Aging and the Questionable Validity of Recognition-Based Exposure Measurement

Abstract

Growing evidence suggests that basic exposure measures, such as recognition-based items, might not operate identically among older and younger adults. We present two studies relevant to this debate. Study 1 provides experimental confirmation of the recognition decline hypothesis, finding an interaction between age and exposure in predicting recognition memory for an advertisement related to global warming. Study 2 assesses television news project evaluation data to explore whether verbatim detail recognition difficulty explains Study 1 results. The two studies provide complementary evidence, not only illustrating recognition decline among the elderly but also providing careful control of exposure in Study 1 and the use of multiple messages, realistic viewing scenarios, and free recall data in Study 2. Taken together, the studies offer a cautionary tale for campaign evaluators. On a broader theoretical level, the results suggest a fruitful path for communication research focused on the nuanced and potentially critical moderating role of age.

Measuring Media Exposure to Contradictory Health Information: A Comparative Analysis of Four Potential Measures

“…As research on self-report exposure measures accumulates, it has become increasingly clear that we need to take a nuanced approach in labeling and describing these measures. For example, Southwell and colleagues (Southwell, 2005; Southwell et al, 2010) have argued that self-reported exposure really captures memory for exposure rather than true past exposure, and thus they have looked for external indicators (e.g., media market-level exposure) to use in place of self-report measures (Hwang & Southwell, 2009). The implication for the current study is that while the face validity for the four contradictory measures might be generally high, it could vary considerably if we home in on the specific variable of interest: contradictory message exposure.…”

How Much Time Do You Spend Online? Understanding and Improving the Accuracy of Self-Reported Measures of Internet Use

“…Systematic differences in response behavior related to specific characteristics of respondents present a severe threat to the accuracy of survey measures (Prior, 2009b;Southwell et al, 2010). Previous research has mainly looked at biases of self-reports due to sociodemographic factors (Prior, 2009b;Scharkow, 2016).…”

“…Sociodemographic characteristics were included as control variables, considering that previous research has indicated systematic differences in response behavior due to age, gender, and education (Southwell et al, 2010). The self-reported measures are summarized in Table 1A.…”

Measuring Exposure Opportunities: Using Exogenous Measures in Assessing Effects of Media Exposure on Smoking Outcomes

“…Slater, 2004; Wonneberger, Schoenbach, & Meurs, 2013). Individuals’ ability to remember precisely also varies (Southwell et al, 2010; Southwell & Langteau, 2008; Tourangeau, 2000). In addition, exposure could be consequential even when the media content has not been sufficiently well-attended to at the moment of exposure to be recalled later (Prior, 2009; M.…”