Health persuasion through emoji: How emoji interacted with information source to predict health behaviors in COVID-19 situation
By providing health information through visual communication, public health organizations can effectively guide and persuade people to adopt healthy behaviors, which is critical in the context of public health crises. In this study, drawing upon congruity theory and the premise of visual communicati...
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2023-03-01
|
| Series: | SSM: Population Health |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352827323000083 |
| _version_ | 1811164900637016064 |
|---|---|
| author | Tingyi S. Lin Yue Luo |
| author_facet | Tingyi S. Lin Yue Luo |
| author_sort | Tingyi S. Lin |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | By providing health information through visual communication, public health organizations can effectively guide and persuade people to adopt healthy behaviors, which is critical in the context of public health crises. In this study, drawing upon congruity theory and the premise of visual communication, we examined how information source and emoji may shape people’s preventive and self-protective behaviors through perceived fear (PF) and perceived controllability (PC). Using a convenience sample of 210 participants, we conducted a 2 (emoji: with versus without) × 2 (information source: official versus unofficial) between-subject experiment. The results indicated that, compared with nonuse, the use of emoji in information resulted in higher PF, stronger preventive behavioral intention (PBI), and lower PC. In addition, a strong interaction effect was observed between emoji and the source of information on PBI. When emoji were added to health information released by an unofficial organization, the text outperformed that from an official agency in persuading people to adopt preventive behaviors. Furthermore, we determined that PF mediated the effect of emoji on PBI, but only for unofficial information sources. These results provide a reference for enhancing the effectiveness of health information including visual cues, such as emoji. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T15:29:46Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-06b27aacd08e4a1f95531fc1f3ae0a43 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2352-8273 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T15:29:46Z |
| publishDate | 2023-03-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | SSM: Population Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-06b27aacd08e4a1f95531fc1f3ae0a432023-02-14T04:07:03ZengElsevierSSM: Population Health2352-82732023-03-0121101343Health persuasion through emoji: How emoji interacted with information source to predict health behaviors in COVID-19 situationTingyi S. Lin0Yue Luo1Corresponding author.; Department of Design, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taiwan Tech, #43, Keelung Rd., Sec.4, Da'an Dist., Taipei City, 106335, TaiwanDepartment of Design, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taiwan Tech, #43, Keelung Rd., Sec.4, Da'an Dist., Taipei City, 106335, TaiwanBy providing health information through visual communication, public health organizations can effectively guide and persuade people to adopt healthy behaviors, which is critical in the context of public health crises. In this study, drawing upon congruity theory and the premise of visual communication, we examined how information source and emoji may shape people’s preventive and self-protective behaviors through perceived fear (PF) and perceived controllability (PC). Using a convenience sample of 210 participants, we conducted a 2 (emoji: with versus without) × 2 (information source: official versus unofficial) between-subject experiment. The results indicated that, compared with nonuse, the use of emoji in information resulted in higher PF, stronger preventive behavioral intention (PBI), and lower PC. In addition, a strong interaction effect was observed between emoji and the source of information on PBI. When emoji were added to health information released by an unofficial organization, the text outperformed that from an official agency in persuading people to adopt preventive behaviors. Furthermore, we determined that PF mediated the effect of emoji on PBI, but only for unofficial information sources. These results provide a reference for enhancing the effectiveness of health information including visual cues, such as emoji.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352827323000083EmojiPreventive behavioral intentionInformation sourcePerceived fearCongruity theoryHealth communication |
| spellingShingle | Tingyi S. Lin Yue Luo Health persuasion through emoji: How emoji interacted with information source to predict health behaviors in COVID-19 situation SSM: Population Health Emoji Preventive behavioral intention Information source Perceived fear Congruity theory Health communication |
| title | Health persuasion through emoji: How emoji interacted with information source to predict health behaviors in COVID-19 situation |
| title_full | Health persuasion through emoji: How emoji interacted with information source to predict health behaviors in COVID-19 situation |
| title_fullStr | Health persuasion through emoji: How emoji interacted with information source to predict health behaviors in COVID-19 situation |
| title_full_unstemmed | Health persuasion through emoji: How emoji interacted with information source to predict health behaviors in COVID-19 situation |
| title_short | Health persuasion through emoji: How emoji interacted with information source to predict health behaviors in COVID-19 situation |
| title_sort | health persuasion through emoji how emoji interacted with information source to predict health behaviors in covid 19 situation |
| topic | Emoji Preventive behavioral intention Information source Perceived fear Congruity theory Health communication |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352827323000083 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT tingyislin healthpersuasionthroughemojihowemojiinteractedwithinformationsourcetopredicthealthbehaviorsincovid19situation AT yueluo healthpersuasionthroughemojihowemojiinteractedwithinformationsourcetopredicthealthbehaviorsincovid19situation |