What Does Curiosity Really Do to the Cat? A Look at How Message Exposure Can Lead to Illicit Drug Trial Among College Students

Abstract

This study examines how exposure to media messages about drugs leads to curiosity about illicit drugs, which, in turn, can lead to illicit drug trial among interested college students. The Model of Product Curiosity (MPC; Smith & Swinyard, 1988) was used to predict the effects of exposure to drug messages on intention to try a "new" illegal drug. An experiment was performed with 172 undergraduate students to determine whether awareness, interest, and product curiosity affected intention to try a fictitious drug, MCA. Students were asked to listen to 1 of 4 radio segments with drug messages embedded in them. The results suggest that among students predisposed to try illicit drugs, repeated exposure to drug messages heightens awareness, interest, and curiosity about drugs, which, in turn, leads to an intention to try new drugs.