Does message content interact with the physical environment? An exploratory study on the influence of noise and noise-related visual cues on message elaboration

Abstract

This study seeks to examine the influence of noise and noise-related visual cues on message elaboration of psychiatric help-seeking (PHS) information. We conducted a randomized trial comparing two noise (High: 75 dB LAeq, low: 30 dB LAeq) and two message (noise-related visual cue or not) conditions. Participants (n = 200) were exposed to one of two noise conditions and one of two message conditions. Key outcome measures included participants’ message elaboration of PHS information (primary) and willingness to seek psychiatric help and PHS attitudes (secondary). There was an interaction effect of noise-related visual cues and the noise condition on message elaboration. Increased message elaboration of the PHS information did not enhance willingness to seek psychiatric or PHS attitudes. A message with a noise-related visual cue in a noisy environment can enhance self-reported message elaboration. This novel finding highlights the potential value to examining how messages interact with the physical environment. (148 words).