Assessing Information-based Policy Tools: An Eye-Tracking Laboratory Experiment on Public Information Posters

Abstract

This article contributes to ongoing debate about the effectiveness of information-based policy tools by evaluating environmental information posters using a novel eye-tracking method to examine viewing behavior. Findings from a multi-method study involving 93 students indicate that: (1) slogans are typically the first thing that subjects fixate on when presented with an information poster, (2) recall of poster content is highest when positive slogans and negative images are included, and (3) posters should be targeted to different audiences for maximum effectiveness. These findings indicate that eye-tracking technologies can be incorporated into designing more effective information-based policy instruments by examining behavior.