Attention and Brain Activity While Watching Television: Components of Viewer Engagement

Television commercials include elements designed to engage the viewer's attention. Manipulations of the commercial's visual structure that result in rapid pacing or frequent scene changes can be engaging because they require a frequent redirection of visual attention. Manipulations of semantic content through such techniques as the inclusion of humorous or anomalous elements can elicit cognitive engagement. Structural manipulations in videos are known to attenuate the alpha (8 to 13 Hz) rhythm of the electroencephalogram (EEG) recorded over posterior cortical regions involved with visual processes. To examine whether other engaging elements also affect the alpha rhythm, EEG was recorded from 10 participants who viewed television commercials. Principal components analysis was used to decompose the alpha rhythm into underlying factors that varied in spatial topography over the head and in spectral composition. Across commercials, the power of a posterior-distributed alpha component was inversely correlated with the frequency of scene changes. In contrast, a frontal component in the lower frequency portion of the alpha band was attenuated during commercials that elicited high subjective interest, independent of scene change frequency. And, an upper-frequency frontal alpha component was attenuated during commercials for which the item being advertised had a high probability of being subsequently recalled, independent of other factors. These frontal patterns of alpha reactivity are consistent with other neuroimaging results concerning frontal lobe activation by executive processes and episodic memory encoding. With appropriate neurologically guided analysis, EEG signals can provide a unique means of monitoring both perceptual and higher order neurocognitive processes during television viewing.

[1]  Mark S. Cohen,et al.  Simultaneous EEG and fMRI of the alpha rhythm , 2002, Neuroreport.

[2]  Wolfgang Skrandies,et al.  Data reduction of multichannel fields: Global field power and Principal Component Analysis , 2005, Brain Topography.

[3]  T. Bullock,et al.  Lateral coherence of the electrocorticogram: a new measure of brain synchrony. , 1989, Electroencephalography and clinical neurophysiology.

[4]  L. McEvoy,et al.  Mental Effort‐Related EEG Modulation During Video‐Game Play: Comparison Between Juvenile Subjects with Epilepsy and Normal Control Subjects , 1999, Epilepsia.

[5]  B. R. Bugelski.  Principles of learning and memory , 1956 .

[6]  R. Goldstein,et al.  EEG ACTIVITY AND THE PROCESSING OF TELEVISION COMMERCIALS , 1986 .

[7]  T. Robinson,et al.  The 30-second effect: an experiment revealing the impact of television commercials on food preferences of preschoolers. , 2001, Journal of the American Dietetic Association.

[8]  A S Gevins,et al.  EEG patterns during 'cognitive' tasks. I. Methodology and analysis of complex behaviors. , 1979, Electroencephalography and clinical neurophysiology.

[9]  E Pellouchoud,et al.  Neurophysiological signals of working memory in normal aging. , 2001, Brain research. Cognitive brain research.

[10]  A. S. Gevins,et al.  Ocular Artifact Minimization by Adaptive Filtering , 1994, IEEE Seventh SP Workshop on Statistical Signal and Array Processing.

[11]  Michael E. Smith,et al.  Monitoring Working Memory Load during Computer-Based Tasks with EEG Pattern Recognition Methods , 1998, Hum. Factors.

[12]  A Glass,et al.  Comparison of the Effect of Hard and Easy Mental Arithmetic upon Blocking of the Occipital Alpha Rhythm , 1966, The Quarterly journal of experimental psychology.

[13]  T Mulholland,et al.  Human EEG, behavioral stillness and biofeedback. , 1995, International journal of psychophysiology : official journal of the International Organization of Psychophysiology.

[14]  A. Gevins,et al.  A critical review of electroencephalographic (EEG) correlates of higher cortical functions. , 1980, Critical reviews in bioengineering.

[15]  Erik D. Reichle,et al.  From the Selectedworks of Marcel Adam Just Working Memory and Executive Function: Evidence from Neuroimaging Classic Issues Neuroimaging Results Working Memory and Executive Function: Evidence from Neuroimaging Reconstruals Suggested by the Neuroimaging Data Collaboration and Redundancy , 2022 .

[16]  J. Doyle,et al.  EEG patterns during 'cognitive' tasks. II. Analysis of controlled tasks. , 1979, Electroencephalography and clinical neurophysiology.

[17]  A. Baddeley,et al.  Attention : selection, awareness, and control : a tribute to Donald Broadbent , 1996 .

[18]  Seth Geiger,et al.  The Effects of Scene Changes and Semantic Relatedness on Attention to Television , 1993 .

[19]  R. Goldstein,et al.  Attention to television: intrastimulus effects of movement and scene changes on alpha variation over time. , 1985, The International journal of neuroscience.

[20]  Daphne N. Yu,et al.  High-resolution EEG mapping of cortical activation related to working memory: effects of task difficulty, type of processing, and practice. , 1997, Cerebral cortex.

[21]  B. Cuthbert,et al.  Attention to Television: Alpha Power and Its Relationship to Image Motion and Emotional Content , 2003 .

[22]  Joseph Dien,et al.  Addressing Misallocation of Variance in Principal Components Analysis of Event-Related Potentials , 2004, Brain Topography.

[23]  Michael Logan,et al.  Camera shot length in tv commercials and their memorability and persuasiveness , 1993 .

[24]  James D Sargent,et al.  Brand appearances in contemporary cinema films and contribution to global marketing of cigarettes , 2001, The Lancet.

[25]  Y Yonekura,et al.  Neural networks for generation and suppression of alpha rhythm: a PET study , 1998, Neuroreport.

