Theory Of Excitation Transfer Research Articles

Spillover effects in destination advertising: An electroencephalography study

As more destination advertisements are uploaded on short video-sharing platforms, investigating the effects of in-stream advertising on destination advertising is important. This study examines the spillover effects of residual arousal produced by a prior advertisement on subsequent destination video advertising. It develops and tests new hypotheses by connecting outside appearance (emotion and behavioural intention) and inside neural mechanism (brain activity) using electroencephalography. This study contributes to the theoretical advancement of increasing the explanation power of excitation transfer theory applied to destination advertising. Results confirm the spillover effect. Residual excitation was found to energise female (rather than male) arousal significantly. The participants exposed to the prior advertisement are more likely to visit the advertised travel destinations than those who were not.

Using Neuroimaging Techniques to Link Game Rewards to Memory Through Activity in the Hippocampus

Abstract. The purpose of this study was to better understand effects of video game rewards on information processing using neuroimaging techniques. Excitation transfer theory, with the limited capacity model of motivated mediated messages, was used to predict that game rewards (administered through goal-directed spatial decision-making demands) will increase hippocampal activity. Activity will remain heightened in a subsequent declarative memory task. It was also predicted that heightened hippocampal activity during encoding will result in better recall after a 25-min delay. Both hypotheses were supported. Participants who played the goal-directed spatial decision-making game experienced greater hippocampal activation during the encoding phase of the memory task. And they demonstrated better recall for the encoded information after the delay. There was also a negative correlation between hippocampal activation and a primary inhibitory neurotransmitter, gamma-aminobutyric acid. These results suggest that goal-directed spatial decision-making mechanics can be important for facilitating hippocampal activation and declarative memory. They stress the need for future research to consider how these mechanics could be implemented in games for learning or as a potential intervention technique for those with memory impairments.

The Influence of Short Video News on College Students’ Emotional Interaction—— A Comparative Experiment Based on Gender Differences

The purpose of this study is to explore the interaction of college students’ emotional states when they receive short video news pieces with different emotions. At the same time, it analyzes whether there will be differences in modality changes and obviousness of the topic between different genders. This study used a controlled experiment with a stratified sampling method to select 118 students from Hunan University of Science and Technology. The results show that when college students are exposed to news topics with positive or negative attributes, their original emotional state will affect their subsequent emotional response. This pattern of interaction reflects the psychological theory of excitation transfer. In addition, the positive framing of short video news has a significant impact on positive audience sentiment and increased trust in the media. Female representatives had more significant emotional interactions. However, the prominence of news topics is not directly related to the emotional changes of college students.

Gaming Addiction and Aggression in Pakistani Young Adults: Through the Lens of Excitation Transfer Theory

The present study investigated the relationship between gaming addiction and aggression among young adults. 160 participants (80 males and 80 females) were approached by purposive sampling. Cross-sectional, correlational research design was employed. The data were collected using two questionnaires: Gaming Addiction Inventory for Adults and The Aggression Questionnaire. The data was analyzed through Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, version 21. Results revealed that gaming addiction has significant but negative relationship with aggression, anger, and physical aggression, however, verbal aggression and hostility were not significantly related. Analysis of gender difference indicated males as more addicted to games than females, while aggression and its variants were not found to be significantly different. The study concluded that video game playing may become a source for releasing aggression, hence, lowering the physiological arousals and reducing aggression in life. The inverse relationship of gaming addiction and aggression implies the positive consideration of games for dealing with aggression among young adults. The study has certain limitations as forthcoming researches should examine the particular types of games with aggression or comparing different age groups will further enlighten the relationship of game playing and aggression.

