructive lung disease and, for this reason, preventing smoking is a public health priority. Furthermore, the 90% of smokers are estimated to have begun smoking before the age of 18, therefore it is necessary to reduce the number of youths who start smoking before this age, in order to reduce the total number of smokers and harm done to society. Studies have been done to understand what factors make an advertisement more effective and more readily internalized by smokers. The aim of this study is to evaluate the reaction of subjects during the watching of Public Service Announcements (PSAs) against smoking, with the gathering of the electroencephalographic (EEG) rhythms variations. Nowadays, public service announcements (PSAs) are considered “Effective”, “Ineffective” or “Awarded” on the basis of official reports concerning behavioral/attitudinal changes toward healthier patterns and health-related savings following the exposure to the PSA. Results showed the Effort index varied significantly during the observation of picture PSAs and TV advertising one. During the observation of the pictures PSAs, ANOVA results showed a statistical increase for the Effort Index related to the perception of the “Effective” PSAs and “Ineffective” one (p=0.0001), and “Effective” and “Awarded” one (p=0.01). During the observation of video PSAs, ANOVA analysis highlighted a statistically significance difference between Ineffective and Awarded stimuli (p=0.010). In addition, for the observation of images PSAs, the main results of interaction Category (Effective, Ineffective and Awarded) x Smoking Attitude (Heavy Smoker, Low Smoker and No Smoker) have been reported within the Heavy Smoker group in response to the different PSAs (all p<0.05).

Wine Tasting: How Much Is the Contribution of the Olfaction?

Neuromarketing predicts that multiple factors contribute to the choice of a product, among them, the perceived value, pleasantness, and emotion related to the use of it. In this framework, a particular field is constituted by luxury items, such as wine. Wine is particularly suitable to marketing effects, both extrinsic (label) and intrinsic features (volatile composition and color) lead to the constitution of the experienced value, and the analysis of the contribution of olfaction to the process of tasting is fundamental in order to study flavor perception. Scope of the present study was to investigate the reaction to the smell and the gustation of the wine, with and without the olfactory contribution, through an electroencephalographic index, assumed as an indicator of approach or withdrawal (AW) motivation, and an autonomic index (emotional index—EI), deriving from the matching of heart rate and galvanic skin response activity. Results of this pilot research showed a statistically significant increase of the EI values in correspondence with wine-smelling phase in comparison with the other two phases (p < 0.01) and a trend of major avoidance attitude in correspondence with wine tasting with the olfactory component in comparison with the other two conditions. This result could be explained by the lack of specific subjects’ expertise. Present data suggest a synergic action exerted by olfaction and gustation sensory modalities, where manipulation could be further studied so to investigate emotional and cognitive aspects of wine tasting experience.

Neurophysiological measures of the perception of antismoking public service announcements among young population

Tobacco constitutes a global emergency with totally preventable millions of deaths per year and smoking-related illnesses. Public service announcements (PSAs) are the main tool against smoking and by now their efficacy is still assessed through questionnaires and metrics, only months after their circulation. The present study focused on the young population, because at higher risk of developing tobacco addiction, investigating the reaction to the vision of Effective, Ineffective and Awarded antismoking PSAs through: electroencephalography (EEG), autonomic activity variation (Galvanic skin response—GSR- and Heart Rate—HR-) and Eye-Tracking (ET). The employed indices were: the EEG frontal alpha band asymmetry and the frontal theta; the Emotional Index (EI), deriving from the GSR and HR signals matching; the ET Visual Attention (VA) index, based on the ratio between the total time spent fixating an area of interest (AOI) and its area. Smokers expressed higher frontal alpha asymmetry values in comparison to non-smokers. Concerning frontal theta, Awarded PSAs reported the highest values in comparison to both Effective and Ineffective PSAs. EI results highlighted that lowest values were expressed by Heavy Smokers (HS), and Effective PSAs obtained the highest EI values. Finally, concerning the Effective PSAs, regression analysis highlighted a correlation between the number of cigarettes smoked by participants (independent variable) and frontal alpha asymmetry, frontal theta and EI values. ET results suggested that for the Ineffective PSAs the main focus were texts, while for the Effective and Awarded PSAs were the visual elements. Results support the use of methods aimed at assessing the physiological reaction for the evaluation of PSAs images, in particular when considering the smoking habits of target populations.

Good News or Bad News, Which Do You Want First? The Importance of the Sequence and Organization of Information for Financial Decision-Making: A Neuro-Electrical Imaging Study

Investment decisions are largely based on the information investors received from the target firm. Thaler introduced the hedonic editing framework, in which suggests that integration/segregation of information influence individuals perceived value. Meanwhile, when evaluating the evidence and information in a sequence, order effect and biases have been found to have an impact in various areas. In this research, the influence of the Organization of Information (Integration vs. Segregation) and the Sequence of Information (Negative-Positive order vs. Positive-Negative order) on individuals investment decision-making both at the behavioral level (decision) and neurometrix level (measured by an individuals emotion and Approach Withdraw tendency) was assessed for the three groups of information: a piece of Big Positive Information and a piece of Small Negative Information, a piece of Big Negative Information and a piece of Small Positive Information, and a piece of Small Negative information. The behavioral results, which are an individuals final investment decision, were consistent for all three scenarios. In general, individuals will invest more/retire less when receiving two pieces of information in a Negative-Positive order. However, the neurometric results (Emotional Index, Approach Withdraw Index and results from LORETA) show differences among information groups. An effect of the Sequence of Information and the Organization of Information was found for the different scenarios. The results suggest that in the scenarios that involve large-scale information, the organization of information (Integration vs. Segregation) influences the emotion and Approach Withdraw tendency. The results of this investigation should provide insight for effective communication of information, especially when large-scale information is involved.