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Tailoring Temporal Message Frames to Individuals' Time Orientation Strengthens the Relationship between Risk
1Department of Communication, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, USA.
Journal of Health Communication
|February 5, 2021
Summary
Tailoring health messages to an individual's future outlook strengthens the link between perceived risk and intended behavior. This congruence enhances protective actions for health and environmental behaviors.
Area of Science:
- Health Communication
- Behavioral Science
- Psychology
Background:
- Health behavior theories often assume risk perception drives protective actions, but empirical evidence is inconsistent.
- A key challenge in health behavior is the delayed gratification, making risk perception less effective.
- This study introduces temporal frame congruence with trait time orientation as a crucial moderator.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if aligning message temporal frames with individuals' future orientation (Consideration of Future Consequences; CFC) moderates the risk perception-behavioral intention link.
- To examine this moderating effect in contexts of health (sleep) and environmental (recycling) behaviors.
- To explore how different operationalizations of risk perception influence the observed moderating effects.
Main Methods:
- Two online experiments were conducted.
- Study 1 involved 227 participants receiving messages about adequate sleep.
- Study 2 involved 223 participants receiving messages about plastic bottle recycling. Both studies measured risk perception, behavioral intention, temporal framing, and CFC.
Main Results:
- A significant interaction was found: the relationship between risk perception and behavioral intention was stronger when temporal frames were congruent with CFC.
- Tailored messages, where temporal frames matched individuals' CFC, showed a more robust link between perceived risk and intention.
- The strength of this moderating effect varied based on whether risk perception was measured as susceptibility, severity, or both.
Conclusions:
- Congruence between message temporal frames and an individual's future time orientation (CFC) significantly enhances the impact of risk perception on behavioral intention.
- Tailoring health and environmental messages based on temporal congruence offers a promising strategy for improving message effectiveness.
- Understanding how individuals perceive future consequences is vital for designing persuasive risk communication.
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