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The study examines how framing, psychological uncertainty, and agency type influence campaign effectiveness in promoting coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines. A 2 (gain vs. loss frame) × 2 (high vs. low uncertainty) × 2 (national vs. local agency) between-subjects experiment was conducted among Houston residents ( N = 382). Findings revealed that a loss frame was more effective among participants primed with high uncertainty through a thought-listing task; however, it was less persuasive under conditions of low uncertainty due to increased psychological reactance. Moreover, there was an interaction effect between uncertainty and agency type on vaccine beliefs. The study contributes to the framing literature by identifying psychological uncertainty as a moderator and provides useful suggestions for vaccine message design.

Adolescents are frequently thought of as having strong desires for independence and defiance of authority. Using psychological reactance theory, this study investigated the effects of gain and loss frame messages advocating sun safety behavior on the perceived threats to freedom of high school-aged adolescents. A loss, rather than a gain, frame message produced greater perceived threats to freedom among adolescents. Perceived threats to freedom were associated with anger, but anger was not associated with attitudes toward behavior. Perceived threats to freedom were not associated with negative cognitions, but more negative cognitions were associated with less positive attitudes toward behavior. Implications of the findings on future research are explored.

The United States is one of the hardest-hit countries by the COVID-19 pandemic and yet there is widespread hesitancy to take the vaccine. In order to address vaccine hesitancy and foster public understanding of the COVID-19 vaccine, it is necessary to strategize public health messages based on evidence. To this end, we use experimental data to examine the effects of four message frames on participants' attitudes toward the COVID-19 vaccine and their vaccine intention. The primary purposes of this paper are to examine the 1) impact of loss vs. gain frames and individual vs. collective frames and 2) role of perceived benefits on participants' attitudes toward the COVID-19 vaccine and their vaccine intention. Our findings show that participants with higher perceived benefits and exposed to the loss frame showed higher positive attitudes toward the COVID-19 vaccine and greater intention to vaccinate. Similar patterns were revealed in case of the individual frame message. Implications are discussed.

Behavioural scientists in the field of climate change communication call for a better understanding of how information provided to the public should be presented in order to be effective. The aim of this research is to connect insights from framing theory with message processing theory and regulatory focus theory to see whether public communication can effectively affect pro-environmental behavioural change. The framing types that are of interest in the current study are outcome framing and point-of-reference framing. An online, scenario-based experiment was conducted with 170 Dutch homeowners using a 2 × 2 between-group design. The stimulus material consisted of a communal newsletter advocating pro-environmental behaviours (both short-term and long-term investments in insulation and investment in an alternative heating system) in which both the outcome (gain vs. loss) and the point of reference (self vs. environment) were manipulated. The results indicate that the effect of outcome framing on pro-environmental behavioural intentions depends on the point of reference employed in a message as well as on a recipient’s regulatory focus. Homeowners’ pro-environmental intentions are stronger when the message is presented in a loss frame with a reference to the self than when the message is presented in a loss frame with a reference to the environment. Furthermore, pro-environmental intentions are stronger when the message is presented to homeowners in a gain frame with a promotion focus compared to a prevention focus. No direct effects were found for either outcome framing or point-of-reference framing.

How 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.

Mobile communication technologies are ubiquitous and span a wide range of applications. The present study assessed the effects of message framing on the public acceptance of branchless banking applications using the unified theory of acceptance and utilization of technology (UTAUT). Adult holders of an active bank account were randomly assigned into three message framing conditions (gain frame, loss frame, and control condition), and completed structured anonymous questionnaires on technology acceptance variables derived from the UTAUT. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed that message framing manipulations did not influence directly self-reported scores on technology acceptance variables. However, linear regression analyses showed that message framing differentiated the interrelationships between usage intentions and related UTAUT variables between conditions. Moderated regression analysis further showed that gender interacted with performance expectancy in predicting usage intentions in the control group condition. Message framing manipulations influence the way intentions to use technology relate to technology acceptance beliefs. This effect should be further examined in the context of technology acceptance models in e-commerce applications, and more especially in the branchless banking domain. Efforts to promote branchless banking applications would benefit from assessments of potential users’ technology acceptance beliefs and intentions.

