ABSTRACT
The theme of this book, blurring the lines of media, is significantly large to span such topics as product placement within various media forms (e.g., television, movies, videogames) and genre (e.g., drama, sports), the impact of media-based product exposure on different audience segments (e.g., age, gender, ethnicity), media cultivation of personal values and self-image, and individual difference and situational factors posited to moderate these media-related effects. It naturally follows that nearly all of the phenomena explored in these chapters reflect two forms of stimulus processing: apparent or subliminal (see Erdelyi & Zizak, this volume).Apparent processing is themental processing that occurs at the conscious level, whereas subliminal processing denotes themental processes that occur at the subconscious or preconscious level (e.g., seeBargh, 2002). Butwhat happenswhen no processing occurs as a result of simply not exposing oneself to a stimulus, or whenminimal processing occurs as a result of a conscious or subconscious choice?
