Cognitive and Emotional Impact of Environmental Media Texts on Youth: A Neuromarketing Study

The results of a neuromarketing study of the mental states of the media audience are presented. The aim is to identify the basic emotions of young people in the process of consuming media texts on ecology. The study applied the main principles of cognitive and constructivist approaches, which made it possible to record and compare both conscious and unconscious (cognitive and emotional) reactions. The authors worked with texts on ecology (122 units) from 25 mass media and 14 social media outlets in the cities of the Chelyabinsk and Sverdlovsk regions. The respondents (300 people) were representatives of the age groups from 18 to 30 years old. The analysis showed that the subjects’ greatest attention was focused on the effects of environmental pollution on fl and fauna, and the negative impact of waste on the environment. The results of the theoretical and empirical study of the topic in accordance with the developed eye tracking methodology are presented for the fi time, data on the concentration of respondents’ attention on media content on environmental issues (cognitive aspect), as well as on the predominance of negative basic emotions (fear - 60%, sadness - 37%) after contact with information are systematized. The data obtained is in demand in media practice to improve the mechanisms of social interaction, increase the effectiveness of communications and develop eco content.