The Psychology of Framing: How Everyday Language Shapes the Way We Think, Feel, and Act.

When we use language to communicate, we must choose what to say, what not to say, and how to say it. That is, we must decide how to the message. These linguistic choices matter: Framing a discussion one way or another can influence how people think, feel, and act in many important domains, including politics, health, business, journalism, law, and even conversations with loved ones.

Effects of Scanning Health News Headlines on Trust in Science: An Emotional Framing Perspective.

Rooted in the emotions-as-frames model (EFM), this research examines how hope, fear, and annoyance are evoked through health news headline scanning, and how these emotions influence perceptions of news and medical science institutions as well as health behavioral intentions. A sample of U.S.

Emotional Shifts in Health Messages as a Strategy for Generating Talk and Behavior Change.

Although talk generated by health messages can spread message content and promote positive behavior change, little is known about what message features may be more likely to prompt conversation. Given theoretical and research support for sequential emotional experiences to increase the intensity of emotion and the extent of engagement with the emotional content - both of which are expected to positively influence talk and persuasion - we examined whether shifts in emotion within a health message influenced these outcomes. In a longitudinal experiment, we compared the effects of two texting while driving prevention messages containing a shift in emotional valence (negative to positive and positive to negative) with two single-valence emotional messages (negative-only and positive-only) on talk and persuasion ( = 333).

Can a Video a Day Keep Stress Away? A Test of Media Prescriptions.

This research attempts to both replicate initial research on media prescriptions - the assignment of small doses of positively-valenced media for the purposes of reducing perceived stress - and, through the lens of the broaden-and-build theory, shed light on the process through which this effect might emerge. Two longitudinal data sets were collected, one with college students ( = 182) and one with U.S.

How Emotional Shifts Effect Youth Perceptions of Opioid Risk and Efficacy: Testing a Campaign Narrative.

Integrating the extended parallel process model (EPPM) and the emotional flow hypothesis, we tested the persuasive effect of emotional shifts during exposure to a anti-opioid campaign narrative in a sample of middle-school students ( = 480). Testing two emotional flow sequences (threat to efficacy and efficacy to threat) of the narrative against a static (threat-only) emotional condition, we found that youth exposed to any emotional flow narrative reported higher levels of hope and lower levels of fear than those exposed to a threat-only narrative. We also found that a threat to efficacy narrative elicited higher levels of self-efficacy than an efficacy to threat emotional flow condition, suggesting that the emotional sequence influences self-efficacy, a well-established predictor of health behavior change.

Uplifting Fear Appeals: Considering the Role of Hope in Fear-Based Persuasive Messages.

Fear appeal research has focused, understandably, on fear as the primary emotion motivating attitude and behavior change. However, while the threat component of fear appeals associates with fear responses, a fear appeals' efficacy component likely associates with a different emotional experience: hope. Drawing from appraisal theories of emotion in particular, this article theorizes about the role of hope in fear appeals, testing hypotheses with two existing data sets collected within the context of sun safety messages.

Could Watching TV Be Good for You? Examining How Media Consumption Patterns Relate to Salivary Cortisol.

This research explores whether media diet influences health, not through its effects on cognition and behavior but rather through its effects on biomarkers of stress, which are implicated in a host of acute and chronic illnesses. Two hundred and forty young adults completed assessments of their media consumption habits followed at least 2 days later by measures of the stress-related hormone cortisol. Results suggest that frequency of consuming different media and genres may decrease cortisol under certain conditions and increase them under others.

Unrealistic Hope and Unnecessary Fear: Exploring How Sensationalistic News Stories Influence Health Behavior Motivation.

In light of the inherent conflict between the nature of science (slow, subject to correction) and the nature of news (immediate, dramatic, novel), this study examines the effect of emotional health news coverage on intentions to engage in protective health behaviors. One hundred seventy-seven students read news stories designed to evoke either fear or hope about human papillomavirus (HPV) followed by different levels of response efficacy information regarding an impending HPV vaccine. Results indicated no main effects for emotion frame or response efficacy, but a significant interaction suggested that emotionally-consistent presentations (fear/low efficacy; hope/high efficacy) boosted intentions to engage in protective actions relative to emotionally-inconsistent, sensationalized presentations (fear/high efficacy, hope/low efficacy).

Laughing in the Face of Fear (of Disease Detection): Using Humor to Promote Cancer Self-Examination Behavior.

