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Abstract This investigation examined how exposure to a humorous persuasive message affects antecedents of presence (i.e., the sensation of being "in" a mediated environment) facilitating message recall. Participants in an experimental study viewed either a humorous or non-humorous version of an alcohol public service announcement and then completed measures of positive emotion, perceived credibility, psychological reactance, presence, and message recall. As predicted, positive emotion was related to an increase in perceived credibility and a decrease in reactance. Increased perceived credibility was associated with greater feelings of presence, negatively affecting recognition memory. These findings suggest that presence may sometimes impede persuasive message recall, although not necessarily to the detriment of attitude change. Keywords: Health Communication; Persuasion; Presence

Authors: Paul Skalski - Paul Skalski (PhD, Michigan State University, 2004) is an assistant professor in the School of Communication at Cleveland State University.a; Ron Tamborini - Ron Tamborini (PhD, Indiana University, 1983) is a professor in the Department of Communication at Michigan State University.b; Ed Glazer - Ed Glazer (MA, Michigan State University, 2004) is a graduate student in the Department of Communication at Michigan State University.b; Sandi Smith - Sandi Smith (PhD, University of Southern California, 1986) is a professor in the Department of Communication at Michigan State University.b Affiliations: a School of Communication, Cleveland State University, b Department of Communication, Michigan State University, DOI: 10.1080/01463370902881619 Publication Frequency: 4 issues per year Published in: journal Communication Quarterly, Volume 57, Issue 2 April 2009 , pages 136 - 153 Abstract This investigation examined how exposure to a humorous persuasive message affects antecedents of presence (i.e., the sensation of being "in" a mediated environment) facilitating message recall. Participants in an experimental study viewed either a humorous or non-humorous version of an alcohol public service announcement and then completed measures of positive emotion, perceived credibility, psychological reactance, presence, and message recall. As predicted, positive emotion was related to an increase in perceived credibility and a decrease in reactance. Increased perceived credibility was associated with greater feelings of presence, negatively affecting recognition memory. These findings suggest that presence may sometimes impede persuasive message recall, although not necessarily to the detriment of attitude change. Keywords: Health Communication; Persuasion; Presence