HLTH 315 Unit 2 Notes
Week 5: health message & persuasion
the mind & heart
• behaviour change theories were rooted in the cognitive tradition that ignored the role of emotions in decision-
making
• central role of cognitive beliefs – challenged by findings
◦emotions > cognitive: predicting intentions and behaviours
• people engage in behaviour because it makes them happy, enjoyment, feel good, etc.
cognitive vs affective messages
• cognitive cognitive logicalthinking
◦traditionally used
◦focus on health benefits and other instrumental reasons for engaging in a health behaviour
• affective affective emo
◦largely neglected until last decade
◦focus on stimulating emotion/emotional benefits towards a health behaviour
term longterm
short
attitudes affective r cognitive Attitudes Behaviour
• affective and cognitive messages = target ATTITUDES
• attitudes: link between a behaviour/product/issue and our feelings about it
effective message types
• some studies support affective messages to be more effective but depends on:
◦PA level: inactive like affective > cognitive
◦temporal salience of affective/cognitive outcomes = long-term cognitive + short term affective is best
◦baseline attitudes basis: matching attitude to message type
‣ affective attitude basis respond more to affective messages
‣ cognitive attitude basis respond more to cognitive messages
message framing
• frame: the way we talk about an issue/behaviour or the way info about a behaviour is presented
◦can influence how we think about a particular topic/behaviour
• gain/lose frame: prospect theory (tversky & kahneman) Gainframe benefits
◦gain frame: framing a behaviour in terms of benefits Lossframe consequences
‣ benefit if you engage in a healthy behaviour or don't engage in an unhealthy behaviour
, ‣ i.e. exercising makes you feel good
◦loss frame: framing a behaviour in terms of costs
‣ losses if you don't engage in a healthy behaviour or engage in an unhealthy behaviour
‣ i.e. not exercising can lead to health problems
which frame is better?
• loss frame is more effective – not well supported but hypothesized
• riskiness of outcome from engaging in the behaviour
◦detection behaviour: no difference between message types – risky
‣ i.e. exercise
◦prevention behaviour: gain-frame is more persuasive – not risky
‣ i.e. cancer screening
◦treatment behaviour: little research – not risky
‣ i.e. medical adherence
• individual perception of the risk
◦depends on age, culture, social norms, access to resources, etc.
◦affective or cognitively based attitudes?
◦engagement level
◦self-efficacy
types of health communication – generic to most individualized
• generic: communication that is not individualized based on any kind of individual assessment
◦i.e. ig post about general benefits of vitamins
• personalized generic: not individualized but uses characteristics such as name
◦i.e. email subscription from health organization
target us tailored
• targeted: targeted towards certain part of population population Gindividualized
◦i.e. ig post for people with ibs
• tailored: based on one specific person and their characteristics, outcome of interest, assessment-based
◦i.e. takes into account income level, food preferences
• interpersonal: counselling 1 on 1 interactions
elaboration likelihood model dualprocess howweprocess ads
• dual process model: two pathways through that we can process an ad – depends on relevancy, importance,
motivation, and understanding
◦route 1: tailored morespecific ACTIVE
‣ actively thinks about information – very thorough
Week 5: health message & persuasion
the mind & heart
• behaviour change theories were rooted in the cognitive tradition that ignored the role of emotions in decision-
making
• central role of cognitive beliefs – challenged by findings
◦emotions > cognitive: predicting intentions and behaviours
• people engage in behaviour because it makes them happy, enjoyment, feel good, etc.
cognitive vs affective messages
• cognitive cognitive logicalthinking
◦traditionally used
◦focus on health benefits and other instrumental reasons for engaging in a health behaviour
• affective affective emo
◦largely neglected until last decade
◦focus on stimulating emotion/emotional benefits towards a health behaviour
term longterm
short
attitudes affective r cognitive Attitudes Behaviour
• affective and cognitive messages = target ATTITUDES
• attitudes: link between a behaviour/product/issue and our feelings about it
effective message types
• some studies support affective messages to be more effective but depends on:
◦PA level: inactive like affective > cognitive
◦temporal salience of affective/cognitive outcomes = long-term cognitive + short term affective is best
◦baseline attitudes basis: matching attitude to message type
‣ affective attitude basis respond more to affective messages
‣ cognitive attitude basis respond more to cognitive messages
message framing
• frame: the way we talk about an issue/behaviour or the way info about a behaviour is presented
◦can influence how we think about a particular topic/behaviour
• gain/lose frame: prospect theory (tversky & kahneman) Gainframe benefits
◦gain frame: framing a behaviour in terms of benefits Lossframe consequences
‣ benefit if you engage in a healthy behaviour or don't engage in an unhealthy behaviour
, ‣ i.e. exercising makes you feel good
◦loss frame: framing a behaviour in terms of costs
‣ losses if you don't engage in a healthy behaviour or engage in an unhealthy behaviour
‣ i.e. not exercising can lead to health problems
which frame is better?
• loss frame is more effective – not well supported but hypothesized
• riskiness of outcome from engaging in the behaviour
◦detection behaviour: no difference between message types – risky
‣ i.e. exercise
◦prevention behaviour: gain-frame is more persuasive – not risky
‣ i.e. cancer screening
◦treatment behaviour: little research – not risky
‣ i.e. medical adherence
• individual perception of the risk
◦depends on age, culture, social norms, access to resources, etc.
◦affective or cognitively based attitudes?
◦engagement level
◦self-efficacy
types of health communication – generic to most individualized
• generic: communication that is not individualized based on any kind of individual assessment
◦i.e. ig post about general benefits of vitamins
• personalized generic: not individualized but uses characteristics such as name
◦i.e. email subscription from health organization
target us tailored
• targeted: targeted towards certain part of population population Gindividualized
◦i.e. ig post for people with ibs
• tailored: based on one specific person and their characteristics, outcome of interest, assessment-based
◦i.e. takes into account income level, food preferences
• interpersonal: counselling 1 on 1 interactions
elaboration likelihood model dualprocess howweprocess ads
• dual process model: two pathways through that we can process an ad – depends on relevancy, importance,
motivation, and understanding
◦route 1: tailored morespecific ACTIVE
‣ actively thinks about information – very thorough
