Visual Attention Patterns Differ by Pictorial Health Warning Label Features
Year: 2018
Type: article
Abstract: OBJECTIVES: In this study, we sought to determine how smokers allocate their attention when viewing the 9 cigarette pictorial warning labels (PWLs) proposed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and identify PWL attributes associated with increased attention. METHODS: Using eye-tracking data from an exploratory within-subject study, we examined smokers' attention (latency, latency duration, and dwell time) to areas of interest (image vs textual warning) for each PWL among 95 daily, non-treatment-seeking smokers (62.1% male, 48.4% white, mean [SD] age = 32.98 [10.14], mean [SD] cigarettes/day = 15.51 [8.43]). We also compared attention measures by PWL message congruency, textual warning location, and participant rankings of effectiveness. RESULTS: < .001 - .039). Congruent PWLs, those displaying text across the warning label, and those ranked most effective were associated with sustained attention to image, whereas incongruent PWLs, those displaying left text, and those ranked least effective, were associated with faster and sustained attention to text. CONCLUSIONS: Smokers allocated their attention differently across PWLs. Formats and participant effectiveness rankings of PWLs were associated with visual attention patterns, suggesting the importance of these features to the design of potential future PWLs.
Source: Tobacco Regulatory Science
DOI: 10.18001/trs.4.6.2
Institution: University of Pennsylvania
Language: English
Subfield: Physiology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W2901347180