Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 24, 2026

Assessing the Effects of Music Listening on Psychobiological Stress in Daily Life
Published on: February 2, 2017
Delivering health information via podcast or web: media effects on psychosocial and physiological responses
Gabrielle Turner-McGrievy1, Sri Kalyanaraman, Marci K Campbell
1Department of Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior, University of South Carolina, SC 29208, USA. brie@sc.edu
Abstract:
This study explored differences in psychosocial and physiological variables in response to being presented with information on weight loss through either reading text on a website or listening to the same information via podcast. Participants were randomized to receive a weight loss website (n = 20) or podcast (n = 20). Participants had skin conductance levels measured and completed questionnaire items assessing demographic characteristics, user control, novelty, and knowledge. Participants in the podcast group exhibited greater levels of physiological arousal and reported the intervention to be more novel than those in the Web group; however, the Web group reported greater user control. There was no difference in knowledge between the groups. This study presents the first step in examining the role that novelty and user control may play in two different weight-loss electronic media, as well as differences in knowledge acquisition. Future research should explore adding additional media features, such as video content, to the podcasts and websites in order to optimize fully the different mediums and to examine whether user control and novelty are potential mediators of weight loss outcomes.
Related Concept Videos
Psychoneuroimmunology: Cardiovascular Disease
A key area of focus in PNI is the relationship between stress and coronary...
Stress Prevention and Stress Management Techniques VI
Motivation and Self-Determination
Motivation, the driving force behind behavior, plays a pivotal role at every stage of the change process. The research...
The Placebo Effect
Models of Health Promotion and Illness Prevention II
The agent-host-environment model states that disease results from...
Factors Affecting Illness
For instance, risk factors are connected to illness, disability,...
Impression Management Techniques IV: Altercasting