Applying signal detection theory to conflict escalation as a consequence of victimization with physiological arousal covariates

PurposeThe signal detection theory has evolutionary foundations such that our ancestors who were able to detect signals of aggression survived, while those who could not were extinguished. The paper examines the detection of conflict escalation signals in a domestic argument in a married couple as a consequence of history with prior victimization and perpetration of violence. The purpose of this paper is threefold: escalation detection differences between a trained special victim’s detective and untrained individuals; escalation detection for individuals with domestic violence victimization; and physiological arousal during escalation detection.Design/methodology/approachSubjects with various histories of victimization and perpetration using the Straus conflict tactics scale watched a video of an argument that escalated in conflict while their heart rate and electrodermal activity (EDA) was measured. Participants were asked to pause the tape and write any verbal and non-verbal signal of escalating conflict. The signal coding used deductive, a prioi coding based on Gottman’s (1994, 2011) corrosive behaviors indicative of conflict. A repeated measures general linear model in sex and conflict initiation using two measures of physiological arousal revealed significant effects on EDA while watching escalating conflict as a function of victimization history.FindingsA series of hypotheses and research questions tested untrained people’s signal detection abilities with a trained, special victim’s unit police investigator as a consequence of male and female-initiated conflict. Untrained viewers reported fewer aggression signals than the police investigator. A repeated measures general linear model using two measures of physiological arousal revealed significant effects on EDA while watching escalating conflict as a function of victimization history. Results are discussed in terms of the signal detection and excitation-transfer theories toward explaining responses to escalating conflict.Research limitations/implicationsA limitation of this study was asking participants to document all abuse while not differentiating between different forms (i.e. emotional, verbal, physical). A future study could investigate how well participants can detect different forms of abuse. This area of research could be beneficial especially in the form of past history. For example, if an individual has been a recipient of emotional abuse, do they detect significantly more signals of emotional abuse than they would for physical abuse?Practical implicationsThe findings of our study have could practical publications for advising people who cope with conflict as they vary in their use of negotiation and physical force. The fact that physiological arousal was heightened after exposure to the conflict escalation video as a function of victimization due to physical force has ramifications for watching media with violent content. Therapists could ask survivors if they feel based on their experience, that they could help others to recognize aggressive signals or if they are immune to these signals, given the debate over victim desensitization vs heightened sensitivity.Social implicationsThe authors feel it is imperative to note that our current study was designed to gain a deeper understanding of domestic violence in order to ultimately benefit victims in the recovery process and to (ideally) prevent recurrence of domestic violence in the future. This research is not intended to implicate victims in anyway as being responsible for the consequences of domestic violence due to an inability to detect signals of aggression. Indeed, future research should examine how to skillfully advise domestic violence victims while protecting their already vulnerable self-images.Originality/valueEvery day, people are exposed to violence through social media, news, movies and television. Hence, we may become either sensitized to violence or desensitized. These are competing hypotheses that we tested in conjunction with physiological arousal. It is important to analyze reactions to viewing violence due to the sheer amount that is readily disseminated.

Sport team-endorsed brands on Facebook

PurposeApplying social identity theory, the social identity-brand equity model and excitation-transfer theory, the purpose of this paper is to examine effects of game outcome (win/loss) and location (home/away) on sport fans’ brand attitude and purchase intention toward a brand endorsed by their favorite sport team on Facebook, as well as the mediating role of team identification.Design/methodology/approachA two (win/loss) by two (home/away) full-factorial between-subjects experiment was conducted during the US National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) football season over a four-month period. Participants (n=338), who were Facebook users and fans of a NCAA division I football team, completed an online questionnaire assessing brand attitude and purchase intention toward a team-endorsed brand on Facebook, during weeks after the team: won a home game, lost a home game, won an away game, or lost an away game. Results were analyzed using analysis of variance and bootstrapping mediation methods.FindingsResults revealed a significant main effect for game outcome (win/loss), and a significant interaction effect between game outcome (win/loss) and game location (home/away). Team identification also mediated between game outcome (win/loss) and game location (home/away) to influence brand attitude, but not purchase intention.Originality/valueImplications for use of social networking site (SNS)-based brand endorsements as an integral part of brands’ advertising strategies were discussed. Specifically, brands utilizing SNSs to advertise to sport fans should highlight team endorsements, particularly after home game wins, and also target highly identified fans, to maximize positive SNS-based brand evaluations.

