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Do tv commercials make you happier? (it has turned out that sitting…
Do tv commercials make you happier?
it has turned out that sitting through those 30-second spots may make you happier than you think
studies have shown that commercial interruptions often enhance enjoyment of television, at least for younger viewers
BUT how can brain-shearing jingles, annoying announcers and awful acting possibly make us happier?
it all boils down to a behavioral trait called adaptation
adaption predicts that even positive experiences become less enjoyable over time
prior studies have shown that the longer people live in an enjoyable place, consume their favorite ice cream or listen to their favorite song, the more the intensity of their happiness declines
(one study concluded that even after people win the lottery, their happiness returns to prior levels of a few months after cashing in the ticket)
the longer viewers continuously consume a television program, the less intensely they enjoy the experience
if a person is f.ex. euphoric that her favorite show is on, it is certain that the euphoria has worn off after 5 minutes watching it
So what can help people to get the euphoria back?
an annoying set of commercials, because if we are often at the end of one's rope and when our show is back on, we're ecstatic once again
a study has shown that people, who were watching a show with interruptions, reported higher satisfaction levels than did those who saw it without advertisements
people enjoy a show more when there are interruptions
the results held true whether the commercials were humorous (an ad with fighting clowns) or annoying (spots for fitness companies)
study with people from 18 to 67 years
those over the sample's median age of 35 preferred programs without commercials
subjects under 35 liked the breaks
WHY?
since younger viewer get bored more easily, they might desire more novelty, in this case, an ad in the middle of a program, than older viewers do
when viewers watch shows with a strong narrative plot, commercials could dampen (niderdrücken) the experience
study in which viewers were shown 2 different Bollywood musicals (1 with a strong plot, high stimulus, the other: weak plot, low stimulus)
when viewers were watching the more dramatic clip, 2 commercial breaks had no real effect on their experience
for those who saw the low-octane video, the commercial breaks significantly enhanced their experience
the longer the clip ran without a real, the more bored those viewers became
studies : some were watching a four-minute clip of an animated sword fight between 2 pirate characters and a three-minute nature video about ducks, in both cases they enjoyed the commercial breaks and even those who saw commercials were willing to pay more money for a DVD compilation of 15 shorts by the director of the pirate video and to donate more funds to wild-duck preservation, the results held true wether the commercials were humorous/annoying
study: Enhancing Television-Viewing Experience Through Commercial Interruptions
even if a commercial break can increase a viewer's intensity after the break, this doesn't mean that it is able to increase the overall experience
(it doesn't mean that commercial breaks are going to lead people to keep commercials in their life)
the strong feeling people have against commercials is truly ubiquitous(universell) It swamps everything