Perception of environmental information materials by youth audiences: Results of a neuromarketing study

Abstract

The paper presents the results of using eye-tracking technologies to study news materials on environmental topics collected as stimulus material and classified according to their impact on audience perception. The empirical material of the study came from news websites covering environmental issues. For objectivity, we compared two regional media resources – 74.ru (Chelyabinsk) and Aktobe Times2. We present our analysis of participants’ response to the studied materials and the degree of their influence on the participants’ emotional state and behavioral reactions. The paper also supplements the data obtained from content analysis in previous studies and expands the understanding of this issue. The chosen quantitative and qualitative approach to content research allowed us to determine the semantic and stylistic features of constructing ecotexts, determine their connotative characteristics, and classify them by groups, topics, and categories. The paper also contains survey data contributing to a deeper study of the stated problem and focusing on a detailed study of the audience’s behavioral responses. The survey data allowed us to confirm the expressed hypotheses and highlight the active areas of interest of the youth readership. Alongside the presented conclusions and points of discussion, we expressed the main assumptions highlighting the features of the formation of environmental texts in the news media.

Keywords

• internet media
• environmental issues
• headline
• eye tracker
• youth audience