Flemington, NJ, May 5, 2008 – Results from a new national study among 50 men and 50 woman randomly selected from Mediacurves.com voter panel revealed that a new advertisement produced by Amnesty International moderately increased opposition to the use of waterboarding as an interrogation tool as well as increased the belief that the interrogation tool is torture.
The communications research study was conducted Friday May 2, by HCD Research and the Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion to obtain Americans’ perceptions of a new Amnesty International Advertisement focusing on waterboarding.
While viewing the ad, participants indicated their positive and negative levels by moving their mouse from left to right on a continuum. The responses were recorded in quarter-second intervals and reported in the form of curves. The participants’ emotions were measured using the Ayer Emotion Battery. Participants were also asked pre- and post-viewing questions. To view positive and negative curves, go to: www.mediacurves.com.
Among the study findings:
Pre Viewing of Ad
| Do you think that waterboarding should be an interrogation tool available to US military and government interrogators? | |||
|
|
Total |
Male |
Female |
|
1- Yes |
43.00% (43) |
54.00% (27) |
32.00% (16) |
|
2- No |
57.00% (57) |
46.00% (23) |
68.00% (34 |
Post Viewing of Ad
| Do you think that waterboarding should be an interrogation tool available to US military and government interrogators? | |||
|
|
Total |
Male |
Female |
|
1- Yes |
36.00% (36) |
46.00% (23) |
26.00% (13) |
|
2- No |
64.00% (64) |
54.00% (27) |
74.00% (37) |
Pre Viewing of Ad
| Do you believe waterboarding is torture? | |||
|
|
Total |
Male |
Female |
|
1- Yes |
66.00% (66) |
66.00% (33) |
66.00% (33) |
|
2- No |
34.00% (34) |
34.00% (17) |
34.00% (17) |
Post Viewing of Ad
| Do you believe waterboarding is torture? | |||
|
|
Total |
Male |
Female |
|
1- Yes |
87.00% (87) |
88.00% (44) |
86.00% (43) |
|
2- No |
13.00% (13) |
12.00% (6) |
14.00% (7) |
Ayer Emotional Battery
Please select the emotion you felt most strongly while watching the video. |
|||
|
|
Total |
Male |
Female |
|
1- Attentive |
14.00% (14) |
14.00% (7) |
14.00% (7) |
|
2- Excited |
1.00% (1) |
2.00% (1) |
0.00% (0) |
|
3- Hopeful |
1.00% (1) |
0.00% (0) |
2.00% (1) |
|
4- Benefited |
1.00% (1) |
2.00% (1) |
0.00% (0) |
|
5- Affectionate |
0.00% (0) |
0.00% (0) |
0.00% (0) |
|
6- Confident |
1.00% (1) |
2.00% (1) |
0.00% (0) |
|
7- Sad |
24.00% (24) |
26.00% (13) |
22.00% (11) |
|
8- Tense |
31.00% (31) |
28.00% (14) |
34.00% (17) |
|
9- Embarrassed |
3.00% (3) |
4.00% (2) |
2.00% (1) |
|
10- Skeptical |
3.00% (3) |
6.00% (3) |
0.00% (0) |
|
11- Confused |
3.00% (3) |
0.00% (0) |
6.00% (3) |
|
12- Irritated |
18.00% (18) |
16.00% (8) |
20.00% (10) |
The Media Curves web site provides the media and general public with a venue to view Americans’ perceptions of popular and controversial media events and advertisements.
Editors/Reporters: For more information on the study, or to speak with Glenn Kessler, president and CEO, HCD Research or Chris Borick, Ph.D., director of the Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion, please contact Vince McGourty, HCD Research, at (908) 483-9121 or (vince.mcgourty@hcdi.net).
HCD Research is a communications research company headquartered in Flemington, NJ. The company's services include traditional and web-based marketing and communications research. For additional information on HCD Research, access the company’s web site at www.hcdi.net or call HCD Research at 908-788-9393. Headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania, MCIPO is a respected source of public opinion data on local, state and national issues. . For additional information on Muhlenberg College, go to www.muhlenberg.edu.
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