Persuasive conversations between friends about health and safety precautions

One hundred eighty-five conversations in which a college student attempted to convince a friend to adopt a health or safety precaution were examined. A detailed category coding system was developed to describe the content of such conversations and to answer nine specific questions about these interactions. Among other results, the data showed that subjects spend very little time describing the nature of the harm that might occur and usually speak of protection in dichotomous, all-or-none terms rather than acknowledging degrees of risk. Much time is spent discussing the correct actions to take and the problems faced in carrying out these actions. Initial and 2-month assessments of of persuasiveness found no significant relationships between the presence of specific themes and changes in intentions or behavior. The observed content of these conversations is discussed in relation to current theories of self-protective behavior and likely mechanisms of social influence.