The Effects of Emotion, Spokesperson Type, and Benefit Appeals on Persuasion in Health Advertisements: Evidence from Macao
Enhancing public awareness for epidemic prevention is crucial for safeguarding public health. This experimental study investigated the effectiveness of a combined approach involving three persuasive elements in public health advertising. Specifically, the study examined the interplay between emotion...
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2023-11-01
|
| Series: | Behavioral Sciences |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/13/11/917 |
| _version_ | 1797460147264552960 |
|---|---|
| author | Ling Jiang Huihui Liu Nan Jiang |
| author_facet | Ling Jiang Huihui Liu Nan Jiang |
| author_sort | Ling Jiang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Enhancing public awareness for epidemic prevention is crucial for safeguarding public health. This experimental study investigated the effectiveness of a combined approach involving three persuasive elements in public health advertising. Specifically, the study examined the interplay between emotional appeals (fear messages versus efficacy messages) and spokesperson type on the public’s response to health announcements. The results demonstrated that fear messages were more persuasive when conveyed by real human spokespersons (versus animated spokespersons), whereas efficacy messages were more acceptable when conveyed by animated spokespersons (versus real humans). Furthermore, the study revealed that the impact of emotional appeals and spokesperson type is moderated by benefit appeals (self-benefit or other-benefit). The joint effects of these persuasive variables on individuals’ intention to adopt preventive measures indicated that the interactions significantly differed across the two types of benefit appeal. Taken together, the findings represent a pioneering contribution to the field of health communication by comparing the persuasive effects of different combinations of emotional appeals, spokesperson types, and benefit appeals on public behavior. These findings offer practical guidance for public communicators to design more appropriate health advertisements based on the results of this study, thereby enhancing public acceptance of disease prevention measures. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T17:01:56Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-cbf7a37850f24af584bbff18963ffca2 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-328X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T17:01:56Z |
| publishDate | 2023-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Behavioral Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-cbf7a37850f24af584bbff18963ffca22023-11-24T14:29:23ZengMDPI AGBehavioral Sciences2076-328X2023-11-01131191710.3390/bs13110917The Effects of Emotion, Spokesperson Type, and Benefit Appeals on Persuasion in Health Advertisements: Evidence from MacaoLing Jiang0Huihui Liu1Nan Jiang2School of Business, Macau University of Science and Technology, Macao 999078, ChinaSchool of Business, Macau University of Science and Technology, Macao 999078, ChinaCollege of Culture and Media, Guiyang University, Guiyang 550005, ChinaEnhancing public awareness for epidemic prevention is crucial for safeguarding public health. This experimental study investigated the effectiveness of a combined approach involving three persuasive elements in public health advertising. Specifically, the study examined the interplay between emotional appeals (fear messages versus efficacy messages) and spokesperson type on the public’s response to health announcements. The results demonstrated that fear messages were more persuasive when conveyed by real human spokespersons (versus animated spokespersons), whereas efficacy messages were more acceptable when conveyed by animated spokespersons (versus real humans). Furthermore, the study revealed that the impact of emotional appeals and spokesperson type is moderated by benefit appeals (self-benefit or other-benefit). The joint effects of these persuasive variables on individuals’ intention to adopt preventive measures indicated that the interactions significantly differed across the two types of benefit appeal. Taken together, the findings represent a pioneering contribution to the field of health communication by comparing the persuasive effects of different combinations of emotional appeals, spokesperson types, and benefit appeals on public behavior. These findings offer practical guidance for public communicators to design more appropriate health advertisements based on the results of this study, thereby enhancing public acceptance of disease prevention measures.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/13/11/917pandemicshealth communicationspersuasivenessspokespersonemotional appealbenefit appeal |
| spellingShingle | Ling Jiang Huihui Liu Nan Jiang The Effects of Emotion, Spokesperson Type, and Benefit Appeals on Persuasion in Health Advertisements: Evidence from Macao Behavioral Sciences pandemics health communications persuasiveness spokesperson emotional appeal benefit appeal |
| title | The Effects of Emotion, Spokesperson Type, and Benefit Appeals on Persuasion in Health Advertisements: Evidence from Macao |
| title_full | The Effects of Emotion, Spokesperson Type, and Benefit Appeals on Persuasion in Health Advertisements: Evidence from Macao |
| title_fullStr | The Effects of Emotion, Spokesperson Type, and Benefit Appeals on Persuasion in Health Advertisements: Evidence from Macao |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Effects of Emotion, Spokesperson Type, and Benefit Appeals on Persuasion in Health Advertisements: Evidence from Macao |
| title_short | The Effects of Emotion, Spokesperson Type, and Benefit Appeals on Persuasion in Health Advertisements: Evidence from Macao |
| title_sort | effects of emotion spokesperson type and benefit appeals on persuasion in health advertisements evidence from macao |
| topic | pandemics health communications persuasiveness spokesperson emotional appeal benefit appeal |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/13/11/917 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT lingjiang theeffectsofemotionspokespersontypeandbenefitappealsonpersuasioninhealthadvertisementsevidencefrommacao AT huihuiliu theeffectsofemotionspokespersontypeandbenefitappealsonpersuasioninhealthadvertisementsevidencefrommacao AT nanjiang theeffectsofemotionspokespersontypeandbenefitappealsonpersuasioninhealthadvertisementsevidencefrommacao AT lingjiang effectsofemotionspokespersontypeandbenefitappealsonpersuasioninhealthadvertisementsevidencefrommacao AT huihuiliu effectsofemotionspokespersontypeandbenefitappealsonpersuasioninhealthadvertisementsevidencefrommacao AT nanjiang effectsofemotionspokespersontypeandbenefitappealsonpersuasioninhealthadvertisementsevidencefrommacao |