Perceived Message Effectiveness Measures in Tobacco Education Campaigns: A Systematic Review

ABSTRACT

Target audience ratings of the likely impact of persuasive messages, known as perceived message effectiveness (PME), are commonly used during message development and selection. PME is also used to examine receptivity of messages after they are fully developed or deployed. Despite this, we know little about the conceptual and methodological characteristics of extant PME measures used in the literature. We conducted a systematic review of tobacco education video, print, and audio campaign studies to examine conceptual and methodological characteristics of PME measures. One hundred twenty-six PME measures from 75 studies conducted in 21 countries with more than 61,000 participants were reviewed. Results indicated considerable variability in measures’ focus on general perceptions of a message (i.e., message perceptions) vs. perceptions of expected message effects (i.e., effects perceptions). Considerable variability was also found on underlying persuasive constructs, use of referents, and referencing of behavior in PME items and measures. We conclude with several recommendations for future research on PME measurement and validation.     

Intertribal dance and cross cultural communication: Traditional powwows in Ohio

Greater fear arousal is associated with greater engagement with persuasive messages, and negative information and events are more potent than their positive counterparts. Hence loss-framed persuasive appeals, which emphasize the undesirable outcomes of noncompliance with the communicator's recommendations, should elicit greater message processing than do gain-framed appeals, which emphasize the desirable outcomes of compliance. But a meta-analytic review (based on 42 effect sizes, N = 6,378) finds that gain-framed messages engender slightly but significantly greater message engagement than do loss-framed messages. This effect is apparently not a result of whether the appeals refer to obtaining or averting negative (e.g., “skin cancer”) rather than positive (e.g., “attractive skin”) outcomes.     

Effects of reintegration difficulties,perceived message acceptance and perceived autonomy support on U.S. military Veterans’ evaluations of messages encouraging them to seek behavioral health care

This online experiment integrates confirmation, politeness, and self-determination theories to examine how Veterans evaluate family members’ messages encouraging them to seek behavioral health care. Veterans (N?=?226) evaluated messages manipulated to express high or low levels of acceptance and autonomy support, completed outcome measures (persuasiveness, relational impact, identity management, emotions), and reported on their own reintegration difficulties. Positive associations were found between perceived message acceptance and three outcomes, and perceived autonomy support and two outcomes. Reintegration difficulties were associated with more negative message perceptions. Perceived acceptance and autonomy support also mediated a number of associations between manipulated message features and outcomes, as well as reintegration difficulties and outcomes. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

Testing the persuasiveness of evidence: Combining narrative and statistical forms

This study provides an experimental test for the conclusions of the Allen and Preiss (1997) meta‐analysis that statistical evidence is more persuasive than narrative evidence. This investigation extends that finding to consider the case where a message combines statistical and narrative evidence to determine if a combination of evidence is more effective than a single form of support. This investigation using 15 messages and 1,270 participants finds that a message combining narrative and statistical evidence is more persuasive than a message using either narrative or statistical evidence alone.     

Sensation seeking as a moderator of the processing of anti‐heroin PSAs

Anti‐drug media campaigns have changed the drug‐consumption behaviors of high sensation seekers in part through a campaign strategy called SENTAR. This strategy relies largely on high sensation value messages, which contain structural and content features that elicit sensory, affective, and arousal responses. To learn more about the persuasiveness of high sensation value ads, this investigation focused on the processing of anti‐heroin PSAs by 200 young adults. Of specific interest was the influence of perceived message sensation value on three types of processing (argument‐based, narrative, and sensory), two affect variables (sympathetic distress and stimulated excitation), and anti‐heroin attitudes. Sensation seeking was examined as a moderator of these effects. In general, sensation seeking moderated the effects of perceived message sensation value and sensory processing on sympathetic distress and anti‐heroin attitudes. Additionally, high sensation seekers’ anti‐heroin attitudes were largely influenced by narrative and sensory processing, while low sensation seekers’ anti‐heroin attitudes were relatively unaffected by the anti‐heroin ads.     

