Testing for Dose-Response Relationships in Health Messaging: Dosage, Framing, and Intentions to Exercise

<p><b>Many political advertisements emphasise the benefits on offer if you vote, or the possible consequences if you don’t. The abstractness (i.e., presentation in a vague way) and concreteness (i.e., presentation in a specific way) also varies across political advertisements. To date, minimal research has examined the effectiveness of gain versus loss framed messages and abstract versus concrete appeals in political advertising. Moreover, little is known about how these effects differ between liberal (i.e., left-wing) and conservative (i.e., right-wing) political ideologies.</b></p> <p>Building upon message framing and construal level theory, this paper examines the interplay of message framing (gain versus loss) and information type (abstract versus concrete) on attitude towards the ad, message persuasiveness, and ad-brand congruence. It also investigates the moderating role of political ideology (liberal versus conservative) on these main effects. A 2 (message framing: gain versus loss) × 2 (information type: abstract versus concrete) between-subjects experiment (n = 809) was conducted, in which individual differences in political ideology were measured. </p> <p>Findings from this research offer valuable contributions through the extension of message framing and construal level theory to the nascent but influential field of political advertising. Contrary to expectations, the results revealed that gain (versus loss) framed advertisements are more effective in political advertising. Concrete (versus abstract) appeals also resulted in more positive attitudes towards the ad and greater message persuasiveness, but no difference in ad-brand congruence. This indicated that concrete appeals were more effective, but not perceived to be better suited to participants’ preferred political party. Additionally, political ideology moderated the effects of message framing. That is, despite gain frames being more effective overall, loss frames were more effective among conservatives than liberals. </p> <p>These findings contribute to message framing research and construal level theory. Findings also provide practical implications; gain (versus loss) frames and concrete (versus abstract) appeals are independently more effective in political advertising. However, if an advertiser were to use a loss frame, it would be better received among conservatives rather than among liberals.</p>

People show a separation of intention and behavior in green consumption, and promoting actual green purchase behavior is more important than purchase intention. This study adopted a conflicting environmental decision paradigm to investigate behavioral and neural processes during actual green consumption decision-making involving different types of green products and message framing, according to construal level theory. Participants were instructed to make green consumption decisions involving green products with different psychological distances (self-interested green products vs. other-interested green products) under gain (e.g., buying green products brings positive results) or loss framing (e.g., not buying green products brings negative effects) while electroencephalograms were recorded. The behavioral results demonstrated that participants tended to purchase green products under loss framing more than under gain framing. The event-related potential results showed that under gain framing, decision-making for self-interested green products was associated with larger P3 than decision-making for other-interested green products. While under loss framing, decision-making for other-interested green products has a larger P260 than for self-interested green products. These findings suggest that under gain framing, self-interested green products elicit more cognitive resources than other-interested green products, while under loss framing, other-interested green products elicit stronger negative emotions than self-interested green products. The research has managerial implications for promoting consumers’ actual purchase behavior.

While local television news is the number-one source among Americans for health information, little attention has been given to what viewers are actually watching in these newscasts. Toward this end, a content analysis of local television health news stories (n = 416) was conducted, to examine how local health news stories utilize gain and loss message frames, and whether there are differences in story topics, location, length, presence of self-efficacy methods, and conflict, according to the message frames. Results showed that health news stories that dealt with advancements in treatment or philanthropic events were mainly reported using gain frames, while loss frame health news stories most frequently reported on statistics and trends. The majority of the health news stories were less than 30 seconds among all frames, and conflict appeared more often for the loss frames than gain frames. Furthermore, while efficacy information was mostly absent across all types of frames, gain frames were more likely than loss frames to present efficacy methods. Finally, efficacy information appeared most frequently in health-related statistical reports and prevention messages, while discrimination and health-policy stories had the least efficacy information in them.