Theory of Excitation Transfer between Two-Dimensional Semiconductor and Molecular Layers

Hybrid inorganic/organic semiconductor devices combine and enhance the optoelectronic features of their constituents. To ideally exploit the advantageous properties of this class of materials, extensive parameter studies are needed to explore the operating regimes for optimized device performance. This theoretical study investigates the influence of system preparation and geometry on nonradiative excitation-transfer efficiency across the hybrid interface. The coupling efficiency depends strongly, and not intuitively, on multiple parameters such as resonance-energy detuning, molecular coverage, and charge-carrier concentration and temperature.

Emotional Arousal at Memory Encoding Enhanced P300 in the Concealed Information Test.

Previous studies have reported that the concealed information test (CIT) is a reliable and powerful method for detecting information. However, the external validity of the CIT studies has not been fully proven. In particular, few studies have examined the effects of emotional arousal at memory encoding on physiological responses in the CIT. The present study investigated the influence on the CIT of the magnitude of emotional arousal at memory encoding of a mock crime, using the P300 component of the event-related brain potential (ERP). In accord with the assumptions of excitation-transfer theory, we presented emotionally arousing pictures before a mock crime. Participants were randomly assigned to either a high emotional arousal group (n = 10) or a low emotional arousal group (n = 11), viewing pictures expected to arouse emotion at a high or low level, respectively. Subsequently, all participants enacted the same mock crime, in which they were instructed to stab a pillow with a sharp-edged tool (e.g., a kitchen knife or ice pick) as if harassing a mannequin lying on a bed. After the antecedent emotional experience, the P300-based CIT was conducted. Participants in the high arousal group showed significantly greater P300 amplitudes in response to a probe stimulus compared with the low arousal group. No differences were found between the groups in response to irrelevant stimuli. These results support the notion that emotional arousal influences the P300 in the CIT paradigm.

Excitation Transfer via Instant Replay in the Microstructure of Broadcast Sport

Although a variety of tools are employed to package sport for at-home consumption, instant replay is among the most ubiquitous. Excitation transfer theory has been a useful lens for explaining how emotion compounds during sport consumption, but research has failed to explore how instant replay can serve to facilitate the transfer of arousal between sequential events in televised sport. This experiment invokes excitation transfer to examine how both the nature of content and instant replay can facilitate sustained arousal and enhanced evaluations of events in the context of college football. Results suggest the superiority of game content to facilitate excitation transfer, both in terms of objective measures of emotion and self-reported enjoyment. The production feature examined here, instant replay, yielded mixed results. Although it failed to consistently impact objective physiological measures of emotion, it did elicit enhanced enjoyment when the content being represented was intrinsically exciting.

The effect of stress on customer perception of the frontline employee: an experimental study

This article examines positive effects of customer stress drawn upon the theory of excitation transfer. Contrary to previous marketing and management literature, the present study focuses on positive outcomes of stress based on a study by Dutton and Aron (J Pers Soc Psychol 30(4):510–517, 1974), who found increasing interpersonal attraction in stressful situations in a private context. The present study examines whether these findings can be applied to a service context and how interpersonal liking affects customer’s employee perception and customer-related responses. An experimental laboratory study (N = 104), including a service-employee interaction and a psychological stress induction (Social Evaluative Cold-Water Pressure Test [SECPT]), was conducted. Results indicate a positive effect of stress on relationship quality constructs (relationship trust, commitment, satisfaction, and relationship investment) and partially on behavioral constructs, fully mediated by the customer’s interpersonal liking of the service employee. The present research contributes to marketing and management literature in two ways: it highlights (a) the importance of context and emotion for the perception of the employee, and (b) the relevance of interpersonal liking of the service employee for the long-term customer relationship.

When the Heat Is On: The Effect of Temperature on Voter Behavior in Presidential Elections.

