As one of the ways to persuade young people effectively, several scholars have indicated that using a tailored message that is consistent with individuals concerns and interests can influence their attitude and behavioral changes. Among diverse tactics to construct tailored health-messages, this research especially paid attention to individuals motivational goals (i.e., regulatory focus) that make them more inclined to a certain outcome. While promotion-oriented individuals primarily focus on how to achieve a desired ending, prevention-oriented individuals mainly focus on avoiding undesirable outcomes (Higgins, 1997; Higgins et al., 2001). Although numerous studies support the positive effects of the congruency between regulatory focus and message frame on persuasion, the researcher was concerned with the limited discussion about the effects of some message attributes (i.e., fear appeals) in tailored health-related Public Service Announcements (PSAs). In particular, a large number of health campaigns provide information in the context of highly emotive graphic images and text; however, the stimulus used in previous studies did not consider such factors possible moderating effects.
In the context of an anti-binge drinking health campaign, the researcher therefore focused on how the level of fear in tailored messages influences college students perceptions of the message, their message processing, and their attitudes and behavioral changes. Using a 2 (regulatory focus: promotion vs. prevention) X 2 (message framing: gain vs. loss) X 2 (level of fear appeals: low vs. high) experimental design, the researcher found that messages that are consistent with individuals interests are more persuasive. When the tailored message contained a low fear appeal, more fluent message processing and greater perceptions of message relevance occurred, which in turn impacted persuasion. However, the findings indicate that message effectiveness should be discussed cautiously because the effectiveness of tailored messages is reduced when combined with a high fear appeal. Overall, this study advances our understanding of how a tailored messages attributes influence individuals message processing and persuasion. The findings have practical and theoretical implications for future studies on the use of emotional appeals in persuasive advertising.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LSU/oai:etd.lsu.edu:etd-11092012-203649 |
| Date | 15 November 2012 |
| Creators | Kim, Nam Young |
| Contributors | DeFleur, Margaret H., Sanders, Megan S., Osborne, Anne C., Lane, Sean M., Wu, Yejun |
| Publisher | LSU |
| Source Sets | Louisiana State University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.lsu.edu/docs/available/etd-11092012-203649/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached herein a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to LSU or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below and in appropriate University policies, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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