Grammatical style of nutrition education messages

Nutrition education messages were written about eight different foods or food products in eight different styles. Styles were suggestions, instructions using 'should', rhetorical questions using 'how about' or 'why not', statements of fact, positive commands, positive commands followed by negative commands or vice versa. Subjects (n 160) rated messages for persuasiveness and also stated how often they already complied with each message. Scores were adjusted to remove the contributions related to sex, age group, social class, reported compliance and food about which the message had been written. The main factor influencing score for persuasiveness was the extent to which subjects claimed to be already complying with the messages. There were no significant effects of the method of construction of messages on score using one-way analysis of variance.     

How university students evaluate the grammatical style of nutrition messages?

Summary  This study was designed to investigate the response of university students to eight different types of nutritional messages, which encouraged consuming the recommended daily servings of fruit and vegetables to help reduce the risk of heart disease, cancer and obesity. The formats used included offers, obligations, rhetorical questions using 'how about' or 'why not', a suggestive statement, a positive command and a positive command followed by a negative command and vice versa. The aim of the study was to determine if various grammatical styles of the same message could affect respondents' views of their persuasiveness. A total of 1319 university students rated each message for persuasiveness. Positive commands using 'could', instructions which incorporated 'should' and rhetorical question using 'how about' were considered to be more persuasive than the other styles of nutrition messages ( P  < 0.01).     

The structure and content of nutrition education messages

The study was designed to investigate the response of people to nutritional messages written in different ways. For Experiment 1, positive and negative statements were constructed in which people were encouraged to «eat>> or «avoid>>, with implicit or unstated alternative, or to «eat and avoid>> or «avoid and eat>>. In total there were 64 statements; each was followed by a brief reason for the action and this was constant for each food. To avoid bias and ensure that the eight foods appeared on each questionnaire in a different order every time, the messages were set out in a Graeco-Latin square. Subjects were asked to rate the messages on a scale (1–7) for whether they were «reasonable>>, «practical>> and «compelling>>. Additionally, for each message subjects were asked whether they already perform what is described in the message. The type of message construction appeared to be most important for the word «compelling>>. It appeared that messages with a single element (whether positive or negative) were less «compelling>> than those with two elements (positive and negative). For Experiment 2, 64 messages were written in which the first part was written as a command with a negative aspect followed by a positive one («avoid and eat>>). The reason given in support was classified in four ways and written in lay terms or using more technical words. It was concluded that messages including medical terms were most «compelling>> and that all messages were reduced in score when incorporating «technical>> terms.     

Persuasiveness of nutritional messages

Mothers in a shopping centre were asked to rank messages for persuasiveness. The messages chosen concerned the fat in chips, salt in soups, sugar in soft drinks and dietary fibre in bread. They were written in a combination of styles, for example, a technical statement that was positive and guilt-evoking or a non-technical statement that was negative and non-guilt-evoking. There were eight messages for each food, arranged in a Latin square, to avoid bias. It was concluded that the percBived persuasiveness was enhanced by positive, and reduced by, technical language. The use of guilt-evoking ideas regarding mothers responsibility to family health did not influence the overall persuasiveness of the messages.     

Exploring purpose‐designed audio‐visual falls prevention messages on older people's capability and motivation to prevent falls

The number of falls and fall‐associated injury rates among older people continues to rise worldwide. Increased efforts to influence older people's falls prevention behaviour are needed. A two‐phase exploratory community‐based participatory study was conducted in Western Australia. First, three prototype audio‐visual (AV) falls prevention messages were designed collaboratively with six older people. Second, the messages’ effect on community‐dwelling older people's knowledge, awareness and motivation to take action regarding falls prevention was explored using focus groups. Data were analysed using thematic analysis to explore participants’ responses to the messages. The participants’ (n = 54) perspectives on the AV messages varied widely and stereotypes of ageing appeared to influence these. The presented falls facts (including falls epidemiology statistics) increased some participants’ falls risk awareness and falls prevention knowledge. Other participants felt ready‐to‐use falls prevention information was lacking. Some expressed positive emotions or a personal connection to the messages and suggested the messages helped reduce ageing‐related stigma. Strongly opposing viewpoints suggested that other participants identified implicit negative messages about ageing, which reduced their motivation with the messages. Suggestions to improve the message persuasiveness included adding more drama and tailoring messages to appeal to multiple age groups. Overall, the AV falls prevention messages designed in collaboration with older people elicited a divergent range of positive and negative perspectives from their peers, which was conceptualised by the overarching theme ‘we all look at things different ways’. Opinions differed regarding whether the messages would appeal to older people. Public campaigns targeting falls prevention should be designed and tailored towards older peoples’ differing perspectives about ageing.     