Introduction:Compared to carbon emission reduction from production, reduction from households is more required. This study explores the mechanism and boundary conditions of the effect of goal framing on household low-carbon behavior by drawing on the framing effect and social cognitive theory. The central questions posed in this research are whether, how, and under what circumstances goal framing affects household low-carbon behavior.Methods:We tested the hypotheses in two studies. Study 1 investigated the main effect of whether the framing effect of climate change has a different influence on household low-carbon behavior. Study 2 further confirmed the main effect of this study and verified the mediating role of environmental self-efficacy and the moderating role of global–local identity.Results:Across two experiments, we discovers: 1) Goal framing of climate change messages affects household low-carbon behavior. In particular, loss framing elicits a greater persuasive impact on household low-carbon behavior than gain framing. 2) Environmental self-efficacy plays a mediating role between the framing effect and household low-carbon behavior. Specifically, loss framing of climate change messages is more likely to increase residents' environmental self-efficacy than gain framing, which increases their household low-carbon behavior. 3) Residents' global-local identity moderates the effect of the framing messages on household low-carbon behavior. Among residents with a local identity, loss framing has a more powerful influence on household low-carbon behavior compared to gain framing. Among residents with a global identity, a significant difference between the effects of loss and gain framing on household low-carbon behavior is not found.Discussion:The theoretical and managerial implications of the study are also discussed.