Examining the persuasive effect of statistical messages: A test of mediating relationships

The current study tested the degree to which the sample size heuristic (Baesler & Bur goon, 1994), perceived verifiability of evidence (Ah Yun & Massi, 2000), and perceived message credibility (Kopfman, Smith, Ah Yun, & Hodges, 1998) mediate the relationship between the use of statistical evidence in a persuasive appeal and a person's attitude toward a given topic. Four hundred eighty‐six participants were exposed to one of three messages (statistical, narrative, or no‐evidence control) or a no‐message control condition and completed either a 12‐ (control) or 33‐item (experimental) survey that was designed to measure respondents’ perceptions of the sample size heuristic, verifiability of evidence, message credibility, and attitude toward a year‐round academic schedule. Path analysis and hierarchical regression modeling were employed to test the proposed model. Results revealed that the perceived sample size heuristic, verifiability of evidence, and message credibility mediate the relationship between statistical evidence and individuals’ attitudes. Additionally, the perceived sample size heuristic was found to be the strongest unique predictor of attitudes and confirmatory factory analysis results indicated that perceived verifiability and message credibility may be two indicators of a higher‐order factor. These findings and their implications for future research are discussed.     

Assessing the Relationship Between Perceived Message Sensation Value and Perceived Message Effectiveness: Analysis of PSAs From an Effective Campaign

The current study is an analysis of public service announcements (PSAs) from an effective safer sex campaign that utilized a sensation-seeking targeting (SENTAR) approach. Two random samples of heterosexually active young adults (sample one N = 1,463, sample two N = 895) viewed different sets of safer sex PSAs on a laptop computer and answered questions about their perceived sensation value and perceived effectiveness. Multiple regression analyses examined the impact of (a) demographic, (b) individual difference, (c) sexual context, and (d) message variables including perceived message sensation value (PMSV) on the perceived message effectiveness (PME) of the PSAs. Results indicated that females, African Americans, condom users, and those with less education viewed the PSAs as slightly more effective than males, Caucasians, non-condom users, and those with more education. PMSV and personal utility emerged as the strongest predictors of PME, even after controlling for all of the aforementioned variables. Implications for further research on PMSV and perceived and actual effectiveness of PSAs are offered.     

Message Expression Effects in Online Social Communication

Framed within the O-S-R-O-R (Orientations-Stimulus-Reasoning-Orientations-Response) communication mediation framework, this study examines the bi-directional effects of personal message expression on individuals' cognitive elaboration, message learning, and attitudes when exposed to social campaign messages in blogs (anti-drunk driving). Findings from an online-based experiment, expression of personal message (yes and no), and perceived homophily to message audiences (yes and no) revealed that expressing personal messages significantly affects the amount of cognitive effort expended by individuals and message learnt, but only slightly affects their attitudes. The role of perceived homophily varies; significantly affecting cognitive effort but with no significant effects on learning and attitude. Findings show that even though influence on individual attitudes is insignificant, simultaneously receiving and expressing a message online as compared to being mere receivers of messages may impact thinking and learning of the message, at the least.     

Social norms and expectancy violation theories: assessing the effectiveness of health communication campaigns

College students' processing of alcohol, smoking, and exercise social norms messages, and related effects on judgments, attitudes toward one's own behaviors, and attitudes toward undergraduates' behaviors were examined using social norms marketing and Expectancy Violation Theory (EVT) (N=393). Receiving statistical social norms messages led to an expectancy violation of the perceived social norm (i.e., a discrepancy between the expected and actual statistic conveyed with a message). Consistent with Boster et al. (), the effect of the message discrepancy on attitudes was mediated by judgments. In accordance with social norms, when participants were provided with a statistic, the majority moved their judgments (but not their attitudes) toward the provided statistic, a result only consistent with EVT in the case of positive violations. The results have multiple implications: (1) social norms messages may work to change judgments, but do not result in consistent attitude change; (2) the process of judgment change functions similarly across message topics, as well as message types (i.e., attitudinal versus behavioral); (3) judgment change does not appear to be the main cause for attitude change upon receipt of a social norms message; and (4) a message‐based expectancy violation does not function in the same way as a violated behavioral expectation.     

