In health promotion, while health messages may capture the attention of their target population, individuals seem unwilling to change their behaviors, especially when they are highly engaged in their current behaviors (Kunda, 1987; Weinstein, 1999). Self-efficacy has been one of the most crucial elements that facilitates health-related theories and predicts health attitudes and behaviors (Fishbein, 2000; Schwarzer & Fuchs, 1996). Based on self-affirmation theory (Steele, 1988), a growing body of literature has examined that people can reduce defensive processing and increase message acceptance and adaptive behavioral changes (Harris & Epton, 2009; Sherman & Cohen, 2002; Silverman, Logel, & Cohen, 2013). However, very little is known about what maximize a message’s impact on self-efficacy in self-affirmation. Therefore, this current study aims to explore whether and how self-affirmation may influence a person’s perception of own capabilities. This study investigated the self-affirmation effects using value affirmation manipulation for self-affirmation condition and journey control for control condition manipulation. The results indicated that self-affirmation increase message recipients’ self-efficacy toward the suggested behaviors, more positive attitudes toward the behavior and behavioral intention. However, when considered respondents’ existing self-efficacy as a moderation factor, affirmed people with greater initial self-efficacy tend to report more positive attitudes toward the suggested behavior than control group. Self-affirmation for participants with lower existing self-efficacy, however, did work negatively influence their attitudes toward the behavior. When considered recipients’ personal relevance to the behavior, affirmed participants with high relevance reported greater perceived susceptibility for the risk compared to non-affirmed participants. Implications of the findings suggest that self-affirmation is highly likely to lead to message recipients’ adaptive responses, especially their perceived self-efficacy toward the suggested behavior. Also, other personal factors such as existing self-efficacy as a baseline belief or personal relevance toward the specific behavior can be a contributor of self-affirmation effects. This dissertation study found a strong predictive power of existing self-efficacy and personal relevance on message responses and behavior-specific cognition; thus, health practitioners should consider those personal factors when they develop health promotion messages for their target audience. / A Dissertation submitted to the School of Communication in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester 2016. / July 11, 2016. / Includes bibliographical references. / Laura Arpan, Professor Directing Dissertation; James Whyte, University Representative; Juliann Cortese, Committee Member; Jaejin Lee, Committee Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_366083 |
| Contributors | Lee, Young Sun (authoraut), Arpan, Laura M. (professor directing dissertation), Whyte, James (university representative), Cortese, Juliann (committee member), Lee, Jaejin (committee member), Florida State University (degree granting institution), College of Communication and Information (degree granting college), School of Communication (degree granting department) |
| Publisher | Florida State University, Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, text |
| Format | 1 online resource (161 pages), computer, application/pdf |
| Rights | This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). The copyright in theses and dissertations completed at Florida State University is held by the students who author them. |
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