In the early eighties, a popular prime time drama serial Zeg eens A was being broadcast in the Netherlands. Health communication professionals who saw this series regarded it as an interesting setting in which to introduce and deal with health communication messages (see for example Bouman, 1984). At that time, however, collaborating with scriptwriters of popular television programmes was a problematic issue, due to the fact that health organizations had great reservations about using a popular medium like a tabloid, a gossip magazine, a soap opera or other drama series to communicate serious health messages (Dekker, 1985 personal conversation). Apart from their unfamiliarity with popular culture, health organizations feared losing their respectable image and, as a possible ultimate consequence, their funding. Although understandable, this showed an explicit tension between the goals of health communication and the goals of public relations and fundraising. Health communication professionals however saw that the messages of health organizations have to compete with thousands of other communication messages. If the attention of the target audience is to be caught and held, and more especially if that audience is not spontaneously interested in health messages, it is no longer sufficient to rely solely on the rationality of the message: other, more emotionally appealing and popular communication methods must also be brought into play. Some health organizations acknowledged this, but did not yet accept its consequences. Zeg eens A became the most popular Dutch drama serial of the eighties, but never carried a purposively designed and eloquently interwoven health message1.As time went by, the climate for using entertainment television for health communication purposes changed however, and worldwide a number of ways were found to incorporate health promotion messages into popular television entertainment. This approach is now known as the entertainment-education (E&E) strategy (Coleman & Meyer, 1989). In the Netherlands also, some challenging experiments were carried out in the late eighties, such as the drama series Familie Oudenrijn in 1987 (Verbeek, 1990), the Way of Life Show in 1988 (Nederlandse Hartstichting, 1988; Bouman, 1989) and Villa Borghese in 1991 (Bouman & Wieberdink, 1993).The first experiments with E&E television programmes initiated a lively discussion and debate about norms and values in the Dutch health communication field. This provided an impetus for the creation of new and experimental ways of reaching the so-called 'hard to reach' groups. Because of the many still unanswered questions, research in the field of the entertainment-education strategy is both necessary and rewarding.In the next four sections, some matters that need to be explicated will be touched upon. Section 1.1 defines some concepts frequently used in this thesis. Section 1.2 lists the research questions of the thesis. Section 1.3 gives a short overview of the health communication field, divided into organizations, health communication professionals and health communication strategies. Section 1.4 briefly describes the field of television in the Netherlands. Section 1.5 gives an overview of the thesis chapters, and section 1.6 summarizes this chapter.DefinitionsThe subject of this thesis is collaboration for prosocial change; the entertainment-education strategy on television. The concepts in the title of this thesis are defined as follows:In this thesis, collaboration refers to two different professional fields working together to design and produce a television programme in which entertainment and education are combined. The two professional fields concerned are the field of health communication and that of television production. In a wider sense these represent national health organizations on the one hand and broadcasting companies and independent production companies on the other; in a narrower sense they are the health communication professionals and television professionals working within these respective organizations.The term prosocial denotes 'that which is socially desirable'. From a critical theory perspective, questions can be raised about what is socially desirable (see also Chapter 2, section 2.4.). In this thesis, health is the object of prosocial change. Health is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as 'a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity' (WHO, 1986). The goals of prosocial and health communication, as referred to in this thesis, are directly derived from policy papers as formulated and formalized by national governments, and indirectly by international organizations, such as the WHO.In this thesis, change agencies are national health organizations. National health organizations as change agencies are defined here as either government related agencies or non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the change agents are health communication professionals who work within these organizations. Health communication is regarded here as an essential element of the wider concept of health promotion. Some of the researched projects in this thesis also concern broader health related issues, such as environmental communication or road safety, but the term 'health communication' will be used as an overall concept for all forms of prosocial communication with which this thesis deals.Entertainment-education (E&E) strategy refers to the combination of entertainment and education in order to promote prosocial change. In Chapter 2 the definition of the entertainment-education strategy will be elaborated. The E&E strategy can be applied to different popular media: theatre, music, film, radio, television, etc. This thesis focuses on the use of the E&E strategy in television.Research questionsTelevision entertainment as a potential vehicle for health promotion is regarded as a challenging concept. A study into the use of the E&E strategy in television refers to such questions as: 'What are the characteristics of television programmes in which education has been or can be combined with entertainment?' 'How effective is the E&E strategy?' 'Which facilitating or hindering factors play a role in the collaboration between health communication and television professionals when making an E&E television programme?' 'Is it possible to develop a working model that helps practitioners to decide if and how an entertainment-education programme can be designed and produced successfully?' These - and other - questions have led to the central research question, which is twofold:A) What are the characteristics of entertainment-education (E&E) television programmes which are purposively designed to enhance prosocial behaviour, and what is known about their effects and conditions for success?B) How do health communication and television professionals collaborate in the design and implementation of an E&E television programme and what recommendations can be made for the management of E&E collaboration in the future?Anderson and Meyer (1988) indicate that the motives of a researcher to investigate a certain topic can be epistemological in nature, but the results and implications of the research can be ideological and economic. In this study all these components play a part. As E&E practice is ahead of E&E theory, the aim of this research is to transpose the experiences of E&E practice into a theoretical framework and to add new concepts to the discourse of E&E communication professionals. In order to answer the questions posed in this thesis, the following research has been undertaken:A review of the literature on the theory and practice of health communication, mass media (television) and the entertainment-education strategy;An analysis of the quantitative data of Dutch E&E research;An analysis of E&E television programmes worldwide;A review of the literature on television production and collaboration;An in-depth qualitative study into the collaboration process between health communication professionals (N=18) and television professionals (N=12) on twelve Dutch E&E television programmes.As the E&E strategy is not yet widely known, let alone implemented in Dutch health communication and television practice, a rather broad scope has been chosen in this thesis. The disadvantage of this is that not all related subjects can be given an exhaustive treatment. The advantage, however, is that a solid basis is created for further analysis and research.Epilogue IConclusions and lessons learned (Summary part I)The purpose of this section is to summarize some of the experiences and lessons of the E&E television programmes studied here in order to assist the design of E&E television programmes in the future and to answer the first part of the central research question in this thesis:A)What are the characteristics of