Books by Robert F Potter
Psychophysiological Measurement and Meaning: Cognitive and Emotional Processing of Media
"This research volume serves as a comprehensive resource for psychophysiological research on medi... more "This research volume serves as a comprehensive resource for psychophysiological research on media responses. It addresses the theoretical underpinnings, methodological techniques, and most recent research in this area. It goes beyond current volumes by placing the research techniques within a context of communication processes and effects as a field, and demonstrating how the real-time measurement of physiological responses enhances and complements more traditional measures of psychological effects from media.
This volume introduces readers to the theoretical assumptions of psychophysiology as well as the operational details of collecting psychophysiological data. In addition to discussing specific measures, it includes brief reviews of recent experiments that have used psychophysiological measures to study how the brain processes media. It will serve as a valuable reference for media researchers utilizing these methodologies, or for other researchers needing to understand the theories, history, and methods of psychophysiological research."
Papers by Robert F Potter
This study explores the effect of different speaker intonation strategies in audio messages on at... more This study explores the effect of different speaker intonation strategies in audio messages on attention, autonomic arousal, and memory. An experiment was conducted in which participants listened to 16 radio commercials produced to vary in pitch range across sentences as an independent variable. Dependent variables were self-reported effectiveness and adequacy, psychophysiological arousal and attention, immediate word recall and recognition of information. Results showed that commercials conveyed with pitch variations achieved better scores compared to commercials with a homogenous pitch range across the sentences. This was especially the case when high pitch intonation was followed by low pitch within a sentence.
Listeners exhibit orienting responses to voice changes in audio messages. However the impact of ... more Listeners exhibit orienting responses to voice changes in audio messages. However the impact of pitch similarity between voices on the nature of the OR has not been explored. We conducted a 3 (Vocal Pitch) x 2 (Location of Change in Message) x 2 (Repetition) within-subjects experiment to address this question. Four non-professional announcers were selected based on differences in vocal pitch. Twelve radio commercials were produced using these announcers to include a single voice change—with either Low-, Medium-, or High-Pitch Differences. The voice changes occurred either within the first or last 20 seconds of the commercial. Heart rate and recognition memory data were collected from forty one subjects. Results show that vocal-pitch difference between speakers impacts automatic attention allocation via the orienting response and recognition memory for the message is thereby affected. Furthermore, results suggest that having voice changes occur early in an audio message produces the best attentional result.
Journal of Media Psychology: Theories, Methods, and Applications, 2008
This study tested the ability of nine different auditory structural features to elicit orienting ... more This study tested the ability of nine different auditory structural features to elicit orienting responses from radio listeners. It further tested the effect of the orienting response on listeners’ memory for information presented immediately following the orienting-eliciting structural feature. Results show that listeners do have significant decelerating cardiac patterns suggestive of orienting for eight of the nine features. Taken as
Media Psychology, 2007
Abstract: Two experiments explore the validity of conceptualizing musical beats as auditory struc... more Abstract: Two experiments explore the validity of conceptualizing musical beats as auditory structural features and the potential for increases in tempo to lead to greater sympathetic arousal, measured using skin conductance. In the first experiment, fast- and slow-paced rock and classical music excerpts were compared to silence. As expected, skin conductance response (SCR) frequency was greater during music processing than during silence. Skin conductance level (SCL) data showed that fast-paced music elicits greater activation than slow-paced music. Genre significantly interacted with tempo in SCR frequency, with faster tempo increasing activation for classical music and decreasing it for rock music. A second experiment was conducted to explore the possibility that the presumed familiarity of the genre led to this interaction. Although further evidence was found for conceptualizing musical beat onsets as auditory structure, the familiarity explanation was not supported.
Citation: Dillman Carpentier, F. R., & Potter, R. F. (2007). Effects of music on physiological arousal: Explorations into tempo and genre. Media Psychology, 10, 339-363.
Made You Listen
Journal of Promotion Management, 2006
Considering moral sensitivity in media ethics courses and research: An essay review by Robert F. Potter
Journal of Mass Media Ethics, 1997
Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 2009
Correlating a Motivation-Activation Measure With Media Preference
Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 2011
This study investigates the relationship between individual differences in motivational system re... more This study investigates the relationship between individual differences in motivational system responsiveness and preferences for media genres and programming types. The Motivation Activation Measure (MAM) indexed the trait appetitive and aversive motivation system activation of 206 college-aged participants who subsequently responded to self-report scales designed to measure likelihood to use specific genres of television programming, radio formats, and video games. Predictions were made for the correlation between genre preferences and MAM scores based on a dual-activation model of motivational systems. Results suggest that initial media-selection behaviors may be predicted by conceptualizing genres according to their appeal from motivationally based attributes.
