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Updated: Jan 11, 2026
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Using persuasive messages to encourage voluntary hearing protection among coal miners
Michael T Stephenson1, Kim Witte, Charles Vaught
1Department of Communication, Texas A&M University, 4234 TAMU, College Station, TX 77843-4234, USA. mstephenson@tamu.edu
Introduction:
This longitudinal field study was designed to encourage Appalachian coal miners in West Virginia and Pennsylvania to engage in hearing-protection behaviors.
Method:
Participants were mailed postcards that featured either a positive, negative, or neutral message on the outside of the postcard and a message encouraging hearing protection behaviors on the inside. The first posttest measurement of the effectiveness of the persuasive messages was conducted about a week after the postcards were mailed. The delayed posttest measurement was conducted six weeks later.
Results:
Responses from 307 coal miners revealed that the positive or neutral messages generated significantly more self-reported hearing protection behaviors than the negative message. Identical results were obtained in a delayed posttest assessment of miners' self-reported hearing protection behaviors. The positive message was also more effective than either the neutral or negative message in preventing defensive mechanisms from emerging over time.
Impact On Industry:
Positive and neutral messages were convincingly more successful than negative messages in facilitating self-reported hearing protection behaviors among coal miners. Similarly, the positive messages kept defensive processes at bay.