This research examines the possible benefit of using humor to reduce anxiety associated with performing cancer self-examination behaviors. In Study 1, 187 undergraduates read a humorous public service announcement (PSA) script promoting either breast or testicular self-exams. Results suggest that perception of humor reduced anxiety about self-exams, which, in turn, related to more positive self-exam attitudes.

Emotional flow in persuasive health messages.

Overwhelmingly, the literature on the persuasive influence of emotions has focused on individual emotions, fear in particular, though some recent attention has been given to mixed emotions in persuasive appeals. Building on this newer wave of research, this article argues that instead of focusing on singular emotional states or collections of emotions evoked by a message, it might prove valuable to explore the flow, or evolution, of emotional experience over the course of exposure to a health message. The article offers a brief introduction to the concept of emotion, followed by a review of the state of the literature on the use of emotion in health messages.

Facebook friends with (health) benefits? Exploring social network site use and perceptions of social support, stress, and well-being.

There is clear evidence that interpersonal social support impacts stress levels and, in turn, degree of physical illness and psychological well-being. This study examines whether mediated social networks serve the same palliative function. A survey of 401 undergraduate Facebook users revealed that, as predicted, number of Facebook friends associated with stronger perceptions of social support, which in turn associated with reduced stress, and in turn less physical illness and greater well-being.

The effects of reality-based television programming on diet and exercise motivation and self-efficacy in young adults.

Grounded in social cognitive theory, this research examines the effects of reality entertainment programming and embedded commercials on viewers' perceived motivations and efficacy to exercise and consume a healthy diet as well as on food preference. In a 3 (program type) × 2 (advertisement type) study design, 253 female undergraduates were randomly assigned to watch an episode of a health-oriented reality program, a non-heath-oriented reality program, or a health-themed sitcom in which commercials for either healthy or unhealthy foods were embedded. Results indicated that perceived realism of the health-oriented reality program generated greater confidence to eat more healthily and exercise, as well as greater motivation to exercise.

An Initial Investigation into Naturally Occurring Loss- and Gain-Framed Memorable Breast Cancer Messages.

Memorable message research examines interpersonal messages "…remembered for extremely long periods of time and which people perceive as a major influence on the course of their lives" (Knapp, Stohl, & Reardon, 1981, p. 27). They can also guide actions, such as health behaviors.

Comparing the effects of entertainment and educational television programming on risky sexual behavior.

Entertainment-education (E-E) may offer an effective way to reduce risky behavior by modeling healthy behaviors. Although there is some empirical evidence to support the effectiveness of the E-E strategy, much of this research has been conducted in countries with different media landscapes than that of the United States and controlled experiments in this context are rare. Moreover, empirical tests of the relative effectiveness of E-E messages and other message formats are needed.

Standard back-translation procedures may not capture proper emotion concepts: a case study of Chinese disgust terms.

We present data questioning the adequacy of standard back-translation procedures for investigating emotion states across cultures (Brislin, 1970). Our data indicate that the Chinese back-translation of the term disgust has led cross-cultural researchers to accept terms whose themes, goals, and motivations are more akin to the English term anger. Evidence is presented showing that, compared with the standard back-translation method, a more painstaking interview method found a better translational Chinese equivalent for the English term disgust.

Subjective knowledge and fear appeal effectiveness: implications for message design.

This research investigates the role of perceived health knowledge on the effectiveness of fear-based persuasive appeals. Undergraduates (N = 263) read a strong fear, weak fear, or efficacy-only message encouraging breast or testicular self-examination. As expected, results indicated that men high in subjective knowledge were less reactant and more persuaded by the efficacy-only message whereas those low in subjective knowledge did not evidence this pattern.

Predicting intentions versus predicting behaviors: domestic violence prevention from a theory of reasoned action perspective.

A central assumption of many models of human behavior is that intention to perform a behavior is highly predictive of actual behavior. This article presents evidence that belies this notion. Based on a survey of 1,250 Philadelphia adults, a clear and consistent pattern emerged suggesting that beliefs related to domestic violence correlate with intentions to act with respect to domestic violence but rarely correlate with reported actions (e.

Avoiding the boomerang: testing the relative effectiveness of antidrug public service announcements before a national campaign.

Objectives: This study examined the relative perceived effectiveness of 30 antidrug public service announcements (PSAs) and assessed the extent to which judgments of effectiveness are related to judgments of realism, amount learned, and positive and negative emotional responses.

Methods: Data were obtained from 3608 students in grades 5 through 12 in 10 schools. The ethnically diverse sample was 50.