Targeted Audiences in Anti-Drug Ads: Message Cues,Perceived Exposure,Perceived Effects,and Support for Funding

Perceived exposure has been offered as the main factor in how people estimate the effects of media messages on others, but a recent study found this did not hold for two prosocial messages. This study (N = 160) shows that demographic cues in anti-drug messages may communicate who the intended targets are, thus influencing perceived exposure and perceived effects for different age, gender, and racial groups. In turn, perceived effects on the self and others predict support for funding anti-drug campaigns. The possible impact of perceived similarity between a group and the “implied audience” on perceived effects is discussed.