Efficiently and Effectively Evaluating Public Service Announcements: Additional Evidence for the Utility of Perceived Effectiveness

Recent research has made significant progress identifying measures of the perceived effectiveness (PE) of persuasive messages and providing evidence of a causal link from PE to actual effectiveness (AE). This article provides additional evidence of the utility of PE through unique analysis and consideration of another dimension of PE important to understanding the PEAE association. Current smokers (N=1,139) watched four randomly selected antismoking Public Service Announcements (PSAs). PE scores aggregated by message were used instead of individual PE scores to create a summed total, minimizing the likelihood that PE perceptions are consequences of an individual's intention to quit, supporting instead the PE AE order. Linear regression analyses provide evidence of PE's positive and significant influence on smoking-cessation-related behavioral intentions.