In this article we examine differences in the impact of message framing and scarcity appeal types in advertisements on consumers with varying levels of need for uniqueness (NFU). Results from two experimental studies support a two-way NFU × scarcity interaction, wherein participants with lower levels of NFU show a greater impact of demand (versus supply) scarcity appeal on their attitudes and purchase intentions; whereas participants with higher levels of NFU show a greater impact of supply (versus demand) appeal. In addition, we found support for a three-way interaction, which shows that, under both gain and loss frames, participants with lower levels of NFU prefer demand over supply appeal; whereas under the loss frame, participants with higher levels of NFU prefer supply over demand appeal. We discuss the conceptual contribution and managerial implications of these findings.

A 2 (frame: gain vs. loss) × 2 (evaluative input: high vs. low) × 3 (target behavior: sunscreen, self-exam, and indoor tanning) quasi-experimental study ( N = 452) was conducted to test moderators of message framing effect. The results showed that effectiveness of a frame is a function of its evaluative input. There was evidence that the gain frame is more effective for prevention behavior and the loss frame for detection behavior. There was no evidence that proscriptive vs. prescriptive behaviors moderated framing effect. Data also suggested that dispositional motivations can be a moderator of message framing effect, but might be contingent upon level of evaluative input and type of behavior.

Objective Framing a message in terms of the benefits of engaging in the behavior (gain frame), the costs of failing to engage in the behavior (loss frame), or both the benefits and the costs (mixed frame) can impact parents' decisions about their childrens' and adolescents' health. This study, investigated the effect of framed messages on parents' intentions to have their children vaccinated against human papillomavirus (HPV). Design and Sample The study employed a 2 (gender of the parent) × 2 (gender of the child) × 3 (message frame) between-groups, quasi-experimental design. A convenience sample of 367 parents with children in Grade 5, 6, or 7 who had at least one child who had not been vaccinated against HPV. Measures Social-cognitive variables relating to intentions to vaccinate a child were assessed. Intervention Participants were randomly assigned to read one of three framed messages about the HPV vaccine (gain, loss, or mixed). Results Gain-framed messages seemed to persuade mothers of sons to speak to a doctor about the vaccine (p

This study explored the effects of premessage emotions (happiness, anger, and fear) and chronic levels of motivational system activation (behavioral approach system: BAS, and behavioral inhibition system: BIS) on the processing of gain- and loss-framed persuasive messages. The data showed that emotion functions (approach and avoidance), not valences (positive and negative), predicted emotions' interactions with motivational systems and framed messages. While fear was associated with BIS, happiness and anger were linked to BAS. Also, while a loss frame was more persuasive among fearful individuals, a gain frame produced more persuasion for happy and angry participants. BAS mediated persuasion when angry and happy participants read a gain frame; BIS mediated persuasion among fearful individuals who attended to a loss frame.

This study examines the effects of exposure to messages incongruent with one’s motivational orientation. In a factorial design with regulatory orientation and message frame as independent variables, participants ( N = 106) conducted an information search on a web program. Participants selected online information that was congruent with their activated motivational orientation. Compatibility effects resulted in promotion orientation/gain frame and prevention orientation/loss frame participants reporting more favorable attitudes than promotion orientation/loss frame and prevention orientation/gain frame participants irrespective of exposure to messages incongruent with the activated motivational orientation. A similar pattern of results occurred with message recall. For behavioral intention, significant differences occurred for only the promotion orientation condition where gain-framed messages elicited greater behavioral intentions than the loss-framed message.

Improving the effectiveness of antidrug ads is an important public health concern. Central to achieving this aim is identifying the message strategies that address the differential characteristics of adolescent audiences. This study examined the effects of gain versus loss frame antidrug ads on adolescents with different social and behavioral characteristics. A posttest-only experiment was conducted to examine if these audience factors moderate the effects of message framing. Loss-frame messages, rather than gain-frame messages, were more persuasive for adolescents who report that their friends use drugs. Neither gain nor loss framing had a persuasive advantage for adolescents who report that their friends do not use drugs, although this outcome may be the result of a ceiling effect. Implications of the results for future theory and research are discussed.

