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- Title
- Testing exposure to nostalgic messages as an alternative self-affirmation induction to reduce defensive processing and promote message acceptance
- Creator
- Cheng, Ying (College teacher)
- Date
- 2018
- Collection
- Electronic Theses & Dissertations
- Description
-
The study developed a communication-based induction of self-affirmation, and examined how it interacted with argument strength to reduce defensiveness and enhance the persuasiveness of a health message. Unlike traditional self-affirmation inductions that are behavior-based and involve instructing people to engage in a cumbersome task, this alternative induction affirms self-concepts through exposure to a personal nostalgic message. In study 1, this alternative induction was as effective as...
Show moreThe study developed a communication-based induction of self-affirmation, and examined how it interacted with argument strength to reduce defensiveness and enhance the persuasiveness of a health message. Unlike traditional self-affirmation inductions that are behavior-based and involve instructing people to engage in a cumbersome task, this alternative induction affirms self-concepts through exposure to a personal nostalgic message. In study 1, this alternative induction was as effective as the traditional method of ranking values and writing an essay to affirm positive attributes. Study 2 tested whether the alternative induction can offer a broader perspective of the self and generate stronger positive other-directed emotions in the same way as traditional self-affirmation methods used by previous research, and whether these psychological outcomes can interact with argument strength to enhance message acceptance via mitigating defensive processing. A 2 (self-affirmation: personal nostalgic message vs. control) × 2 (argument strength: strong vs. weak) between-group online experiment showed that exposure to a personal nostalgic message (vs. control message) produced broader perspectives of the self and greater other-directed emotions. However, the data were inconsistent with the predicted interaction effects. Rather, there were only main effects of argument strength on reducing defensiveness and promoting attitudes and intentions to adopt the message recommendation. Although the alternative induction did not replicate the persuasive outcome of traditional self-affirmation methods observed in previous research, this study served as a beginning to investigate how communication can play a central role in affirming self-concepts to promote acceptance of a persuasive message. The practical implications of developing a message-based self-affirmation for campaign professionals are discussed. -- Abstract.
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- Title
- Matching affect-related risk message and cognitive-related risk message to need for affect and need for cognition : persuading Chinese women to get routine Pap smear test
- Creator
- Cheng, Ying (College teacher)
- Date
- 2013
- Collection
- Electronic Theses & Dissertations
- Description
-
This study aimed to persuade Chinese women between the ages of 35 and 54 to take a Pap smear test every three years in a certified hospital. Cognitive-related vs. affective-related risk messages were created to reflect the two ways people experience risk (risk-as-analysis vs. risk-as-feelings). Following the risk perception attitude framework (RPA), these messages were then examined for their impact on risk perception, attitude, and intention. This study further tested the interaction effect...
Show moreThis study aimed to persuade Chinese women between the ages of 35 and 54 to take a Pap smear test every three years in a certified hospital. Cognitive-related vs. affective-related risk messages were created to reflect the two ways people experience risk (risk-as-analysis vs. risk-as-feelings). Following the risk perception attitude framework (RPA), these messages were then examined for their impact on risk perception, attitude, and intention. This study further tested the interaction effect between risk messages and processing styles (need for cognition vs. need for affect). Based on a between-group experiment with three conditions, the results demonstrated that women high in need for affect reported more favorable attitude towards taking a Pap smear test every three years in a certified hospital when reading the affective-related message compared to those who were low in need for affect. Additionally, the data revealed reading the affective-related message, having higher need for affect, self-efficacy, and past Pap smear test predicted a positive attitude, and self efficacy and having past Pap smear tests also predicted greater intention to take a Pap smear test every three years in a certified hospital. Limitations and implications for future research are discussed.
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