Hot temperatures lead to heightened arousal. According to excitation transfer theory, arousal can increase both antisocial and prosocial behavior, depending on the context. Although many studies have shown that hot temperatures can increase antisocial behavior, very few studies have investigated the relationship between temperature and prosocial behavior. One important prosocial behavior is voting. We analyzed state-level data from the United States presidential elections (N = 761). Consistent with excitation transfer theory, which proposes that heat-induced arousal can transfer to other activities and strengthen those activities, changes in temperature and voter turnout were positively related. Moreover, a positive change in temperature was related to a positive change in votes for the incumbent party. These findings add to the literature on the importance of non-ideological and non-rational factors that influence voting behavior.

Spoiler Alert

As suggested by the common phrase “spoiler alert!” many people avoid spoilers for narrative entertainment. However, recent research has found that exposure to spoilers may actually enhance enjoyment. The present study sought to replicate and extend those findings with a multidimensional approach to enjoyment and by examining choice of spoiled versus unspoiled narratives. Comprehension theories suggest that spoilers should improve media appreciation, whereas excitation-transfer theory suggests that spoilers harm arousal and suspense. Additionally, media users’ conventionally held beliefs imply that respondents should choose unspoiled stories. A within-subjects experiment ( N = 412) tested these hypotheses. As expected, unspoiled stories were more fun and suspenseful. Surprisingly, unspoiled stories were also more moving and enjoyable in general. No effect of media choice emerged.

Erotica Viewing Effects on Intimate Relationships and Self/Partner Evaluations

Viewing visual sexual stimuli (VSS) has been documented to have both positive (e.g., increased sexual arousal and sexual behaviors) and negative (e.g., higher anxiety, devaluing of partner attractiveness) effects. Excitation transfer and social comparison theories were used to generate hypotheses that could explain these mixed findings. Forty-four monogamous, heterosexual couples viewed erotic, exciting (non-erotic films), and nature films both alone and together. They rated their feelings of general arousal and relationship satisfaction as well as perceptions of self and partner sexual behaviors and attractiveness. Participants viewing both the erotic and exciting films reported equivalent increases in excitement; however, the erotic film was rated as slightly more generally arousing and increased participant's desire to be close to their partner. Viewing the erotic films also induced greater reports of negative affect, guilt, and anxiety. These findings moderately support a transfer of excitation interpretation. No effects of partner presence or absence while viewing the films was found. Viewing erotic films led to more positive evaluations of one's own sexual behaviors. These findings provide mixed support in regard to self and partner social comparisons. Co-occurring positive and negative emotional reactions were explored as possible explanation to the complex reactions to VSS.

Constrained dynamics of excitation transfer due to a structured nano system

Optical near-field phenomena observed in nanoscale systems were recently proposed to be applied to nanofabrication and nanophotonic devices. One of the elementary near-field processes is excitation transfer that originates from near-field photons localized in nanoscale space, which are different from propagating far-field photons. In recent experiments, excitation transfer has been controlled by semiconductor nanostructures under external fields. In this paper, we present a full-quantum-mechanical theory of near-field excitation transfer, and clarify the mechanism of effective interaction between matter and near-field photons.

Excitation Transfer Effects Between Semantically Related and Temporally Adjacent Stimuli

Although excitation transfer theory has been supported in numerous contexts, questions remain regarding transfer of arousal between events that are semantically and temporally related. This article summarizes two studies exploring excitation transfer between such events: sequential plays from a college football game. Study 1 failed to support the theory, instead suggesting contrast effects between stimuli. A follow-up study, which altered the method and incorporated psychophysiological measures, demonstrated that arousal may transfer between semantically related, temporally adjacent events. We suggest implications for the theory vis-à-vis misattribution of arousal, as well as opportunities to expand the application of excitation transfer.

