Seeing Without Looking: The Effects of Hemispheric Functioning on Memory for Brands in Computer Games

• Published in: Journal of advertising Vol. 42; no. 2-3; pp. 131 - 141
• Main Authors: Yoon, Gunwoo, Vargas, Patrick T.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Abingdon Taylor & Francis Group 01.04.2013; Taylor & Francis Group, LLC; Taylor & Francis; Taylor & Francis Group LLC; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Advertising; Brain research; Brand identification; Brand names; Brands; Computer & video games; Effectiveness; Evaluation; Experimental methods; Experiments; Eye movements; Games; Human behaviour; Information processing; Memory; Online advertising; Physiology; Psychological aspects; Recognition (Psychology); Social networks; Studies; U.S.A; Video game advertising; United States; United States > US
• ISSN: 0091-3367; 1557-7805
• DOI: 10.1080/00913367.2013.774587

The authors hypothesize that the effectiveness of in-game advertising is influenced by two inborn traits, bisected hemispheric functioning and physiological arousal, that are at the core of human behavior. A 2 (preattentive processing type) × 2 (arousal level) between-subjects design was employed in both Experiment 1 (well-known brand placement) and Experiment 2 (lesser-known brand placement). The results from the two experiments reveal that people show better recognition memory for in-game ads when brand names are presented peripherally in the right visual field and brand images are embedded peripherally in the left visual field. In addition, people can remember more brand ads when they experience less arousal (Experiment 1). This effect, however, is attenuated when unfamiliar brands are placed in the game (Experiment 2). Implications are discussed for further investigation.