Examining the Critical Moments in InformationProcessing of Water Conservation Videos within YoungFarmers and Ranchers: A Psychophysiological Analysis

摘要

Discussions on how to conserve and provide enough water has become one of the most highlydebated issues in modern society. Although many Extension efforts have engaged the public inunderstanding behavior and attitudes toward water conservation, limited research has focused onunderstanding how agriculturalists respond to water conservation messages. The goal of this studywas to employ the use of a psychophysiological measure to determine what message componentselicited increased information processing during exposure to two water conservation videos. Whenthe two videos were compared in total, no significant difference in heart rate was observed.However, a more granular analysis of phasic or short-term periods of heart rate decelerationrevealed five segments of increased cognitive resource allocation while viewing the scientific videoand three segments during the testimonial evidence video. Finally, self-report data approachedstatistical significance, with the subjects reporting greater elaboration while viewing thetestimonial evidence video compared to the scientific video treatment. These findings provideunique evidence suggesting that farmers and ranchers allocate greater cognitive resources toscientific evidence, on screen graphics, and narrated statistics.