Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39671807›Full record

Trial reportAddictive behaviors2025

Effects of narrative versus non-narrative pictorial warning labels on visual attention and alcohol-related cancer risk perceptions: An eye-tracking study.

Zexin Ma, Joshua Haworth, Jun Hu

Abstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in Addictive behaviors, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Trial
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Zexin MaDepartment of Communication, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, United States. Electronic address: zexin.ma@uconn.edu.
Joshua HaworthDepartment of Human Movement Science, Oakland University, Rochester, MI, United States.
Jun HuDepartment of Mathematics and Statistics, Oakland University, Rochester, MI, United States.

Funding

Communicating Cancer Risk of Alcohol: Impact of Narrative Pictorial Warning LabelsR03CA273391 · NCI · UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT STORRS · PI MA, ZEXIN · 2022 to 2023
$160k
NCI NIH HHS R03 CA273391
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundAlcohol use is a preventable risk factor for cancer, but public awareness remains low. A promising approach to raising awareness is to include pictorial warning labels (PWLs) on alcohol-containing products, but the typical graphic images used in such warnings can cause inattention. This study investigated whether narrative PWLs (depicting the lived experiences) could lead to greater attention and higher risk perceptions than graphic, non-narrative PWLs (showing graphic health effects).

methodsModerate and heavy drinkers participated in an online, webcam-based eye-tracking experiment (N = 649). They were randomized to view an order-randomized stimulus set containing either three narrative PWLs or three non-narrative PWLs. Visual attention was assessed by metrics of participant eye movements, including the visit count and dwell time to separate image and text area of interest (AOI) while viewing each PWL. Risk perceptions were assessed by participant responses to questions presented after viewing all PWLs.

resultsParticipants paid more attention to the image than the text AOI on both metrics (p's < 0.05). They also spent more time viewing narrative versus non-narrative PWLs (p's < 0.05). However, PWL type had no significant effect on risk perceptions (p's > 0.1), and visual attention did not mediate this relationship.

conclusionsOur findings highlight the potential of narrative PWLs to visually engage alcohol consumers' attention. Further research is needed to understand why narrative PWLs do not outperform non-narrative PWLs in shaping risk perceptions either directly or through attention, the proposed mediator.

Indexed as

Alcohol DrinkingAlcoholic BeveragesAttentionNarrationNeoplasmsProduct LabelingVisual PerceptionAdultEye MovementsEye-Tracking TechnologyFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedYoung AdultAlcohol consumptionCancerEye-trackingHealth communicationPictorial warning labels

Identifiers

PMID39671807
PMCPMC11725444

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.