Getting children to cut back on sugar-sweetened beverages like soda and energy drinks has been the goal of anti-obesity public service advertisements. A new study evaluates the effectiveness of persuasive techniques -- humor, fear and nurturance -- used in those PSAs.
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Annenberg Group Releases Recommendations for Presidential Debates
The Annenberg Working Group on Presidential Campaign Debate Reform – a bipartisan group of top officials from past presidential campaigns – released its recommendations to help democratize the presidential general election debate process ahead of the 2016 presidential election.
Democratizing The Debates
Explore ways to increase the value and viewership of presidential general election debates while taking into account how the electoral environment has changed over time.
Fear-Based Ads Help to Convince Teens to Cut Back on Sugary Drinks
A new study of public service advertisements (PSAs) to address obesity finds that appealing to fear – and the health consequences of too much sugar, such as diabetes and heart disease – had the greatest effect on teens’ intention to cut back on sugary beverages like soda and energy drinks.
Rendell Center and APPC to Collaborate on Civic Education
The Rendell Center for Civics and Civic Engagement celebrated its relocation to the Annenberg Public Policy Center on May 4, in events that showcased their joint interest in civic education and judicial independence. The Rendell Center also sponsored a youth mayoral forum where 4th and 5th graders could question Philadelphia's mayoral candidates.
Kathleen Hall Jamieson: Communicating the Value and Values of Science
Annenberg Public Policy Center director Kathleen Hall Jamieson delivered the David Lecture on "Communicating the Value and Values of Science" before the National Academy of Sciences, looking at successes and failure in science communication in areas such as climate change, vaccines and GMOs.
Using Psychological Theory to Predict Voting Intentions
It’s known that Republican voters usually vote for Republican candidates, and Democrats vote for Democrats. Likewise, people who identify with the Tea Party often vote for Tea Party-backed candidates. But why do they vote that way? What is the psychological basis of their political preferences?
Reducing Nighttime Viewing a Promising Way to Curb Children’s TV Diet
Excessive television viewing has been linked to childhood obesity, behavioral and attention issues, reading problems and poor educational achievement. A study suggests that one promising approach for parents to curb kids' excess viewing is to focus on curtailing TV time right before bed.
Leonore Annenberg Funds Award Five Artists Fellowships, Nine Schools Grants
Five emerging artists have been named 2015 fellows by the Leonore Annenberg Fellowship Fund for the Performing and Visual Arts, which awards $50,000 a year for up to two years to artists who have demonstrated great talent and are on the cusp of a professional breakthrough.
Parents Need to Know That Sports and Energy Drinks Are Not Healthy for Kids
Although many public service announcements (PSAs) about sugar-sweetened beverages emphasize that the drinks are high in sugar and calories, most parents already know that, so PSAs that take this approach to curtailing consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages are likely to be ineffective, a study of Philadelphia parents has found.