Framing influence of emotions and attitudes towards Alzheimer’s disease on Slovak and Spanish laypersons: a cross-cultural approach

Abstract

Representations about Alzheimer’s disease (AD) influence both emotions and attitudes towards this dementia. This study aimed to explore how the AD framing used in awareness campaigns influences self-reported emotions and attitudes towards AD, and whether this influence differs between Slovak and Spanish cultures. For this purpose, posters including framed messages on AD (Dualism, Unity, and control) were designed and presented to 275 participants (Mage = 21.23 years, SDage = 5.13, 81.1% females) from Slovakia (n = 134) and Spain (n = 141). To analyse the framing effect, attitudes towards AD were measured twice (before and after the posters display) and a mixed design of repeated measures ANOVA was used to compare both measures. The emotions elicited by the stimulus exposure were also recorded and a MANOVA test was performed on them. Elicited emotions and attitude change were compared in both Slovak and Spanish samples. Results showed that Slovak participants displayed positive attitudes towards AD, but to a lesser extent compared with the Spanish ones. Unity-framed messages resulted in a positive change in attitudes regardless of the participants’ culture and led to a higher degree of happiness, whereas Dualism-framed messages produced more negative emotions (i.e., sadness, anger, fear, and disgust) and had a major impact on participants without changing their attitudes. Using positive frames as Unity seems to be relevant to achieve a positive attitudinal change in both targeted cultures (Slovak and Spanish), even though the Slovak participants initially presented fewer positive attitudes at the beginning. In conclusion, reframing should be considered as a worldwide tool to help improve attitudes towards AD and reduce the stigma associated with this form of dementia in the general population, regardless the culture’s audience.