Tobacco use is the most preventable cause of overall mortality. The highest smoking rate, about 30%, in the U.S. is among young adults between the ages of 18 and 25 years. Anti-tobacco media campaigns appear to be effective in preventing and reducing tobacco use, although little is known about how individual differences affect responses to anti-tobacco media. Participants were 144 students at the University of North Dakota. They watched six anti-tobacco advertisements that contained fear messages but varied in levels of graphic imagery. The following was measured: tobacco experience, self-control, locus of control, depression, stress, affect, arousal, valence, and effectiveness. Participants reported greater negative affect and greater effectiveness for the more graphic anti-tobacco advertisements. There appear to be some individual differences (gender, depression, locus of control, and smoking exposure) that predict responses to the ads. Overall, ads with more disgust-evoking graphic imagery were better anti-smoking ads than others.
","abstract_html":"<p>Tobacco use is the most preventable cause of overall mortality. The highest smoking rate, about 30%, in the U.S. is among young adults between the ages of 18 and 25 years. Anti-tobacco media campaigns appear to be effective in preventing and reducing tobacco use, although little is known about how individual differences affect responses to anti-tobacco media. Participants were 144 students at the University of North Dakota. They watched six anti-tobacco advertisements that contained fear messages but varied in levels of graphic imagery. The following was measured: tobacco experience, self-control, locus of control, depression, stress, affect, arousal, valence, and effectiveness. Participants reported greater negative affect and greater effectiveness for the more graphic anti-tobacco advertisements. There appear to be some individual differences (gender, depression, locus of control, and smoking exposure) that predict responses to the ads. Overall, ads with more disgust-evoking graphic imagery were better anti-smoking ads than others.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Jonsdottir, Harpa Lind"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts (MA)","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"Psychology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Jeffrey E. Holm","Nancy Vogeltanz-Holm"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2013,"date_issued":"2013-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2013-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:26:30Z","subjects":["anti-tobacco media, fear, gender, graphic imagery, locus of control, tobacco exposure"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://commons.und.edu/theses/1444","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Jeffrey E. Holm","Nancy Vogeltanz-Holm"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Jonsdottir, Harpa Lind"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Psychology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts (MA)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["anti-tobacco media, fear, gender, graphic imagery, locus of control, tobacco exposure"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://commons.und.edu/theses/1444"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Tobacco use is the most preventable cause of overall mortality. The highest smoking rate, about 30%, in the U.S. is among young adults between the ages of 18 and 25 years. Anti-tobacco media campaigns appear to be effective in preventing and reducing tobacco use, although little is known about how individual differences affect responses to anti-tobacco media. Participants were 144 students at the University of North Dakota. They watched six anti-tobacco advertisements that contained fear messages but varied in levels of graphic imagery. The following was measured: tobacco experience, self-control, locus of control, depression, stress, affect, arousal, valence, and effectiveness. Participants reported greater negative affect and greater effectiveness for the more graphic anti-tobacco advertisements. There appear to be some individual differences (gender, depression, locus of control, and smoking exposure) that predict responses to the ads. Overall, ads with more disgust-evoking graphic imagery were better anti-smoking ads than others.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The Role Of Individual Differences In Young Adults' Responses To Graphic Health Harms Anti-Tobacco Media"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Jeffrey E. Holm","Nancy Vogeltanz-Holm"],"dc:creator":["Jonsdottir, Harpa Lind"],"dc:description.abstract":["Tobacco use is the most preventable cause of overall mortality. The highest smoking rate, about 30%, in the U.S. is among young adults between the ages of 18 and 25 years. Anti-tobacco media campaigns appear to be effective in preventing and reducing tobacco use, although little is known about how individual differences affect responses to anti-tobacco media. Participants were 144 students at the University of North Dakota. They watched six anti-tobacco advertisements that contained fear messages but varied in levels of graphic imagery. The following was measured: tobacco experience, self-control, locus of control, depression, stress, affect, arousal, valence, and effectiveness. Participants reported greater negative affect and greater effectiveness for the more graphic anti-tobacco advertisements. There appear to be some individual differences (gender, depression, locus of control, and smoking exposure) that predict responses to the ads. Overall, ads with more disgust-evoking graphic imagery were better anti-smoking ads than others.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://commons.und.edu/theses/1444"],"dc:subject":["anti-tobacco media, fear, gender, graphic imagery, locus of control, tobacco exposure"],"dc:title":["The Role Of Individual Differences In Young Adults' Responses To Graphic Health Harms Anti-Tobacco Media"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Psychology"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts (MA)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:26:30Z"}