entertainment-education (E&E) television programmes which are purposively designed to enhance prosocial behaviour, and what is known about their effects and conditions for success?CharacteristicsEntertainment-education (E&E) television programmes which are purposively designed to enhance prosocial behaviour are not just regular television programmes. In order to be effective, the design of E&E television programmes (drama, comedy and soaps, or quizzes, gameshows and talkshows/magazines) should be based on the principles of vicarious learning and social modelling. The actual modelling and observational learning process is governed according to Bandura (1986) by four interrelated subprocesses: attention, retention, production and motivation (see Chapter 2, section 2.3.5). Based on these four processes, combined with the research results of the design and effects of E&E television programmes worldwide, the following characteristics can be identified as important for the design and success of E&E television programmes:Attention processFirst, the socially desirable television model must catch the attention of the audience (observer). In entertainment-education television, this is achieved by using a popular programme genre. Other variables, such as the perceived credibility and attractiveness of the model, also come into play. It is important to use spokespersons (show host, stars, actors) that the audience will trust and believe. Entertainment-education television must be of high quality, using skilled and talented professionals. The production quality has to meet or exceed media standards. It is important to keep entertainment in the foreground and education in the background. First the audience has to get involved in the programme, later messages can be introduced and incorporated. It is important to cater for both the head and the heart and to be dramatic and moving. Although different kinds of programme formats have been used in E&E television studies, varying from talk and gameshows and variety shows to popular soap and drama series, realistic social drama is especially successful in involving people emotionally. There is much inconsistancy about the effectiveness of humour. Studies concluded that in order to be an effective aid to learning, humour must be at least meaningfully related to the material to be learned. The humour should coincide perfectly with the critical learning opportunity.Retention processIn order to reproduce the behaviour without the presence of the model, it is necessary to retain the image and verbal symbols that are provided. Retention of modelled information is enhanced when viewers perceive the model and the circumstances to be similar to themselves and significant in their lives. The programme has to involve a variety of problems which are eventually solved to the benefit of positive role modelling characters.It is necessary to present role models who exchange ideas and opinions about the prosocial issue involved. In this way, different segments of the population will be able to identify with the issue at hand. Vicarious learning can best take place when viewers identify with and relate to these role models and when viewers recognize issues as relevant for their daily lives. This way, television programmes can serve as touchstones for experiences which viewers have and which they see reflected in the programme. The programme has to be realistic, set in todays world, include events in different settings (urban and rural), and depict characters who are regarded by the viewers as 'people like us'.Depicting lifelike situations and portraying social models who are 'people like us' is an essential part of E&E television programming to create the circumstances necessary for social learning and to enhance a feeling of involvement. A realistic programme does not mean that every detail must conform to reality, but that it has a contemporary setting, that it concerns itself with secular action (human action described in exclusively human terms) and that it is socially extended, which means that it deals with the lives and experiences of ordinary people. With reference to the latter, to avoid feelings of embarassment or stigmatization, it is advised to depict positive role models with a slightly higher aspiration level. Domestic productions with outdoor scenes at well known sites, using colloquial language, make E&E television more realistic.The essence of the entertainment-education strategy is to use television characters as models of behaviour and to encourage audience members to talk each other into practising the desirable behaviour they see portrayed. Entertainment-education programmes are designed to stimulate and enhance parasocial interaction between viewers and television personalities and characters and encourage talking with neighbours, family and friends about what they have seen on television. Memorable images and the acting out of prosocial behaviour are remembered better and longer than dialogues and lectures about such behaviour. E&E television programmes have to link in with what is already part of public awareness. The influence is problably greater when a message evokes recognition and then adds an idea or concrete information to that, rather than when it is contradictory to the prevailing opinion. It is important that E&E television programmes address their objectives by associating them with pre-existing human values and dramatizing how specific role models learn to actualize these values in their lives by practising the prosocial behaviour.Production processThe third subprocess that influences the degree of modelling is called the production process. This process addresses the ability of the individual to replicate the observed behaviour, or the translation of retained symbols into guides for future behaviour. In order to reproduce the modelled behaviour it is important to tell audiences what they can do now, referring them to sites (e.g. address, telephone, Internet page) for answers on questions or to services or service providers that are familiar, available and ready. Some ways to do this are: (1) by using several 'reality reminders' epitomizing appropriate behaviour; (2) by 'advising' viewers how to deal with specific situations; and (3) by introducing epilogues to programmes to summarize the main educational points and to provide specific information about the services and infrastructure needed for viewers to convert an intention, motivated by the television programme, into action. Direct messages work best, especially with hard to reach audiences. Researchers report that respondents with lower levels of education gained more from factual information and knowledge about health issues than from more subtle messages conveying particular attitudes from which they were sometimes unable to draw appropriate inferences. Respondents with higher levels of education, however, gained most from the inferential messages tackling prejudice and attitudes. This confirms that different audiences demand different kind of message frames. Clear cut factual information and practical advice seems to meet especially the needs of the less well educated, while implicit contextual information suits more highly educated audiences. It is also suggested that a more direct approach may be more successful in addressing issues where attitude change is likely to be particularly difficult. It is important to focus on so-called 'personal efficacy', or the extent to which people think that they have the skills to change their behaviour. Focusing on imparting skills to handle different situations seems to offer a better prospect for changing behaviour than emphasising the damaging effects for health. Another approach which does not place too heavy an emphasis on the transfer of information and does not become too serious, is to depict how ordinary people deal with dilemmas in everyday life: how they share emotions, exchange ideas and arguments about a certain issue and how they make their final choice for one or the other behaviour.Message framing based on a 'consumer approach' supports and empowers lay people, in contrast to a 'medical approach', which underlines and supports the central role of the educated health care professional. Message framing according to a 'look after yourself' approach focuses on individual lifestyle determinants of health problems, and an 'environmental approach' stresses the socio-economic determinants and conditions of health problems.Motivation and reinforcement processThe most important and decisive subprocess is motivation and reinforcement. An individual may observe, retain and have the ability to translate the retained symbols into specific behaviour, yet not do so unless favourable incentives are introduced. Motivational processes address incentives to exhibit modelled behaviour, including