[26]  R. Dolan,et al.  Neural systems engaged by planning: a PET study of the Tower of London task , 1996, Neuropsychologia.

[27]  Annie Lang,et al.  The effects of production pacing and arousing content on the information processing of television messages , 1999 .

[28]  J D Gabrieli,et al.  A resource model of the neural basis of executive working memory. , 2000, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[29]  R. Engle,et al.  Individual differences in working memory capacity and what they tell us about controlled attention, general fluid intelligence, and functions of the prefrontal cortex. , 1999 .

[30]  R L Buckner,et al.  Cognitive neuroscience of episodic memory encoding. , 2000, Acta psychologica.

[31]  F. H. Lopes da Silva.  Neural mechanisms underlying brain waves: from neural membranes to networks. , 1991, Electroencephalography and clinical neurophysiology.

[32]  M. Posner,et al.  Attentional Mechanisms and Conscious Experience , 1992 .

[33]  L. McEvoy,et al.  Neurophysiological indices of strategy development and skill acquisition. , 1999, Brain research. Cognitive brain research.

[34]  J. Doyle,et al.  Electroencephalogram correlates of higher cortical functions. , 1979, Science.

[35]  G Pfurtscheller,et al.  Functional Topography During a Visuoverbal Judgment Task Studied with Event‐Related Desynchronization Mapping , 1992, Journal of clinical neurophysiology : official publication of the American Electroencephalographic Society.

[36]  J. W. Richards,et al.  Brand logo recognition by children aged 3 to 6 years. Mickey Mouse and Old Joe the Camel. , 1991, JAMA.

[37]  E. Basar,et al.  Age effects on visual EEG responses reveal distinct frontal alpha networks , 2002, Clinical Neurophysiology.

[38]  Byron Reeves,et al.  WATCHING TELEVISION , 1986 .

[39]  S. Petersen,et al.  Frontal cortex contributes to human memory formation , 1999, Nature Neuroscience.

[40]  M. Posner,et al.  The attention system of the human brain. , 1990, Annual review of neuroscience.

[41]  Glenn F. Wilson,et al.  Topographical changes in the ongoing EEG related to the difficulty of mental tasks , 2005, Brain Topography.

[42]  J. Holden,et al.  Relations between PET-derived measures of thalamic glucose metabolism and EEG alpha power. , 1998, Psychophysiology.

[43]  R Elul.  The physiological interpretation of amplitude histograms of the EEG. , 1969, Electroencephalography and clinical neurophysiology.

[44]  E. Stein,et al.  A parametric manipulation of central executive functioning. , 2000, Cerebral cortex.

[45]  A. Gevins,et al.  Neurophysiological measures of working memory and individual differences in cognitive ability and cognitive style. , 2000, Cerebral cortex.

[46]  Tim Shallice,et al.  Supervisory control of action and thought selection. , 1993 .

[47]  John R. Rossiter,et al.  Brain-Imaging Detection of Visual Scene Encoding in Long-term Memory for TV Commercials , 2001, Journal of Advertising Research.

[48]  R Baumgartner,et al.  Comparison of two exploratory data analysis methods for fMRI: fuzzy clustering vs. principal component analysis. , 2000, Magnetic resonance imaging.

[49]  H. Berger.  Über das Elektrenkephalogramm des Menschen , 1933, Archiv für Psychiatrie und Nervenkrankheiten.

[50]  Richard A. Harshman,et al.  Noise Reduction in BOLD-Based fMRI Using Component Analysis , 2002, NeuroImage.

[51]  H. Lüders,et al.  American Electroencephalographic Society Guidelines for Standard Electrode Position Nomenclature , 1991, Journal of clinical neurophysiology : official publication of the American Electroencephalographic Society.

[52]  J. Rossi,et al.  A guide for applying principal-components analysis and confirmatory factor analysis to quantitative electroencephalogram data. , 1996, International journal of psychophysiology : official journal of the International Organization of Psychophysiology.

[53]  G. Pfurtscheller,et al.  Event-related desynchronization (ERD) and the Dm effect: does alpha desynchronization during encoding predict later recall performance? , 1996, International journal of psychophysiology : official journal of the International Organization of Psychophysiology.

[54]  Michael E. Smith,et al.  Monitoring Task Loading with Multivariate EEG Measures during Complex Forms of Human-Computer Interaction , 2001, Hum. Factors.

[55]  M. Çiçek,et al.  Interhemispheric asymmetry of EEG alpha activity at rest and during the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test: relations with performance , 2001, Biological Psychology.

[56]  N.G.R. Iyengar,et al.  Elasto-plastic analysis of adhesive bonded joint , 1993 .

[57]  G. Pfurtscheller,et al.  Alpha frequency, cognitive load and memory performance , 1993, Brain Topography.

[58]  Annie Lang,et al.  The limited capacity model of mediated message processing , 2000 .

[59]  Jeannine Herron,et al.  Effects of task difficulty on EEG measures of cerebral engagement , 1978, Neuropsychologia.

[60]  F. H. Lopes da Silva,et al.  Relative contributions of intracortical and thalamo-cortical processes in the generation of alpha rhythms, revealed by partial coherence analysis. , 1980, Electroencephalography and clinical neurophysiology.

[61]  J. Born,et al.  EEG theta synchronization conjoined with alpha desynchronization indicate intentional encoding , 2002, The European journal of neuroscience.

[62]  B. Reeves,et al.  Emotional Television Scenes and Hemispheric Specialization. , 1989 .

[63]  M. Basil.  Multiple Resource Theory I , 1994 .