MiniMAM: Validating a Short Version of the Motivation Activation Measure
Communication Methods and Measures, 2011
This paper is a part of a line of research designed to develop and validate a reliable easy-to-ad... more This paper is a part of a line of research designed to develop and validate a reliable easy-to-administer self-report indicator of individual differences in motivational activation. Previous research began the process with the development of the Motivational Activation Measure (MAM) (A. Lang, Shin, & Lee, 2005; A. Lang, Bradley, Sparks, & Lee, 2007). To calculate MAM, participants view and rate 90 emotional images selected from the International Affective Picture System. The ratings from 35 of those 90 pictures are used to calculate MAM. In this paper, two short versions of the MAM measure, called miniMAM, are developed and their validity assessed. In the first version, participants viewed and rated only the 35 pictures used to calculate MAM. In the second version, participants viewed the 35 pictures used to calculate MAM plus three high arousing negative and three moderately arousing positive pictures chosen from the original MAM measure. The second version is found to be a suitable substitute for MAM when time matters. A third experiment assesses the test re-test reliability of the measure. The results show that motivational reactivity remains stable over time within individuals over a several month period and appears to assess a trait not a state level.
This paper examines the ability of nine different structural and content features of radio to eli... more This paper examines the ability of nine different structural and content features of radio to elicit orienting responses from radio listereners. It further tests the effect of the orienting response on listeners' memory for information presented immediately following the orienting eliciting feature. Results show that eight of the nine features elicit orienting resonses. On average, memory is better for information presented following those features than it is for information presented before the features.
What Is It?" Orienting to Structural Features of Radio Messages
ED415554 - "What Is It?" Orienting to Structura... more ED415554 - "What Is It?" Orienting to Structural Features of Radio Messages.
This article describes and validates a human-centric measure of audio message complexity. Message... more This article describes and validates a human-centric measure of audio message complexity. Messages are coded in terms of the level of cognitive resources that would be automatically elicited and required to process the message. Indicators of
automatic resources elicited come from counting the orienting eliciting audio content changes in radio messages (Acc). The indicator of resources required comes from counting the dimensions of audio information introduced (Aii) by these content changes. The combination produces an indicator of available resources that serves as the complexity variable. Messages high in available resources are low in complexity;
messages low in available resources are high in complexity. Two experiments are presented exploring the empirical validity of the measures as both local (moment to moment) and global (message level) operationalizations of complexity. Results
suggest the measures have high construct validity.
This article examines individual variability in empathizing and
systemizing abilities (Baron-Cohe... more This article examines individual variability in empathizing and
systemizing abilities (Baron-Cohen, 2003, 2009) on emotional
responses to mediated violence. It is predicted that these abilities influence feelings of distress and enjoyment while processing violent media and that they interact with the motives for aggressive behavior—
whether the violence was justified or not. Psychophysiological
measures of negative and positive valence activation and arousal were recorded for 90 participants while they were exposed to fourteen full-motion film clips that contained violence that was either justified or not by the narrative. Results show unjustified content
led to greater physiological arousal and greater negative valence activation overall and to a significantly greater extent in highly empathetic viewers. Advantages of employing the empathizing—systemizing theory to mediated violence research are discussed.
Modulating executive functioning: Trait motivational reactivity and resting HRV
Cognition & Emotion, 2014
This study assessed relationships among individual differences in trait motivational reactivity, ... more This study assessed relationships among individual differences in trait motivational reactivity, executive functioning, and neurovisceral regulation of emotion and attention indexed via resting heart rate variability (rHRV). We derived predictions regarding these relationships according to neurovisceral neural network theory. Because lower rHRV has been suggested as an endophenotype of less adaptive behaviour, low rHRV individuals were predicted to have high aversive and low appetitive trait motivational reactivity, while high rHRV individuals were predicted to have high reactivity in both appetitive and aversive motivational systems. These predictions were supported. Motivational reactivity also was related to executive functioning deficits, although the pattern of results was not in the predicted direction. Results suggest that trait motivational reactivity scores are related to visceral responses proposed in the neurovisceral integration circuit as well as in the modulation of these responses by higher-order cognitive control systems related to executive function.
Research has used the cardiac orienting response to show that structural changes in the auditory ... more Research has used the cardiac orienting response to show that structural changes in the auditory environment cause people to briefly but automatically pay attention to messages such as radio broadcasts, podcasts, and web streaming. The voice change--an example of an auditory structural feature--elicits orienting across multiple repetitions. This article reports two experiments designed to investigate whether automatic attention allocation to repeated instances of other auditory structural features--namely production effects, jingles, and silence--is a robust phenomenon or if repetition leads to habituation. In Study 1 we show that listeners of a simulated radio broadcast exhibit orienting responses following the onset of auditory structural features that differ in semantic content. The prediction that listeners would not habituate to feature repetition was not supported. Instead, both jingles and synthesized production effects result in more iconic orienting responses to the second repetition compared to the first. However orienting significantly diminished following the third repetition of both. Study 2 replicates this result using multiple repetitions of structural features containing identical semantic content.
