NUTR 360 Disseminating Nutrition Information

Something I wish I was not guilty of but cannot deny that I do it sometimes: texting and driving. Whenever we hear our phone buzz or ring while driving, it is hard to not pick up the phone to see what the message says. For many people, they just want to respond right away. It does not seem like a big deal, right? You are just taking a few seconds to quickly answer a message. However, in reality it is a HUGE deal. Just a few seconds looking away from the road can be deadly. This minute long PSA is devoted to spreading awareness to the huge texting and driving problem we have today.

While watching the PSA, there was evidently a theory base that was used while creating the video. The Theory of Planned Behavior was applied throughout the entire video. The point of this video is to explain the driver’s choice to send a text while driving. This applies to the basis of the theory which is to “explain all behaviors over which people have the ability to exert self-control,” because it is clear that texting while driving is a behavior that can be self-controlled. When the video showed a pause of the both drivers getting out of the car and having a conversation, the behavior intention of the driver was pointed out. By having the conversation between the drivers, the driver stated the reason that she was texting was to let her mom know she was going to be home at a certain time. The other driver then pointed out the subjective norms by stating “her babies” were in the car, obviously pointing out that she highly disapproved of texting because if it continued, something bad could happen to her children. The perceived behavior control was exemplified by the driver that was texting because she displayed to the other driver that texting was bad but she was only halfway through the text to her mom and practically almost hitting the other car. By the time she would be finished the text, she was foreshadowing that the collision would have already happened.

This video was a good PSA that really captured what a good texting and driving public service announcement should capture. It was short but still made its intentions clear so there was no reason to change any part of the PSA. A good PSA should make the viewer want to make a change. After watching the video, it made me realize how an unimportant text message like telling your mom what time you will be home can really ruin your life forever. The video showed the two cars colliding at the end, but ended before you knew what happened to any of the people in either car. By doing this maybe it is meant to show that anything could happen if you decide to text while driving a car. Next time you decide to text and drive, consider what the consequences could be just from choosing to take your eyes off the road for a split second.

Emily Marvin

LINK TO THE VIDEO: http://www.wjbf.com/story/26253081/video-anti-texting-and-driving-psa-produced-in-the-csra-goes-viral

Sources: “The Theory of Planned Behavior.” The Theory of Planned Behavior. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Oct. 2014.

This PSA regarding smoking not only caught my attention immediately, but also had me cringing as I watched from beginning to end. This is a PSA for the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s “Tips From Former Smokers” campaign. The brief 30 second video is eye catching and gets the point across. The PSA features a former smoker named Terrie talking about how she gets ready for the day after the effects of her treatments for throat cancer caused her to lose her teeth and hair, and to have a laryngectomy. This video is extremely intense and graphic. It starts off showing a picture of Terrie before she started smoking and then immediately cuts to her present day self with no hair or teeth. This PSA caught my attention by showing a real person dealing with real effects from smoking. After seeing the type of condition that Terrie was in I was completely shocked and couldn’t look away. This public service announcement grabs your attention right away and really shows how smoking has immediate effects on your health.

The theory that relates the most to this PSA is the Theory of Planed Behavior. The four concepts in this theory are behavioral intention, attitude, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control. In this PSA the “behavioral intention” is the likelihood of people smoking. The “attitude” in this PSA is how an individual feels about smoking. Do they think it is good, neutral, or bad? This PSA did a great job of associating smoking with negative outcomes to persuade the attitudes of the viewers. The “subjective norm” in this situation would be that others may smoke to gain approval from friends or people in a social environment. If the people around them are smoking, they may feel obligated to smoke to feel more comfortable or fit in better. The “perceived behavioral control” in this case is the fact that we are able to control our behaviors and the decisions that we make. This PSA lets the viewers know that it is up to them to take control and stop smoking.

I honestly would not change much about this PSA. I think that in such a short amount of time the message is successfully delivered to the viewer. Although this PSA is not directly related to nutrition or anything I have been working on for my PSA, I was still able to gain ideas and concepts from it. In the smoking PSA, I really liked how they showed before and after images of Terrie. It really portrays the negative effects that smoking has. For my PSA, the main goal is to enhance family meals and describe the positive benefits that go along with them. Similar to the smoking PSA, I could possibly incorporate a before and after aspect into my PSA as well. Instead of showing negative outcomes, I could have someone describing the positive effects on their life after incorporating more family meals.

Kelsey Fritz

Sources:

CDC:Tips from former smokers-Terries Ad. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zWB4dLYChM. Accessed October 29, 2014.

This PSA by Active for Life uses a combination of images, colors, and audio to effectively illustrate the importance of physical activity for children. From the beginning, there is a powerful visual where the children form a pie chart to show the small percentage of children that actually receive the proper amount of exercise daily. It immediately draws in the audience, with the use of mostly gray, along with yellow accent colors to focus the attention. Throughout the video, the children use other creative visuals to demonstrate the concept of childhood obesity, the decreasing life expectancy, and an increase in physical activity.

The model that is most applicable to this PSA is the Health Belief Model. There is a lot of emphasis on the severity of the problem, the importance of this issue in our society, and a call to action among children and parents. It also makes the audience feel confident to take action, which is determined by self-efficacy.

In terms of my own PSA, something I really appreciated in this video is that it didn’t overwhelm me with images, sound, and information. This is difficult to do when only given 30 seconds to illustrate a point. There was just enough background noise to maintain the attention of the audience. The transitions between images were easy to follow, giving the audience enough time to process the ideas presented. There was not an overload of information, and it targeted both the emotional and logical aspects of physical activity among children. I hope to be able to accomplish a PSA that is as tasteful, organized, and clear as this.