direct and vicarious rewards. There are three types of modelling characters with whom the audience needs to identify closely in order to vicariously experience the rewards (or punishment) for practising the promoted behaviour: (1) those who support the prosocial behaviour (positive role models), (2) those who reject it (negative role models), and (3) those who move from antisocial to prosocial behaviour (transition models). In entertainment-education television programmes, the observer or viewer learns vicariously by watching a television model being visibly rewarded or punished immediately after the model engages in prosocial or antisocial behaviour. These rewards or punishments must be realistic and can vary from subtle gestures to more explicit moral statements.EffectsIn general can that, from a social perspective, the use of entertainment television formats has been programmes both the need for entertainment and education and a in ways that be achieved by The programmes had favourable prime time which are never given to more health education television The most of E&E television programmes was at the of and awareness. results have also been in attitude and in some a change of behaviour the prosocial The of E&E television programmes especially in social social reinforcement and Some E&E television programmes were also successful in and the direct effects of most E&E programmes were the effects the of can be the social processes of social parasocial interaction and which take place particularly when audience members the of an E&E message in Although E&E television successful in the attention of the audience in of the prosocial issue and in the message as has to be in certain The entertainment education strategy is not of did not identify with the characters and it was sometimes to the between entertainment and In many research had by itself can sometimes about social and certain conditions combination with other of it can create a climate for social are several contextual between and that may some E&E projects are more successful than such as in available and and other for the entertainment-education strategy is based on a social a focus on the social of prosocial messages and a In order to the and to be to research and is of of social are used in the design of entertainment messages (e.g. audience needs knowledge about the needs and of the target audiences can and support the design of entertainment-education programmes. This may be by the of E&E television programmes by of the target by audience to in the design or by focus to get actual information and from the specific target In order to realistic the sites and where the target audience lives and talking with them about their to problems and experiences have to be of In are or the issue involved is in the of the programme and in positive and role the messages and the process of audience analysis and also in a sense of in the collaboration process between television professionals and health communication professionals. Some report that by the and on the from the potential the collaboration all the more to the that communication is a not a however, more time and the design of an E&E television programme than television programmes. This for in and with the television professionals in order to meet the of the production implementation the creation of solid in order to programme The research shows that E&E television programmes that are part of a and are combined with a variety of other and educational to and influence target are the most E&E television alone change without the support of other and The of services to support E&E is In order to be effective E&E television programmes need to be well researched and but the most research and do not time, a applied by a of able people using based on is also communication a high of and The in which collaboration in a is important for and (Summary part this an overall of the experiences and lessons of the E&E collaboration processes as studied in of this thesis will be and an answer will be provided to the part of the central research question of this do health communication and television professionals collaborate in the design and implementation of an E&E television programme and what recommendations can be made for the management of E&E collaboration in the the E&E collaboration between health communication and television professionals was as general theory of practice (see Chapter may be of in more into the and of the of the E&E collaboration process. The concept in this theory is that of The is sometimes also described as a for the a that agents to and in specific situations in a that is not but the of its of the It is that health communication and television professionals to different fields and a different In however, where fields more or less have to in order to reach a like in E&E it is necessary that both their to that of their collaboration the E&E collaboration processes health communication and television professionals a of they had different of the the collaboration professionals about and and health communication professionals about and With to programme television professionals at potential in of and the attention of the these as goals in Health communication professionals were interested in the potential for vicarious social learning and attitude and behaviour. What was an in itself for television professionals was a means for health communication professionals. both to and the E&E collaboration process. Health communication professionals to work the principles of behaviour change and to have influence on all programme however, a of health communication professionals to and to take care of the of the and television professionals to design the in which the health message be best it that of (or both fields first just their the question as to was the and the other to with its to in order to be by a field be one must the which one to that field. recognition of the a field will reject or to new Although television organizations the for the E&E and in that sense were the with to health organizations, practice showed an social health communication professionals were more or less to incorporate the in order to be and to health communication especially when they were to the television field, this to be a and that made them they were from their field. In their working the television of reference an of This was not what they had in when they the this of the of the television field their relations with their they not the of their at but also its of their health losing their respectable damaging their Health communication this, became to the television and in between the two in field also a significant role in the of the to the field with the and will other the for high the the E&E television programme was In this the television field the health communication field. Health communication professionals had to that an effective E&E television programme not be made without their professional and with to behaviour change. of was by the fact that the collaboration motives of national health organizations from and to behaviour change. In where behaviour change was not an specific behaviour change was not professionals in such situations just their knowledge and design E&E television programmes, however, their knowledge and are not and is a for the specific of health communication professionals about the the programme can be to the of prosocial behaviour and the of professional Because of all this, entertainment and education in the television field means working within a high for of the will in all fields and working together in have to be to stimulate the of one with the other and to an E&E based on of What is is a of reference which of the of both professional have to a new that in an E&E television programme with specific and working and which is by both The next important question is how both types of professional can be of the of collaborating on The answer to this question is not yet but in some may provide a health organizations experience the of in the collaboration as a hindering they may ways to their to the television field does not collaborate on they have or This will health communication professionals to and stimulate the of their It be an strategy however, which in the in effects on the of new incentives to create a of reference can be to have and the best will be the of a new television which is both challenging and Health organizations as well as television organizations, are to in the for this and to stimulate the of relevant to an social and can be by professional and by and social where a of knowledge and is acknowledged and by a of professionals. is by In order to this, a is from both health organizations must become more television television organizations must with social and both must move from a to a

