Distracted Driving: a Cross-Disciplinary Analysis
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DISTRACTED DRIVING: A CROSS-DISCIPLINARY ANALYSIS EXPLORING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENTS REGARDING TEXTING AND DRIVING THAT EMPLOY A FILMED NARRATIVE WITH EMOTIONAL APPEALS by Jeremy R. Seibold A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of The Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts & Letters In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts Florida Atlantic University Boca Raton, FL May 2017 Copyright by Jeremy R. Seibold 2017 ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Dr. Becky Mulvaney and Dr. Patricia Darlington for all of their guidance and support, and a special thanks to my advisor, Stephen Charbonneau, for his brilliance, charisma, and confidence in my abilities during the writing of this manuscript. I am also truly grateful for the invaluable assistance I received from Dr. Christine Scodari, as well as the inspiration and words of experience from Dr. Bill Trapani. Last but not least, I would also like to thank my colleagues in the Communication Department at Florida Atlanta University, especially my fellow Teacher Assistants. iv ABSTRACT Author: Jeremy R. Seibold Title: Distracted Driving: A Cross-Disciplinary Analysis Exploring The Effectiveness Of Public Service Announcements Regarding Texting And Driving That Employ A Filmed Narrative With Emotional Appeals Institution: Florida Atlantic University Thesis Advisor: Dr. Stephen Charbonneau Degree: Master of Arts Year: 2017 Despite efforts to mitigate texting and driving in the United States, accidents as a result of distracted driving continue to increase, especially within the 16-24 age group. Considering the traits of the members of this age group, as well as the attributes of the various means that are utilized to mitigate such behavior, I hypothesize that the employment of filmed narratives in public service announcements is more effective than any other established approach. Testing the validity of this hypothesis, contributing to a lack of research, three methods of analysis were employed in this project: a textual analysis of a filmed narrative; an audience analysis of the comments accompanying the filmed narrative; and a video session followed by a self-administered questionnaire. The results of this study indicate that while the filmed narrative is more effective than the spoken narrative, more intensive analyses are necessary for further speculation. v DEDICATION One looks back with appreciation to the brilliant teachers, but with gratitude to those who touched our human feelings. The curriculum is so much necessary raw material, but warmth is the vital element for the growing plant and for the soul of the child.- Carl Jung This manuscript is dedicated to my wife, my greatest teacher, and those brilliant souls with the warmest of touches; my mentors; my professors; my captains! I am most grateful for my mother, who sparked the flame; J. Delores Bird who showed me how to carry the flame; and Stephen Charbonneau, who showed me how to keep the flame alit! DISTRACTED DRIVING: A CROSS-DISCIPLINARY ANALYSIS EXPLORING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENTS REGARDING TEXTING AND DRIVING THAT EMPLOY A FILMED NARRATIVE WITH EMOTIONAL APPEALS LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................. ix LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................ x CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW .......................................................................... 12 Types of Public Service Announcements (PSAs) and Prevention ................................ 12 The Significance of Video: Format ........................................................................... 17 The Significance of Narrative ............................................................................... 22 The Significance of Video: Content ................................................................. 26 Emotional Appeals ........................................................................................ 34 CHAPTER 3: TEXTUAL ANALYSIS ............................................................................ 39 Method .......................................................................................................................... 39 Results/Discussion ..................................................................................................... 40 CHAPTER 4: AUDIENCE ANALYSIS .......................................................................... 47 Rationale for Mixed Methods ....................................................................................... 47 Method ....................................................................................................................... 48 Results/Discussion ................................................................................................ 49 vii CHAPTER 5: QUESTIONNAIRE/VIDEO SESSION .................................................... 58 Method .......................................................................................................................... 58 Results/Discussion ..................................................................................................... 60 CHAPTER 6: IMPLICATIONS & CONCLUSION ........................................................ 79 APPENDICES .................................................................................................................. 85 REFERENCES ................................................................................................................. 87 viii LIST OF TABLES Table 1.1: Ten Leading Causes of Death by Age Group .................................................... 6 Table 2.1: YouTube Company Statistics .......................................................................... 18 Table 2.2: Optimizing Strategies According to the Context and Respective Attention Level in the Advertising industry ............................................................... 21 Table 4.1: Categories of Responses from Participants Manifested Through Coding in Audience Analysis ....................................................................................... 57 Table 5.1: Admitted Distracted Driving Behaviors .......................................................... 62 Table 5.2: Familiarity with Other Types of PSAs ............................................................ 64 Table 5.3: Categories of Responses from Participants Manifested Through Coding Answers to Question 5 (Week 1) ................................................................ 65 Table 5.4: Categories of Responses from Participants Manifested Through Coding Answers to Question 1 (Week 1) ................................................................ 69 Table 5.5: The Impact of the Videos on Attitudes and Behaviors .................................... 74 Table 5.6: The Impact of Emotional Appeals on Behavior .............................................. 75 Table 5.7: Categories of Responses from Participants Manifested Through Coding Answers to Question 2 (Week 2) ................................................................ 76 ix LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2.1: Media Shares in Global Ad Spending ............................................................ 19 Figure 2.2: Plutchik’s Wheel of 8 Primary Emotions ....................................................... 37 x CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION In the heat of Late July, the sun doesn’t set on Central Minnesota until almost 9. As Melissa and her friends piled into her trusty, red pickup, the sun, far off in the distance, seemed to sit just over the trees. Taking the wheel, Melissa whined, “I’m soo hungry. I can’t wait to get to Falls!” “Me too,” Cathy quickly responded from the backseat in agreement. The group had been out all day, enjoying the mid-summer weather, but time passes when you’re having fun, so lunch was an afterthought. “It’s a little past 7,” Darren noted, gazing deep into the screen of his cellphone, “We have plenty of time. No need to rush.” Melissa turned on the radio, checked her phone, and backed out of the driveway. Shuffling side-to-side in what seemed to be a small battle with his seat belt, Greg stated matter-of-factly, “It should take us a little less than an hour. I think it’s only like 34 miles from here to Little Falls.” “Good, I need grub and I gotta get home early tonight, Greg sulkingly added, “I got work in the morning. And I wanna get home safe, Melissa, so stay off you phone!” As Melissa raced off, the 4 friends left St. Cloud behind, blissfully making their way north. “OMG, turn this up,” Cathy blurted, climbing on Melissa’s headrest and making her best efforts to reproduce Taylor Swift’s dance moves in the limited space of the cab. Shooting Cathy a big smile in the rearview with a laugh, Melissa turned the knob and began to sing along. “Take it easy,” Greg growled at Cathy, staring off into the rapidly passing horizon, “I’m trying to enjoy the scenery.” In this region of Minnesota, the Mississippi River begins to lose the wilderness character of its upper reaches, and the 1 view broadens into stretches of scenic riverscape interspersed with houses and farms (McLaughlin, 2015). Pointing out an oddly shaped cloud and a few ducks crossing the sky up ahead, Cathy giggled, but before she can finish her words, the car jerked to the side