Information processing of audiences exposed to public service advertising messages for Special Olympics

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the cognitive processes that the study subjects experienced when exposed to different types of public service advertisements about Special Olympics. Design/methodology/approach – A total of 529 cognitive responses from 141 college students were analyzed using the content analysis method. Findings – The results of the frequency count of cognitive responses indicated that low-empathy (LE) subjects engaged in extensive cognitive efforts to process the information as much as high-empathy (HE) subjects. Additionally, the content analysis of the qualitative data showed that the two most frequently cited categories of positive thoughts for HE subjects were good cause/importance of Special Olympics and positive feeling related to volunteering for Special Olympics. For LE subjects, the most frequently identified category in positive thoughts was altruist/moral responsibility, followed by volunteer intention and positive feeling related to volunteering for Special Olympics. Originality/value – The paper provides valuable information on cognitive responses to public service advertising messages.