Excitation transfer induced spectral diffusion and the influence of structural spectral diffusion

The theory of vibrational excitation transfer, which causes spectral diffusion and is also influenced by structural spectral diffusion, is developed and applied to systems consisting of vibrational chromophores. Excitation transfer induced spectral diffusion is the time-dependent change in vibrational frequency induced by an excitation on an initially excited molecule jumping to other molecules that have different vibrational frequencies within the inhomogeneously broadened vibrational absorption line. The excitation transfer process is modeled as Förster resonant transfer, which depends on the overlap of the homogeneous spectra of the donating and accepting vibrational chromophores. Because the absorption line is inhomogeneously broadened, two molecules in close proximity can have overlaps of their homogeneous lines that range from substantial to very little. In the absence of structural dynamics, the overlap of the homogeneous lines of the donating and accepting vibrational chromophores would be fixed. However, dynamics of the medium that contains the vibrational chromophores, e.g., a liquid solvent or a surrounding protein, produce spectral diffusion. Spectral diffusion causes the position of a molecule's homogeneous line within the inhomogeneous spectrum to change with time. Therefore, the overlap of donating and accepting molecules' homogeneous lines is time dependent, which must be taken into account in the excitation transfer theory. The excitation transfer problem is solved for inhomogeneous lines with fluctuating homogeneous line frequencies. The method allows the simultaneous treatment of both excitation transfer induced spectral diffusion and structural fluctuation induced spectral diffusion. It is found that the excitation transfer process is enhanced by the stochastic fluctuations in frequencies. It is shown how a measurement of spectral diffusion can be separated into the two types of spectral diffusion, which permits the structural spectral diffusion to be determined in the presence of excitation transfer spectral diffusion. Various approximations and computational methodologies are explored.

Sensory realism and mediated aggression in video games

This study investigated whether sensory realism cues in violent games – blood color (red vs. blue), screams of pain (on vs. off), and player perspective (first-person vs. third-person) – affect players’ physiological arousal (i.e., skin conductance levels), spatial presence (i.e., sense of being physically “there”), and state aggression in a popular violent game (Half-Life 2), controlling for users’ prior game experiences. A path model (N=160) was examined to see the mediation effects of arousal and presence between realism cues and state aggression. In line with the general aggression model, results showed that realistic blood color and screams increased arousal, but no effect was found for first-person perspective. Presence significantly affected users’ state aggression. However, contrary to our expectation based on the excitation transfer theory, arousal did not show any significant effect on aggression. In addition, presence mediated the influence of realistic blood color on state aggression. In the effects of graphic realism of violence on user aggression, presence did a crucial role. Implications and future studies were discussed.

Reconceptualizing Excitation Transfer as Motivational Activation Changes and a Test of the Television Program Context Effects

This study theorizes that activation and decay of dual motivational systems function as the mechanisms underlying excitation transfer theory. Following this reconceptualization, a physiological experiment simultaneously examines the influence of program valence and arousing content on subsequent ads. As predicted, sympathetic arousal (indicated by skin conductance) was greater during ads following arousing compared to calm programs, and in both conditions, it decreased across ad blocks. Cognitive effort was higher (indicated by slower heart rate) during ads following the positive arousing program and was lower (indicated by faster heart rate) following the negative arousing program. The recognition and free recall data generally support the prediction that, immediately following the program, they would be at the levels predicted by the motivational activation elicited by the program context.

The Impact of Subjective Camera in Sports on Arousal and Enjoyment

Although scholars have generated much research examining enjoyment of mediated sports, much of it has failed to explore how visual production elements shape viewer response. This study examines the impact of one increasingly common technique, subjective camera, on viewer arousal and enjoyment of game play. Participants viewed multiple plays from a college football game that varied in excitatory potential as well as viewing angle. Game play viewed via subjective camera elicited a greater sense of presence in the mediated environment and elicited more frequent arousal responses compared to traditional sideline perspectives of game play. However, the impact of viewing angle on enjoyment as well as self-reported arousal was dependent upon the exciting or dull nature of game play. Invoking the dynamics of excitation transfer theory, we discuss the potential explanations for this relationship as well as its implications for sports broadcasters.

Förster’s resonance excitation transfer theory: not just a formula

After 65 years of increasing scrutiny and application, Theodor Förster's treatment of resonance excitation transfer is widely quoted and has acquired the acronym FRET, in which "F" originally and rather curiously stood for "fluorescence." In this brief and mostly qualitative survey, we review some of its history, mention its important limitations, and relate some personal encounters with Förster.