In COVID-19 Health Messaging, Loss Framing Increases Anxiety with Little-to-No Concomitant Benefits: Experimental Evidence from 84 Countries

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F00216208%3A11210%2F22%3A10472947" target="_blank" >RIV/00216208:11210/22:10472947 - isvavai.cz</a>

Alternative codes found

RIV/61384399:31130/22:00058289 RIV/00216208:11230/22:10472947 RIV/00216208:11690/22:10472947

Result on the web

<a href="https://verso.is.cuni.cz/pub/verso.fpl?fname=obd_publikace_handle&handle=FXI_ZHK8uH" target="_blank" >https://verso.is.cuni.cz/pub/verso.fpl?fname=obd_publikace_handle&handle=FXI_ZHK8uH</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s42761-022-00128-3" target="_blank" >10.1007/s42761-022-00128-3</a>

Result language

angličtina

Original language name

In COVID-19 Health Messaging, Loss Framing Increases Anxiety with Little-to-No Concomitant Benefits: Experimental Evidence from 84 Countries

Original language description

The COVID-19 pandemic (and its aftermath) highlights a critical need to communicate health information effectively to the global public. Given that subtle differences in information framing can have meaningful effects on behavior, behavioral science research highlights a pressing question: Is it more effective to frame COVID-19 health messages in terms of potential losses (e.g., &quot;If you do not practice these steps, you can endanger yourself and others&quot;) or potential gains (e.g., &quot;If you practice these steps, you can protect yourself and others&quot;)? Collecting data in 48 languages from 15,929 participants in 84 countries, we experimentally tested the effects of message framing on COVID-19-related judgments, intentions, and feelings. Loss- (vs. gain-) framed messages increased self-reported anxiety among participants cross-nationally with little-to-no impact on policy attitudes, behavioral intentions, or information seeking relevant to pandemic risks. These results were consistent across 84 countries, three variations of the message framing wording, and 560 data processing and analytic choices. Thus, results provide an empirical answer to a global communication question and highlight the emotional toll of loss-framed messages. Critically, this work demonstrates the importance of considering unintended affective consequences when evaluating nudge-style interventions.

Czech name

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Czech description

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Type

J_imp - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the Web of Science database

CEP classification

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OECD FORD branch

30300 - Health sciences

Project

—

Continuities

I - Institucionalni podpora na dlouhodoby koncepcni rozvoj vyzkumne organizace

Publication year

2022

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Name of the periodical

Affective Science

ISSN

2662-2041

e-ISSN

2662-205X

Volume of the periodical

3

Issue of the periodical within the volume

3

Country of publishing house

CH - SWITZERLAND

Number of pages

26

Pages from-to

577-602

UT code for WoS article

001045480200006

EID of the result in the Scopus database

2-s2.0-85147715208