Biomaterial Database

Violence and sex in television programs do not sell products in advertisements. 2005

Brad J Bushman

Institute for Social Research, Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, MI, USA. bbushman@umich.edu

Adults (N = 336) 18 to 54 years old watched a television program containing violence, sex, both violence and sex, or no violence and sex. Programs were shown in a comfortable room containing padded chairs and tasty snacks. Each program contained the same 12 ads. Embedding an ad in a program containing violence or sex reduced (a) viewers' likelihood of remembering the advertised brand, (b) their interest in buying that brand, and (c) their likelihood of selecting a coupon for that brand. These effects occurred for males and females of all ages, regardless of whether they liked programs containing violence and sex. These results show that violence and sex in television programs do not sell products in advertisements.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D008297	Male		Males
D008875	Middle Aged	An adult aged 45 - 64 years.	Middle Age
D003132	Commerce	The interchange of goods or commodities, especially on a large scale, between different countries or between populations within the same country. It includes trade (the buying, selling, or exchanging of commodities, whether wholesale or retail) and business (the purchase and sale of goods to make a profit). (From Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2d ed, p411, p2005 & p283)	Business,Commercial Sector,Prices,Sales,Vendors,Businesses,Commerces,Commercial Sectors,Price,Sale,Sector, Commercial,Sectors, Commercial,Vendor
D005260	Female		Females
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000293	Adolescent	A person 13 to 18 years of age.	Adolescence,Youth,Adolescents,Adolescents, Female,Adolescents, Male,Teenagers,Teens,Adolescent, Female,Adolescent, Male,Female Adolescent,Female Adolescents,Male Adolescent,Male Adolescents,Teen,Teenager,Youths
D000328	Adult	A person having attained full growth or maturity. Adults are of 19 through 44 years of age. For a person between 19 and 24 years of age, YOUNG ADULT is available.	Adults
D000329	Advertising	Works about the act or practice of calling public attention to a product, service, need, etc., especially by paid announcements in newspapers, magazines, on radio, or on television. (Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2d ed)	Advertising as Topic,Advertisement as Topic,Telemarketing,Advertisings
D012725	Sexual Behavior	Sexual activities of humans.	Anal Sex,Oral Sex,Sexual Activity,Sexual Orientation,Premarital Sex Behavior,Sex Behavior,Sex Orientation,Sexual Activities,Activities, Sexual,Activity, Sexual,Behavior, Premarital Sex,Behavior, Sex,Behavior, Sexual,Orientation, Sexual,Sex, Anal,Sex, Oral
D013690	Television	The transmission and reproduction of transient images of fixed or moving objects. An electronic system of transmitting such images together with sound over a wire or through space by apparatus that converts light and sound into electrical waves and reconverts them into visible light rays and audible sound. (From Webster, 3rd ed)	Televisions