ABSTRACTHow messages are framed (gain or loss frame) modulate the effect of health information on physical activity level in adults. The role of framing of health information messages to parents about their child's physical activity is unknown.Adult participants (parents) were randomized to see a video that either emphasized the benefits of physical activity (gain frame) or the risks of physical inactivity (loss frame) in children. The primary outcome was the change in the reported level of physical activity for their children between baseline and two-week follow-up.92 individuals participated in the study and we obtained follow-up data for 48 participants (20 gain frame and 28 loss frame). Using a generalized linear model, we found that the frame presented to parents significantly influenced the trajectory of their child’s physical activity (p = 0.03), with the loss frame condition resulting in more favorable trajectory. Both the willingness to pay for organized physical activities and the perceived barriers to physical activity were similar between the two intervention groups.The change in the reported level of activity of the child over a two-week period was significantly different whether parents were exposed to a loss frame or a gain frame video message.

BackgroundEvidence from behavioral economics has shown that framing health information can impact the demand for screening. We examined the effect of promotional message framing on mammography demand by estimating willingness to pay (WTP).MethodsThis experimental study was conducted in 2024 over a period of 3 months. The interesting outcome was a WTP for mammography. 354 women were randomly selected and randomly assigned between the two study arms. The intervention involved the presentation of health information in two frames of gain and loss. The mammography demand has been estimated using robust standard error Logistic regression. Demand rate of mammography has been compared between two types of information framing using the chi-square test. Finally, the monetary value of willingness to pay (WTP) for mammography was estimated using the methodology developed by López-Feldman. All analyses were done using STATA 17.ResultsThe price and income elasticity of mammography demand were estimated as − 0.19 and 0.24, respectively (P < 0.01). The higher demand rate in the loss frame compared to the gain frame (38.7% vs. 25.1%) was statistically significant, and its effect size was estimated to be 0.282 (p < 0.01). The value of WTP in the loss frame (10.68 US$) was estimated to be more significant than in the gain frame (4.74 US$) (p < 0.01).ConclusionThis study suggests that health educators consider the message’s persuasiveness with the type of health action before designing health messages. Moreover, health practitioners should use health messages with a loss frame to increase the demand for screening services such as mammography.