Diplomacy under fire: Engagement with governmental versus non-governmental messages on social media during armed conflicts

The widespread adoption of social networking sites has made these platforms useful for governmental and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to disseminate diplomatic messages and engage with their audience. However, it is unclear whether “top-down” or “bottom-up” approaches to diplomacy are more conducive for generating user engagement during armed conflicts. This study compares the reception of diplomatic messages from leading governmental and non-governmental organizations during the operation “Guardian of the Walls” (May 2021) in Israel/Palestine in terms of user engagement on social media. We found that diplomatic messages from governmental organizations generated significantly more user engagement than diplomatic messages from NGOs, even when normalized for the number of followers. Additional variables, such as the media format (photo/video vs. link/status), the language of the message (informal vs. formal), and the tone of the message (positive vs. not positive), also predicted (to a lesser extent, through direct or interaction effects) user engagement with diplomatic content.     

Breaking the barriers: The impact of health information and cultural factors on immigrant health in the Nordic countries

Immigrants encounter cultural adaptation challenges impacting their health behaviors and outcomes, with health information and cultural factors influencing their actions. A survey of 340 participants from Finland, Norway, and Sweden was conducted, and the data were analyzed using structural equation modelling. Results show that health beliefs and access to health information, mainly via the Internet, significantly predict immigrants' intentions to engage in health-related actions, while perceived barriers negatively affect their adoption of healthy behavior. The findings underscore the importance of information professionals in providing culturally relevant health information and resources to immigrants and emphasize the need for policymakers to consider cultural factors and information sources in health promotion efforts targeting immigrant populations. This study adds value to the information science literature by highlighting the role of information access and cultural context in shaping health-related actions among immigrants in Nordic countries.     

Communicating to young Chinese about human papillomavirus vaccination: examining the impact of message framing and temporal distance

This research investigated the influence of message framing (gain or loss) and temporal distance (present or future) on the intention of Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination. A total of 156 Chinese undergraduates participated in a controlled experiment in Macau, a Special Administrative Region of China. Results showed that message framing and temporal distance interacted to impact the intention of HPV vaccination. Particularly, among participants who had no prior knowledge of HPV vaccine, the gain-present and loss-future framed messages resulted in more positive attitudes toward the message, higher degree of perceived severity of HPV infection, and more likelihood to get HPV vaccination than the gain-future and loss-present framed messages. Implications of the findings were discussed.     

How liberals and conservatives respond to feasibility and desirability appeals in anti-tobacco campaigns

Using two experiments, this study aims to investigate how politically liberal or conservative message recipients respond to anti-tobacco appeals. The results show that in Study 1, respondents were exposed to a message about price policy. In Study 2, they were exposed to a message about a warning policy. In both studies, liberal participants more favorably evaluated anti-tobacco messages emphasizing feasibility rather than desirability, whereas conservative participants more positively evaluated messages emphasizing desirability rather than feasibility. Implications for policymakers and marketers are discussed.     

Supportive communication from bystanders of cyberbullying: indirect effects and interactions between source and message characteristics

Cyberbullying is an increasingly common experience that produces psychosocial consequences for targets. Interventions encouraging bystanders to support targets of cyberbullying are limited by a lack of focus on what to communicate. This study considers supportive messages that emphasize emotional comfort, attributions of responsibility, and beliefs that people can change as relevant to this context, and it examines how perceptions of messages differ based on whether support providers have or lack experience with cyberbullying. We extend research on the indirect effects model of supportive communication by randomly assigning participants (N?=?304), who self-identify as targets of cyberbullying, to message and source conditions and assessing their perceptions of messages, providers, and outcomes. Impressions of messages mediate their influence on outcomes, and the experiential similarity of support providers moderates these effects. Certain messages, notably those contending that bullies can change, are less effective when delivered by sources who lack experience with bullying.     

The Effects of Metaphor Use and Message Format on Cognitive Processing and Persuasive Outcomes of Condom Promotion Messages

The potential of pictorial and verbal metaphors to gain attention and enhance persuasion is considerable. Few scholars, however, have investigated the persuasive effects of metaphor in health messages. We applied a 2 × 2 factorial experiment to examine the effects of metaphor use (metaphor/literal) and message format (verbal/pictorial) on cognitive processing and persuasive outcomes of condom promotion messages. Results showed no significant differences in cognitive processing according to metaphor or format, but there were differences in attitudes and behavioral intentions according to metaphor and format, with literal and verbal messages performing best. Potential explanations for findings and implications for future research and health message design are discussed.     

