Abstract: Using a dual coding theory, which proposes that verbal and non-verbal information is processed through different mental sub-systems, the authors investigate the effects of cognitive dissonance in cases when the audio-visual media content communicates contradictory symbolic meanings. Although conventional wisdom suggests that a television program which highlights the negative effects of unhealthy foods would decrease consumers’ loyalty to harmful products, we argue that the sight of food trumps other information and drives up the consumption. Contradictory effects were tested in a two-group posttest-only randomized experiment involving sixty-six participants and a clip from a popular BBC documentary called The Men Who Made Us Fat (MMF). The auditory information in the clip advocates the decrease in consumption of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) but uses images of unhealthy foods and drinks to illustrate the topic. Results show that viewing the documentary increased the participants’ knowledge about the harmful effects of HFCS while at the same failing to change their attitudes and consumption patterns. Further testing showed that audiences with prior affinity for HFCS products were more likely to choose them after exposure to the stimulus. Such results are consistent with predictions of the dual coding theory and highlight the importance of congruency in media’s verbal and non-verbal information in promoting healthy habits.
Keywords: dual coding theory, documentary, mass media, food choices, health communication, consumerism, high fructose corn syrup.
Title: Consumer Behavior and Popular Media: Multimodal Effects of a Documentary “The Men Who Made Us Fat”
Author: Bruno Lovric, Bingjie Liu, Valentina Scialpi
International Journal of Social Science and Humanities Research
ISSN 2348-3156 (Print), ISSN 2348-3164 (online)
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