Limited Capacity Model of Motivated Mediated Message Processing – LC4MP Based on the premise that people being information processors and their ability to

process information being limited (Basil, 1994; Bower, 2000; Chandler & Sweller, 1991), the theory of LC4MP (Lang, 2000; Lang, Shin, & Lee, 2005) was developed.

This theory mainly rested on the information-processing paradigm and had five major assumptions: 1) Humans are limited capacity processors and the limited cognitive resources they have to be divided among many processings in their everyday life (regarding cognition). 2) There are two underlying motivational systems called appetitive, where people are motivated to approach, and aversive, where they are motivated to avoid (Lang, 1995). Both of these sub systems would influence the way cognitive resources are allocated (regarding the motivational system). 3) People are multi-sensory organisms having multi-sensory channels and corresponding formats for

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processing (regarding channel). 4) Human cognition does not remain constant over the time that it is subject to change constantly. Hence, it is considered that human cognition is a dynamic process (regarding time). 5) Communication is a result of continuous interaction between human motivational systems and the communication message. It acts in a reciprocal manner in which the nature of motivation influences the way information is processed and the nature of information determines which motivation system is to be triggered (regarding communication: Lang, 2006).

Accordingly, information processing is determined by three sub-processors and two mechanisms, which occur constantly, simultaneously, and continuously (Lang, 2000, 2006). These sub-processors include (1) encoding, (2) storage, and (3) retrieval; and the mechanisms include (1) orienting response, which is reflexive in nature, and (2) resource allocation. Her model gave special emphasis to TV commercials and noted that message processing depends on the recipient’s allocating resources to process the message and the actual availability of resources. In cases where resources are under allocated or over demanded, it will undermine message processing. Further, the model also acknowledges the simultaneous occurrence of these sub processors in the limited and perhaps fixed pool of cognitive resources (Lang, 2000).

Drawing from models of memory behaviours, LC4MP suggests the existence of competition for resources between encoding and storage, and recognition as well as recall measures are used as the indicators of these sub-processors respectively.

Encoding is the process of extracting information from the environment and creating mental representations (Lang, 2000, 2006). This processes does not create verbatim the contents of a message but rather a meaning considered important will be extracted (Lang, 2006). Any information that is not encoded will be lost but every encoded-information is not guaranteed to be stored (Atkinson & Shiffrin, 1968; S. C. Brown &

Craik, 2000; Lang, 2000).

More resources will be allocated for encoding (in this case it is from the stream of audio) over storage especially as a result of orienting responses and thereby affecting memory. She pointed out that various structural properties like music, animation and pacing of an advert trigger orienting responses. This may be the reason for attention gaining incongruent music impairing memory (Kellaris et al., 1993), where orienting

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response might have allocated more resources for encoding music-related information neglecting the message-related encoding. Similarly, background silence in advertisements in a musical programme and background music in a talk programme improving memory (Sharma, 2011) can also be related to the reverse effect of the same.

Unrelated to the music in advertising research, a number of other research also support this notion (e.g. Bolls, Muehling, & Yoon, 2003; Diao & Sundar, 2004; Lang et al., 1999).

Storage is “the process of linking newly encoded information to previously encoded information (or memories)” (Lang, 2000, p. 50). Accordingly, the more thinking is involved in the message, the more associations get created and the better storage it results in (J. R. Anderson, 2000).Thus, it is in line with the associative network theory that conceptualises human memory as a set of interconnected nodes. The number of connections and strength of associations determine how well such a node gets activated and hence the retrieval, as a response to a given stimulus (e.g. J. R. Anderson, 1996a).

Some findings of neuropsychological research also support this conceptualisation (e.g.

McClelland, McNaughton, & O'Reilly, 1995). Further, it is also clear that when music is congruent with a context, such as congruent imagery with the product(e.g. Kellaris et al., 1993; North, Mackenzie, et al., 2004) or brand-music congruence (e.g. Apaolaza-Ibáñez et al., 2010; Yeoh & North, 2011), the resultant memory is improved. This may be because the number and strength of associations created with the congruent music is higher with music activated nodes in a congruent condition than it is with an incongruent condition.

Nonetheless, according to LC4MP, the sub processors will compete for resources with one another and depending on the characteristics of the message and the motivational process that would be in place at the time of listening to a commercial, they will determine which sub process gets more resources over the other. Hence, the results vary accordingly (Lang, 2000, 2006). For instance, if the goal is to remember as much information as possible (e.g. watching an education programme) then the storage sub-processors will get more resources allocated thus weakening encoding. Based on its assumption of limited cognitive capacity, over demanding of resources will result in cognitive-overload.

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Resource allocation in between processors is purely theoretical and “it cannot be pointed to in the human brain” (Lang, 2000, p. 55). Thus, the objective measurements mentioned earlier are considered to measure the cognitive load. However, in contrast to the commonly used secondary task to incapacitate the participants, the model proposed that the reaction time for the secondary task must be considered in determining the available resources. The rationale is that the delayed reaction is reflected in the scarcity level of resources.

The use of this model is evident in advertising literature. For instance, Sundar and Kalyanaraman (2004) tested the animation speed and memory in a web advertising context and found that recall was higher with slow animation ads when the page followed fast animation, while recognition differences remained insignificant. This suggests that the recovery from overload will make the resources available for storage.

Additionally, higher recall and recognition scores for focal brand than secondary peripheral placement (placing in the side) were found in a study that investigated brand placement in games (M. Lee & Faber, 2007). In spite of the recall scores of inexperienced players being low even for the peripheral brand placements, recall for the focal brand also disappeared from highly involved experienced players. These findings particularly imply that the demand for cognitive resources for the primary task got priority for available resources over the secondary task processing (in this case they were brands). Additionally, negative valance of a message was also found to trigger more attention-related information processing (e.g. Bolls, Lang, & Potter, 2001) while a high level of syntactic complexity would result in cognitive overload (e.g. Bradley &

Meeds, 2002).