The effects of gain versus loss framing and issue involvement on publics’ responses to nuclear energy messages in South Korea

This study investigates how the public’s perceptions of nuclear power, one of the modern technologies at the center of public debate on risk issues, are influenced by gain versus loss framing in the volatile context of nuclear energy applications in South Korea. Drawing upon prospect theory as its conceptual framework, this experiment using 566 adult participants found that loss-framed messages (i.e. emphasizing the negative outcomes of not using nuclear power) were more effective in increasing participants’ message credibility perceptions as compared to gain-framed messages (i.e. emphasizing the positive outcomes of using nuclear power). Additionally, the results found issue involvement to be a significant moderator of the framing effect, by demonstrating that the advantage of loss framing was stronger for participants who were highly involved in nuclear energy issue, as compared to those who were less involved in the issue. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.     

On the Deceptive Effectiveness of Labeled and Unlabeled Advertorial Formats

This experiment investigates the effects of an advertorial message on 4 dimensions of reader involvement. The use of the advertorial format was found to have increased participants' perceived message relevance, attention to written message, message elaboration, and message recall over the use of a standard advertisement format. Responses to labeled and unlabeled versions of the same advertorial did not vary significantly. Although participants perceived both labeled and unlabeled advertorials to be advertisements, rather than editorial material, more than two thirds of the participants who were exposed to a labeled advertorial failed to recall the presence of the label. Our findings indicate that the advertorial format fools readers into greater involvement with the advertising message and that the presence of advertorial labels may not be particularly effective in alerting consumers to the true nature of the message.     

The Locus of Message Meaning: Differences between Trained Coders and Untrained Message Recipients in the Analysis of Alcoholic Beverage Advertising

Media scholars often warn against inferring effects when examining media content because message meaning depends on the interpretations of message receivers. Unfortunately, typical message receivers and trained coders conducting content analyses are likely to perceive messages differently because of varying perspectives and processing strategies. Accordingly, this study examined the extent to which trained coders and untrained message receivers converged in their coding of print-based alcohol advertisements. Results from a traditional content analysis of 40 randomly selected print alcohol ads using two sets of trained coders were compared with results from a receiver-oriented message analysis, which used typical message-receivers (n?=?520) as coders. Significance tests indicated that message receivers and trained coders disagreed frequently-often dramatically-on virtually all types of content. Of particular interest, message receivers tended to perceive more frequent portrayals of underage individuals, more appeal to underage drinkers, more frequent sexual connotations, more frequent messages that encouraged drinking a lot of alcohol, and fewer moderation messages. The results demonstrate that potential differences in processing strategy and perspective between trained coders and message receivers can lead to very different conclusions that have implications for the understanding of message effects.     

The IDEA Model as a Best Practice for Effective Instructional Risk and Crisis Communication

This study presents the IDEA (internalization, distribution, explanation, action) model as an easy-to-use and situationally generalizable framework for quickly developing effective messages instructing people on how to protect themselves before and during high-risk events, crises, disasters, and other emergencies. The model consists of four elements: helping message recipients internalize the potential impact of the risk or crisis event, identifying appropriate channels and strategies for distributing the risk or crisis event messages, offering a brief and intelligible explanation of the nature of the risk or crisis, and providing specific self-protective action steps for people to take. The model may be used to design messages in any risk, crisis, or emergency context. Through a posttest-only quasi-experimental cross-sectional research experiment, this study measured the perceived message effectiveness, cognitive understanding, and behavioral intentions of those viewing a television news story about a crisis situation employing the IDEA model compared to those viewing a similar story replicating typical crisis event news stories delivered to general publics. This comparative examination revealed that the message designed according to the IDEA model was significantly more effective than the status quo message and resulted in greater behavioral intentions to engage in appropriate self-protective actions in the event of an acute risk or crisis situation. Strategies for implementing the model are also provided.     

The Uncanny Valley: The Effects of Rotoscope Animation on Motivational Processing of Depression Drug Messages

The purpose of this study was to investigate how rotoscope animation affects cognitive and emotional processing of depression drug ads. A 2 (animation) × 2 (position of tone) × 4 (message) experiment was conducted. Participants (N = 100) viewed 4, 90-s messages. STRTs (secondary task reaction times) and self-report of emotional responses were collected. Participants also completed an audio recognition task following each message. Among the key findings from this study were that participants in the animated condition showed signs of cognitive withdrawal and descent into a defensive cascade reflective of increasingly fast STRTs and poor encoding of drug side effects.