Nudging energy efficiency behavior: The effect of message framing on implicit discount rate

Previous behavioral and neural studies have shown the effects of malicious envy on schadenfreude. However, it is unclear whether these effects are modulated by contextual frames (e.g., gain and loss frames). Thus, the present study aimed to investigate whether behavioral and event-related potential (ERP) effects of malicious envy on schadenfreude were different in gain and loss frames. To address this issue, the participants in the present study believed they were playing a monetary game with several other players. In the malicious envy condition, the participants won less money than the player in the gain frame and lost more money in the loss frame; in the control condition, both participants and the player gained little money in the gain frame and lost much in the loss frame. Subsequently, the participants were informed that the player encountered a misfortune, i.e., gained little in the gain frame and lost much in the loss frame. Results showed that malicious envy increased feelings of schadenfreude and ERP responses when the player encountered a misfortune. Moreover, increased ERP responses by malicious envy occurred at the feedback-related negativity (FRN), and early late positive potential (LPP) time ranges in the gain frame but at the late LPP time range in the loss frame. The findings might suggest that malicious envy affects schadenfreude and corresponding neural activity, whereas the neural effects occur at comparatively early time ranges in the gain frame but at a later time range in the loss frame.

This study determined the effects of message framing on helping behavior as a function of age in preschool and early school-age children. After validating the instrument used in a preliminary study, the researchers conducted a repeated-measures ANOVA of the responses of 90 children aged 5, 6, and 7 years. The results showed that, first, perceived importance and behavioral intention to help tended to increase with age. The results revealed significant differences in both variables depending on the self-relevance of issues and framing type. Second, when issue relevance was high, helping behavior was perceived as more important regardless of framing type, but when issue relevance was low, gain and loss frames were effective. Third, an interaction effect between age, issue relevance, and framing type was identified. While no differences in framing type were found for high-relevance issues, framing effects differed by age for low-relevance issues: loss and gain frames were more effective for younger (5 years) and older children (6 and 7 years), respectively, in promoting behavioral intentions. This study suggests that the effectiveness of message framing depends on the child's age and issue relevance, which has implications for the development of effective persuasive message delivery strategies for promoting helping behavior among children.

Gain-framed health messages are found to be more effective when targeting prevention behaviors. However, framing research has only minimally investigated the role of communication mode, another important factor in health communication. This study explored the role of communication mode in interaction with message framing, and the influence of two individual differences related to involvement as conditions under which gain framing can lead to health behavior change. Participants (N = 258) were exposed to either an auditory or written health message concerning fruit and vegetable intake, with either gain- or loss-framed arguments. In addition, the online experiment consisted of baseline and posttest measures, among which intention to consume sufficient fruit and vegetables. Moderating effects of perceived baseline fruit and vegetable consumption and baseline intention were assessed. A significant interaction between message framing and communication mode was observed: In case of a gain-framed message, an auditory message resulted in a higher intention than a written message. This pattern was most explicitly found among those with a lower perceived fruit and vegetable intake at baseline. Although further research is warranted in health persuasion research, the findings can possibly be used to target health interventions better at specific groups of people who behave less healthy.

Behavioral treatments for migraine prevention are safe and effective but underutilized in migraine management. Health message framing may be helpful in guiding patients with treatment decision making. The authors assessed associations between message framing and the willingness to seek migraine behavioral treatment among persons with a diagnosis of migraine headache. A total of 401 individuals (median age=34 years [interquartile range, 12 years]) who screened positive for migraine, as determined by the American Migraine Prevalence and Prevention questionnaire, were assessed. Participants were randomly assigned to receive one of four message frames using TurkPrime: specific loss framing (N=101), specific gain framing (N=98), nonspecific loss framing (N=102), and nonspecific gain framing (N=100). The message frames were initially piloted for 56 participants and then revised by a headache specialist, with input from a communications specialist, and randomly distributed to the larger sample. More than two-thirds of participants (70.3%) were women. The median number of headache days per month was 5 (interquartile range, 5.3). Some of the participants (12.5%) had previously used evidence-based behavioral therapy for migraine. No significant differences in the willingness to pursue behavioral treatment for migraine between the four message framing groups were found. The median for all four types of message frames was 4 (interquartile range, 1; Kruskal-Wallis H, p=0.41). Findings revealed that message framing was not associated with willingness to seek behavioral therapy for migraine.

