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THE knowledge gap hypothesis has important implications for public information campaigns. The hypothesis as originally formulated by Tichenor, et al. (1970) holds that "as the infusion of mass media information into a social system increases, segments of the population with higher socioeconomic status tend to acquire this information at a faster rate than the lower status segments, so that the gap in knowledge between these segments tends to increase rather than decrease" (p. 160). The hypothesis thus implies that projects which disseminate information through the mass media will always benefit higher SES audience segments more than lower SES segments. Such projects cannot, then, equalize the distribution of information within a social system.These implications are more clearcut than the support for the hyAbstract The evaluation of a campaign to increase cardiovascular health knowledge indicates that within the treatment community, education was a significant predictor of knowledge before the campaign but was not a significant predictor after the campaign. Two variables related to motivation to acquire information about cardiovascular health (age and perceived threat of heart attack) were not significant predictors of knowledge before the campaign but were significant predictors afterwards. These results suggest that the infusion of information into a social system via the mass media can close as well as open knowledge gaps and that motivation to acquire information in a specific knowledge domain is a factor controlling gap effects. James S.