Introduction Couples in which both members smoke (dual-smoker couples) have not been the explicit target of cessation interventions. Quit rates are lower and relapse rates are higher among individuals in dual-smoker couples. A potentially effective strategy to motivate dual-smoker couples to quit is to convey messages that highlight how the positive outcomes of quitting (gain frame) or the negative outcomes of continued smoking (loss frame) affect the couple rather than the individual smoker. We explored whether dual-smoker couples' smoking behaviors (e.g., amount smoked) and desire to quit would differ as a function of message frame (gain vs. loss) or outcome focus (individual vs. couple). Methods Dual-smoker couples (N = 40) completed a baseline survey and were then randomized to review gain- or loss-framed messages that varied whether the outcomes influenced the individual or the couple. Main outcomes were desire to quit after reading messages and smoking behaviors at a 1-month follow-up. Results Couple-focused messages produced the strongest desire to quit and decreased amount of cigarettes smoked at follow-up. The latter effect was mediated by desire to quit. Loss-framed messages produced inconsistent effects on desire to quit. There were no significant interactions between outcome focus and message framing. Conclusions Findings suggest that messages emphasizing how smoking affects both partners can motivate cessation among dual-smoker couples. Contrary to findings showing that gain-framed messages motivate cessation targeting individual smokers, results suggest that loss-framed messages may be more persuasive than gain-framed messages when the target of the outcome involves significant others.

Current consumption lifestyles put the environment in danger (United Nations 1992). Enhancing green consumption, i.e. a consumption lifestyle that reduces damage to our natural surroundings, is therefore of great importance. The ecological impact of consumption has also become an important factor in consumer choice. More and more consumers are willing to change their consumption style, claim to pay attention to ecological claims and labels and are willing to pay a higher price for ecological friendly products (GfK North America 2008).

We examined how culture influences the persuasive effects of health campaigns that promote early screening for cancers that occur in women. Two message dimensions were included: individualistic vs. collectivistic appeal and gain vs. loss frame. A total of 955 females from three countries—the United States, South Korea, and Japan—participated in the experiment. From the results, we found that message framing alone did not significantly influence the effectiveness of public campaigns for women's cancer prevention; and this tendency was similar across the three countries. Gain-framed messages are likely to be more persuasive when combined with a collectivistic appeal, however, whereas loss-framed messages tend to be more effective when combined with an individualistic appeal in both the United States and South Korea; but this result was not the case for Japan. Based on the findings, we suggested theoretical and managerial implications as well as several directions for future research.

This study investigated the joint effect of message framing and time perspective in adherence-promoting communication targeting patients with chronic diseases. Based on previous framing and time perspective research, it was hypothesized that the gain frame would show an advantage over the loss frame among future-oriented patients; for present-oriented patients, it was hypothesized that the framing effect would be relatively indistinct. In total, 1,108 currently nonadherent patients with chronic disease participated in an experiment where they were randomly assigned to either gain- or loss-framed messages addressing key beliefs underlying their nonadherence or a no-message control condition. Intention and attitude regarding future adherence as well as message perceptions were measured after message presentation. Results of this study generally supported the hypotheses. Message topics-whether the messages addressed patients' perceived need for medications or concerns about side effects-did not moderate the effect of framing or the interaction between framing and time perspective. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Across three studies, this research elucidates when loss- versus gain-framed messages are most effective in influencing consumer recycling by examining the moderating role of whether a more concrete or abstract mind-set is activated. First, in a field study, the authors demonstrate that loss frames are more efficacious when paired with low-level, concrete mind-sets, whereas gain frames are more effective when paired with high-level, abstract mind-sets. This is an important, substantive finding that persisted over a significant time span. in addition, in two additional laboratory studies, they find further evidence for this matching hypothesis, in which a pairing of loss- (gain-) framed messages that activates more concrete (abstract) mind-sets leads to enhanced processing fluency, increased efficacy, and, as a result, more positive recycling intentions. The findings have implications for marketers, consumers, and society as a whole.