Intertemporal choice refers to decisions involving tradeoffs among costs and benefits occurred at different times. To investigate whether college students’ intertemporal decision making under the gain and loss frames is affected by their chronic regulatory focus. Currently, experiment 1 investigated the influence of college students’ chronic regulatory focus on intertemporal decision making under the gain and loss frames, and experiment 2 further explored the moderating effect of social comparison (i.e., upward or downward social comparison) during this process. The results showed that intertemporal choices of participants with promotive focus was no significant difference between the gain frame and loss frame, while college students with preventive focus chose later and larger rewards more in loss frame than in gain frame. Social comparison moderated the effects of the chronic regulatory focus on college students’ intertemporal choice in gain and loss frames. The upward comparison enhanced the influence of regulatory focus on intertemporal choice in the gain and loss frames, while the downward comparison weakened it.

Message framing is important in health communication research to encourage behaviour change. Psoriasis, a long-term inflammatory skin condition, has additional comorbidities including high levels of anxiety and cardiovascular disease (CVD), making message framing particularly important. This experimental study aimed to: (1) identify whether health messages about psoriasis presented as either gain- or loss-framed were more effective for prompting changes in behavioural intentions (BI), (2) examine whether BI were driven by a desire to improve psoriasis or reduce CVD risk; (3) examine emotional reactions to message frame; and (4) examine predictors of BI. A two by two experiment examined the effects on BI of message frame (loss vs. gain) and message focus (psoriasis symptom reduction vs. CVD risk reduction). Participants with psoriasis (n = 217) were randomly allocated to one of four evidence-based health messages related to either smoking, alcohol, diet or physical activity, using an online questionnaire. BI was the primary outcome. Analysis of variance tests and hierarchical multiple regression analyses were conducted. A significant frame by focus interaction was found for BI to reduce alcohol intake (p = .023); loss-framed messages were more effective for CVD risk reduction information, whilst gain-framed messages were more effective for psoriasis symptom reduction information. Message framing effects were not found for BI for increased physical activity and improving diet. High CVD risk was a significant predictor of increased BI for both alcohol reduction (β = .290, p < .01) and increased physical activity (β = −.231, p < .001). Message framing may be an important factor to consider depending on the health benefit emphasised (disease symptom reduction or CVD risk reduction) and patient-stated priorities. Condition-specific health messages in psoriasis populations may increase the likelihood of message effectiveness for alcohol reduction.

Background: Health message framing, including gain or loss frames, can influence perceptions of child health messaging. It is unknown how characteristics such as political party and education may impact policymakers' message frame preference and perceived strength of child obesity messages. The purpose of this study was to examine preferred child obesity message frame, perceived strength of child obesity messages, and group differences among state policymakers. Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was administered in-person to state representatives and senators via electronic tablet between February and May, 2019, at a midwest State Capitol building. Participants were asked their message frame preference and perceived strength of child obesity messages related to long-term health, school, geographic region, military readiness, cost-savings, and the workforce. They were also asked who was responsible for preventing child obesity and strategies to prevent it. Data were analyzed descriptively and via chi-square tests for group differences. Results: One hundred fifteen state policymakers completed the survey. Participants overall favored gain-framed messages, which were perceived as stronger than loss-framed. Parents were viewed as most responsible overall for preventing child obesity, with Republicans (vs. Democrats; χ2 = 8.54; p = 0.008) and those with less education (vs. more; χ2 = 5.97; p = 0.029) perceiving them as more responsible (χ2 = 8.54; p = 0.008). Democrats viewed the food industry as more responsible (χ2 = 11.4; p = 0.001) than Republicans. Increasing physical activity, nutrition education, and fresh fruits and vegetables in schools were the most preferred prevention strategies. Conclusions: Child health advocates should consider using gain-framed messages related to child obesity when communicating with policymakers, and targeting their preferred strategies may enhance policy development.