Healthy (In)Congruence: When Hispanic Identity and Self-Framed Messages Increase Healthier Choices

Abstract

Health appeals to promote wellness and healthful choices can be framed individually or socially (benefit to self/others). Across three studies, the authors identify the influence of self-construal and cultural identity on health appeals and find that Hispanic consumers display identity-incongruent attitudes toward healthy eating appeals. Specifically, the authors show that Hispanics exhibit more positive responses to self-framed versus social-framed healthy eating appeals. Cultural perceptions of healthy eating are highlighted as the underlying mechanism and message framing as moderator of these effects. The findings of this research integrate message framing, cultural identity and self-construal theory as part of the conceptual model to explain the process behind these contradictory yet novel effects.