Sensation Seeking as a Moderator of Gain- and Loss-Framed HIV-Test Promotion Message Effects

This study used an experiment (N = 504) to test whether the fit between sensation-seeking disposition and frame enhances the persuasiveness of gain- and loss-framed HIV test promotion messages. Gain- and loss-framed messages may be consistent with low and high sensation seekers’ disposition with respect to risk behavior. We hypothesized that a loss-framed message would be more persuasive for high sensation seekers and that a gain-framed message should be more effective for low sensation seekers. We also expected elaboration to mediate the interaction. Results demonstrated the hypothesized interaction. When the message frame fit with the viewer's way of thinking, the persuasive power of the message was enhanced. The mediation hypothesis was not supported. Practical implications for targeting and message design are discussed.     

Utilizing Audiovisual and Gain-Framed Messages to Attenuate Psychological Reactance Toward Weight Management Health Messages

Guided by the psychological reactance theory, this study predicted that gain-framed messages and audiovisual content could counteract state reactance and increase the persuasiveness of weight management health messages. Data from a 2 (message frame: gain/loss) × 2 (modality: audiovisual/text) × 2 (message repetition) within-subjects experiment (N = 82) indicated that in the context of weight management messages for college students, gain-framed messages indeed mitigate psychological reactance. Furthermore, the modality and the frame of the health message interacted in such a way that gain-framed messages in an audiovisual modality generated the highest motivations to comply with the recommendations in the persuasive health messages.     

Public attitudes to nutritional messages

A random sample of 100 nutritional messages was analysed stylistically. Six different types of language were found to be present: commands or suggestions, written persuasively or factually, and either positive or negative. The majority of messages were positive commands giving factual information. Thirty-two messages were written using combinations of these types of language and members of the public were asked to rank four groups of messages that were similar in content, but different in type of language. Messages were ranked differently, but preferences were not related to the type of language tested, nor to the number or length of words.     

The Role of Narrative and Other-Referencing in Attenuating Psychological Reactance to Diabetes Self-Care Messages

This study charts pathways through message resistance to enhance the persuasiveness of diabetes self-care messages. A 2 (narrative) × 2 (other-referencing) × 2 (message) × 4 (order) experiment with adult diabetics (N = 58) tested whether packaging overt recommendations as a story rather than an informational argument (i.e., narrative structure) and highlighting the impact of health decisions on family and friends rather than the individual (i.e., other-referencing) can effectively attenuate psychological reactance to messages encouraging healthy diet and physical activity. Narrative and other-referencing each led to lower perceived threat to choice, less state anger and counterarguing, less negative cognitive responses, more positive attitudes toward the ad and the behaviors promoted, and greater intended compliance with message recommendations. Findings illustrate two strategies that communicators may employ in order to benefit from clear, direct health messages while avoiding the reactance they may provoke. Moreover, findings inform message design for diabetes self-care education.     

Perceived effectiveness rating scales applied to insomnia help-seeking messages for middle-aged Japanese people: a validity and reliability study

Background

Communicating health messages is an important way to influence people’s behaviors towards health issues. Providers need to incorporate audience’s perspective to design more persuasive messages. This study aimed to develop rating scales for measuring audience’s perception of effectiveness of health messages in Japanese people.

Methods

The comprehensibility scale including five items and the persuasiveness scale including seven items were designed based on literature review. A cross-sectional web-based survey was conducted among Japanese adults aged 35–45 years to assess the reliability and validity of the scales. Participants were asked to rate a text message that encouraged help-seeking intention for insomnia. All scale items were scored on a 1-to-5 point Likert scale, and they were averaged to produce an overall score for each scale.

Results

Explanatory factor analysis revealed a two-factor solution that agreed with the comprehensibility and persuasiveness scales, respectively. Correlation coefficients between each set of items ranged between 0.63–0.87 for the comprehensibility scale and 0.37–0.76 for the persuasiveness scale. Cronbach alpha (0.88) indicated satisfactory internal consistency of the set of items. The mean (SD) of the comprehensibility and persuasiveness scores were 3.70 (0.82) and 3.15 (0.61), respectively, without ceiling or floor effects. These scores were significantly associated with intended future use of the message. The proportion of participants who reported a positive help-seeking intention for insomnia was significantly higher in the higher score groups for both scales. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that the comprehensibility and persuasiveness scores were significantly associated with the help-seeking intention for insomnia.