This paper examines individual variability in empathizing and systemizing abilities (Baron-Cohen,... more This paper examines individual variability in empathizing and systemizing abilities (Baron-Cohen, 2003; 2009) on emotional responses to mediated violence. It is predicted that these abilities influence feelings of distress and enjoyment while processing violent media and that they interact with the motives for aggressive behavior—whether the violence was justified or not. Psychophysiological measures of negative and positive valence activation and arousal were recorded for 90 participants while they were exposed to fourteen full-motion film clips that contained violence that was either justified or not by the narrative. Results show unjustified content led to greater physiological arousal and greater negative valence activation overall, and to a significantly greater extent in highly empathetic viewers. Advantages of employing the empathizing—systemizing theory to mediated violence research are discussed.
Increased interaction with characters in games and online necessitates a better understanding of ... more Increased interaction with characters in games and online necessitates a better understanding of how different characteristics of these agents impact media users. This paper investigates a possible neurological underpinning for a common research finding; namely, that animated characters designed to be comparatively more human, more real, and more similar to the people they represent elicit more positive self-reported evaluations. The goal of this study was to examine the extent to which these results might be due to differential processing of character features in brain networks recruited for face recognition. There is some evidence that parts of the face network may be specifically tuned for real human faces. An experiment was conducted where subjects viewed photographs of faces of actual agents (humans and animals) or colored drawings of matched agents (cartoon humans and animals). Using fMRI to measure BOLD activation in the whole brain and specifically in the face network, we investigated the variation in patterns of activation with human and animal faces that were more or less real. The results were consistent with previous reports that the core regions of the face network were sensitive to the humanness of faces. However, our results extend previous work by showing that regions of the core and extended regions of the face network – and some regions outside the network – were sensitive to realism, but only realism of human faces.
Virtual teams are increasingly common in today’s organizations, yet they often make poor decision... more Virtual teams are increasingly common in today’s organizations, yet they often make poor decisions. Teams that interact using text-based collaboration technology typically exchange more information than when they perform the same task face-to-face, but past results suggest team members are more likely to ignore information they receive from others. Collaboration technology makes unique demands on individual cognitive resources that may change how individual team members process information in virtual settings compared to face-to-face settings. This experiment uses electroencephalography (EEG), electrodermal activity (EDA), and facial electromyography (EMG) to investigate how team members process information received from text-based collaboration during a team decision-making process. Our findings show that information challenging an individual’s pre-discussion decision preference is processed similarly to irrelevant information while information supporting an individual’s pre-discussion decision preference is processed more thoroughly. Our results present neurological evidence for the underlying processes of confirmation bias in information processing during online team discussions.
This study assessed relationships among individual differences in trait motivational reactivity, ... more This study assessed relationships among individual differences in trait motivational reactivity, executive functioning, and neurovisceral regulation of emotion and attention indexed via resting heart rate variability (rHRV). We derived predictions regarding these relationships according to neurovisceral neural network theory. Because lower rHRV has been suggested as an endophenotype of less adaptive behaviour, low rHRV individuals were predicted to have high aversive and low appetitive trait motivational reactivity, while high rHRV individuals were predicted to have high reactivity in both appetitive and aversive motivational systems. These predictions were supported. Motivational reactivity also was related to executive functioning deficits, although the pattern of results was not in the predicted direction. Results suggest that trait motivational reactivity scores are related to visceral responses proposed in the neurovisceral integration circuit as well as in the modulation of these responses by higher-order cognitive control systems related to executive function.
Uploads
Books by Robert F Potter
This volume introduces readers to the theoretical assumptions of psychophysiology as well as the operational details of collecting psychophysiological data. In addition to discussing specific measures, it includes brief reviews of recent experiments that have used psychophysiological measures to study how the brain processes media. It will serve as a valuable reference for media researchers utilizing these methodologies, or for other researchers needing to understand the theories, history, and methods of psychophysiological research."
Papers by Robert F Potter
Citation: Dillman Carpentier, F. R., & Potter, R. F. (2007). Effects of music on physiological arousal: Explorations into tempo and genre. Media Psychology, 10, 339-363.
automatic resources elicited come from counting the orienting eliciting audio content changes in radio messages (Acc). The indicator of resources required comes from counting the dimensions of audio information introduced (Aii) by these content changes. The combination produces an indicator of available resources that serves as the complexity variable. Messages high in available resources are low in complexity;
messages low in available resources are high in complexity. Two experiments are presented exploring the empirical validity of the measures as both local (moment to moment) and global (message level) operationalizations of complexity. Results
suggest the measures have high construct validity.
systemizing abilities (Baron-Cohen, 2003, 2009) on emotional
responses to mediated violence. It is predicted that these abilities influence feelings of distress and enjoyment while processing violent media and that they interact with the motives for aggressive behavior—
whether the violence was justified or not. Psychophysiological
measures of negative and positive valence activation and arousal were recorded for 90 participants while they were exposed to fourteen full-motion film clips that contained violence that was either justified or not by the narrative. Results show unjustified content
led to greater physiological arousal and greater negative valence activation overall and to a significantly greater extent in highly empathetic viewers. Advantages of employing the empathizing—systemizing theory to mediated violence research are discussed.