The Effect of Message Framing on Preschoolers’ Attitudes and Behavioral Intentions: Influences of Age, Issue Involvement, and Delivery Method

Abstract

Many previous studies have revealed that people’s decision-making may differ depending on message framing—whether the same content is presented with an emphasis on gain or loss. However, almost nothing is known about preschooler responses according to message framing. This study aimed to identify the characteristics of the message framing effect in preschoolers and to examine the influence of age, issue involvement, and delivery method on this effect. A total of 180 participants ranging from 3–5 years of age were randomly assigned to one of four conditions with different combinations of frame types and delivery methods. The attitudes and behavioral intentions of the children toward the messages were measured via questionnaire. The results showed that the effect of persuasive messages increased with age (p < 0.001, ηp2 = 0.14) and was higher when the messages were more relevant to children (p < 0.001, ηp2 = 0.15). Furthermore, loss-framed messages were more effective than gain-framed messages for issues delivered verbally with pictures, while the opposite was true for issues delivered only verbally (p < 0.001, ηp2 = 0.06). These results enable developmental and theoretical discussions of the framing effect in children and provide practical data for improving the persuasion efficacy of message delivery in children.