Conclusion

The proposed rating scales exhibited adequate reliability and validity for measuring the comprehensibility and persuasiveness of insomnia health-seeking message in middle-aged Japanese people. Further studies are needed to confirm the generalizability of the results, but these scales may be useful for pretesting a health message with audience members to make it more acceptable and persuasive to the intended audience.

Trial registration

Not applicable; this is not a report of intervention trial.

     

“Books are Fun,Books are Great”

Television has been shown to influence young children's development of attitudes and skills. Evidence also suggests that children's television programs contain both positive and negative messages about various topics, including literacy. Yet little has been done to examine whether and how television messages about literacy affect young children's attitudes about literacy. Guided by three theoretical frameworks (Emergent Literacy perspective, Active Viewing model, and Social Cognitive Theory), this investigation involved two experiments in which 4- and 5-year-olds (N1 = 63; N2 = 52) in the US viewed clips that contained positive or negative messages about literacy. The General Literacy Attitudes Measure (GLAM) and the Specific Literacy Attitudes Measure (SLAM) were employed. Results from both experiments suggest that, although participants understood the varying messages, the messages had little significant effect on their attitudes. Limitations as well as directions for future research are discussed in light of these findings.     

Role of Narrative Perspective and Modality in the Persuasiveness of Public Service Advertisements Promoting HPV Vaccination

In the context of public service advertisements promoting human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination, the current research examines 1) the relative persuasiveness of narrative vs. non-narrative messages and 2) the influence of narrative perspective (first- vs. third-person) and modality (text-based vs. audio-based) on message effectiveness. Results of a controlled experiment (N = 121) suggested that both a non-narrative message and a first-person narrative message led to greater perceived risk of getting HPV than a third-person narrative message. There was no difference in risk perception between the non-narrative and first-person narrative conditions. These findings were confined to the text-based condition, however. When the messages were audio-based, no differential message effects were detected. The analysis also provided partial evidence for an indirect effect of narrative perspective on intentions to vaccinate against HPV through HPV risk perception. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.     

How Neuroticism Affects Responses to Anti-Smoking Messages

The effect of trait neuroticism on college students' (n?=?200) responses to anti-smoking public service announcements (PSAs) was examined using a 2 (neuroticism: high vs. low)?×?3 (message type: personal testimony, secondhand smoke, and informative)?×?3 (message: nested within message type) design. We hypothesized that those high in neuroticism would be avoidant toward anti-smoking messages, have quicker and stronger negative reactions and perceive the messages as more biased and less involving. As hypothesized, those high in neuroticism were more likely to want to avoid thinking about smoking as a function of viewing the messages and more likely to see messages as biased; however, neuroticism did not affect judgments of message involvement. Tobacco use and gender also affected message bias and avoidance. Those scoring high in neuroticism also responded quicker to negative emotion assessments to messages. Implications for the importance of neuroticism in message design and message processing research are discussed.     

Communication Perspectives on HIV/AIDS for the 21st Century

This cross-cultural experiment examined the effectiveness of three health message characteristics to foster or inhibit selective exposure to health information. An online magazine was created with eight articles about various health risks. Four articles were manipulated regarding (1) severity of the described health threat (low versus high), (2) suggested efficacy to avoid or minimize negative consequences (low versus high) and (3) type of evidence presented (statistical information versus exemplar information). Respondents from the U.S. and from Germany (n?=?301/298) browsed through the magazine while selective exposure was unobtrusively logged. Findings reveal country-specific exposure patterns. A positive main effect of severity was only found for U.S. respondents. Independent of respondents' country, significantly more time was spent with low-severity/high-efficacy messages and high-severity/low-efficacy messages than with articles featuring the often-recommended high-severity/high-efficacy message combination. Respondents generally read more exemplar messages than those with statistical evidence, especially when high efficacy was suggested. Implications of these exposure patterns for the real-life effectiveness of health messages are discussed and an improved theoretical conceptualization of message effectiveness is proposed.     

Asking Mom: Formative Research for an HPV Vaccine Campaign Targeting Mothers of Adolescent Girls

Vaccination against the types of human papillomavirus (HPV) that cause about 70% of cervical cancers is approved for use in girls and women between 9 and 26 years of age and recommended routinely in 11–12-year-old girls. This article reports on the systematic theory-based formative research conducted to develop HPV vaccine messages for a campaign targeting racially diverse mothers of nonvaccinated 11–12-year-old girls in rural Southeastern United States. A consortium of 13 county health departments concerned about high rates of cervical cancer in their region relative to state and national averages initiated the campaign. The research examined behavioral determinants for vaccination decisions as well as mothers’ reactions to message frames and emotional appeals. On the basis of focus groups and intercept interviews (n = 79), the authors demonstrated how preproduction message research and production message testing were used to develop messages that would motivate mothers of preteen girls. Core emotional truths that emerged were a mother's instinct to protect her daughter from harm and to embrace aspirations for her daughter's future. Mothers also reacted more positively to text about preventing cervical cancer than about preventing HPV, a sexually transmitted disease. Mothers preferred message concepts with photos of minorities and Caucasian mothers and daughters.     

Relationship between knowledge and claimed compliance with genuine and false nutrition messages

Nutrition education messages about eight different foods, four of them genuine and four false, were set in a Latin square and eight questionnaires were produced and distributed to customers sitting in a cafe. For each message, subjects were asked to score the extent of their agreement and compliance. Scores were adjusted to remove effects of sex, age group and social class. Correlation coefficients between agreement and compliance scores were significant (P < 0.001) for each message. Subjects who had correct knowledge tended towards correct behaviour and those who agreed with misconceptions tended to have incorrect behaviour.     

Understanding the Effects of Stigma Messages: Danger Appraisal and Message Judgments

Media coverage of health issues has been criticized for creating health stigmas. The model of stigma communication (MSC, Smith, 2007) provides insights into why this is so, but it has two problems: Some of its mediators have not been supported, and it does not do a good job of predicting the transmission of stigma messages (i.e., social transmission). We present a revised model of stigma message effects in which exposure to stigma messages leads to stigma beliefs and stigmatization as a result of a person-oriented danger appraisal. In addition, message judgments—shock value and common ground—are introduced as mediators of the relationship between danger appraisal and social transmission. Participants (N = 200) were randomly assigned to read a health story written either with or without the intrinsic features of stigma messages. The revised model of stigma-message effects was supported: Reading a health news story written with (vs. without) the intrinsic features of stigma messages resulted in greater danger appraisal, which directly predicted stigma-related outcomes and indirectly predicted social transmission through message judgments. Social transmission varied by message judgment: Shocking messages were shared in ways that facilitate diffusion, but common ground messages were shared with influential others, suggesting different means by which stigma as a collective norm may emerge from interactions among community members.     

The positive effects of explaining the underlying mechanisms (how it works) when promoting healthy behaviors

Abstract

Health-care providers, governments, and countless organizations struggle, often unsuccessfully, to convince the public to adhere to healthier and safer lifestyles. Through three experiments, our research suggests communicating information on how—providing details of the processes by which healthy/safer behaviors actually work to bring about personal benefits—has a significant and positive impact on the persuasiveness of the message compared to communicating benefits alone. The downside of the addition of this how information is that these messages may be seen as more burdensome to digest. The authority of the messenger did not have an impact on this effect.     

Memorable Messages from Family Members About Mental Health: Young Adult Perceptions of Relational Closeness,Message Satisfaction,and Clinical Help-Seeking Attitudes

This study investigates memorable messages about mental health that young adults (YAs) recall receiving from family members. A memorable messages conceptual framework is adopted to explore message types and their associations with relevant individual and relational outcomes. Findings from a study of 193 memorable messages about mental health revealed three types of messages about mental health transmitted by family members: strategizing, normalizing, and minimizing messages. Statistical analyses indicated that memorable message types were significantly related to YA satisfaction with the message, perceptions of relational closeness between the message source and the YA message recipient, and YA attitudes about mental-health help seeking. Overall, participants who reported minimizing messages about mental health also reported the least favorable outcomes on the set of dependent variables. Implications of these findings and future directions for research are discussed.     

Persuasive Effects of Linguistic Agency Assignment and Linguistic Markers of Argumentation in Health Messages about an Emerging Sexually Transmitted Disease

Answering the call by some health communication researchers to give greater attention to message strategies at the level of word choices and sentence structures, this study examined how the linguistic marking of argumentative orientation and linguistic agency assignment affects young adults’ reactions to an informational message about a sexually transmitted infection presented as a new emerging health threat. Participants were randomly assigned to read one of the four versions of a fact sheet defined by a 2 × 2 (agency assignment x marking of argumentation orientation) factorial design and thereafter completed a questionnaire. Results indicated that the assignment of agency to the virus (vs. human) increased the perceived severity of the health threat, perceived susceptibility to it, persuasiveness of the message, and safer sex intentions. The same outcomes occurred when the message was phrased with a high marking of the argumentative orientation rather than a low marking. These findings suggest that a better understanding of language variable effects can boost the efficacy of promotional health messages.