In COVID-19 health messaging, loss framing increases anxiety with little-to-no concomitant benefits: Experimental evidence from 84 countries

The COVID-19 pandemic (and its aftermath) highlights a critical need to communicate health information effectively to the global public. Given that subtle differences in information framing can have meaningful effects on behavior, behavioral science research highlights a pressing question: Is it more effective to frame COVID-19 health messages in terms of potential losses (e.g., “If you do not practice these steps, you can endanger yourself and others”) or potential gains (e.g., “If you practice these steps, you can protect yourself and others”)? Collecting data in 48 languages from 15,929 participants in 84 countries, we experimentally tested the effects of message framing on COVID-19-related judgments, intentions, and feelings. Loss- (vs. gain-) framed messages increased self-reported anxiety among participants cross-nationally with little-to-no impact on policy attitudes, behavioral intentions, or information seeking relevant to pandemic risks. These results were consistent across 84 countries, three variations of the message framing wording, and 560 data processing and analytic choices. Thus, results provide an empirical answer to a global communication question and highlight the emotional toll of loss-framed messages. Critically, this work demonstrates the importance of considering unintended affective consequences when evaluating nudge-style interventions.Fil: Dorison, Charles A.. Northwestern University; Estados UnidosFil: Lerner, Jennifer S.. Harvard University; Estados UnidosFil: Heller, Blake H.. Harvard University; Estados UnidosFil: Rothman, Alexander J.. University of Minnesota; Estados UnidosFil: Kawachi, Ichiro I.. Harvard University; Estados UnidosFil: Wang, Ke. Harvard University; Estados UnidosFil: Rees, Vaughan W.. Harvard University; Estados UnidosFil: Gill, Brian P.. Mathematica, Cambridge; Estados UnidosFil: Gibbs, Nancy. Harvard University; Estados UnidosFil: Ebersole, Charles R.. University of Virginia; Estados UnidosFil: Vally, Zahir. United Arab Emirates University; Emiratos Arabes Unidos. University of Oxford; Reino UnidoFil: Tajchman, Zuzanna. University of Minnesota; Estados UnidosFil: Zsido, Andras N.. University of Pécs; HungríaFil: Zrimsek, Mija. University of Ljubljana; EsloveniaFil: Chen, Zhang. University of Ghent; BélgicaFil: Ziano, Ignazio. Grenoble Ecole de Management; FranciaFil: Gialitaki, Zoi. Culemborg, Gelderland; Países BajosFil: Ceary, Chris D.. Indiana University of Pennsylvania; Estados UnidosFil: Lin, Yijun. University of Florida; Estados UnidosFil: Kunisato, Yoshihiko. Senshu University; JapónFil: Yamada, Yuki. Kyushu University; JapónFil: Xiao, Qinyu. University of Hong Kong; Hong KongFil: Jiang, Xiaoming. Shanghai International Studies University; ChinaFil: Du, Xinkai. University of Amsterdam; Países BajosFil: Yao, Elvin. Claremont Graduate University; Estados UnidosFil: Wilson, John Paul. Montclair State University.; Estados UnidosFil: Cyrus-Lai, Wilson. Institut Européen D'administration Des Affaires; SingapurFil: Jimenez-Leal, William. Universidad de los Andes; ColombiaFil: Law, Wilbert. The Education University of Hong Kong; Hong KongFil: Reyna, Cecilia. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Instituto de Investigaciones Psicológicas. - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Investigaciones Psicológicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Psicología; Argentin

In COVID-19 health messaging, loss framing increases anxiety with little-to-no concomitant benefits: experimental evidence from 84 countries

The COVID-19 pandemic (and its aftermath) highlights a critical need to communicate health information effectively to the global public. Given that subtle differences in information framing can have meaningful effects on behavior, behavioral science research highlights a pressing question: Is it more effective to frame COVID-19 health messages in terms of potential losses (e.g., "If you do not practice these steps, you can endanger yourself and others") or potential gains (e.g., "If you practice these steps, you can protect yourself and others")? Collecting data in 48 languages from 15,929 participants in 84 countries, we experimentally tested the effects of message framing on COVID-19-related judgments, intentions, and feelings. Loss- (vs. gain-) framed messages increased self-reported anxiety among participants cross-nationally with little-to-no impact on policy attitudes, behavioral intentions, or information seeking relevant to pandemic risks. These results were consistent across 84 countries, three variations of the message framing wording, and 560 data processing and analytic choices. Thus, results provide an empirical answer to a global communication question and highlight the emotional toll of loss-framed messages. Critically, this work demonstrates the importance of considering unintended affective consequences when evaluating nudge-style interventions

In COVID-19 Health Messaging, Loss Framing Increases Anxiety with Little-to-No Concomitant Benefits: Experimental Evidence from 84 Countries.

The COVID-19 pandemic (and its aftermath) highlights a critical need to communicate health information effectively to the global public. Given that subtle differences in information framing can have meaningful effects on behavior, behavioral science research highlights a pressing question: Is it more effective to frame COVID-19 health messages in terms of potential losses (e.g., "If you do not practice these steps, you can endanger yourself and others") or potential gains (e.g., "If you practice these steps, you can protect yourself and others")? Collecting data in 48 languages from 15,929 participants in 84 countries, we experimentally tested the effects of message framing on COVID-19-related judgments, intentions, and feelings. Loss- (vs. gain-) framed messages increased self-reported anxiety among participants cross-nationally with little-to-no impact on policy attitudes, behavioral intentions, or information seeking relevant to pandemic risks. These results were consistent across 84 countries, three variations of the message framing wording, and 560 data processing and analytic choices. Thus, results provide an empirical answer to a global communication question and highlight the emotional toll of loss-framed messages. Critically, this work demonstrates the importance of considering unintended affective consequences when evaluating nudge-style interventions

In COVID-19 health messaging, loss framing increases anxiety with little-to-no concomitant benefits: Experimental evidence from 84 countries

The COVID-19 pandemic (and its aftermath) highlights a critical need to communicate health information effectively to the global public. Given that subtle differences in information framing can have meaningful effects on behavior, behavioral science research highlights a pressing question: Is it more effective to frame COVID-19 health messages in terms of potential losses (e.g., "If you do not practice these steps, you can endanger yourself and others") or potential gains (e.g., "If you practice these steps, you can protect yourself and others")? Collecting data in 48 languages from 15,929 participants in 84 countries, we experimentally tested the effects of message framing on COVID-19-related judgments, intentions, and feelings. Loss- (vs. gain-) framed messages increased self-reported anxiety among participants cross-nationally with little-to-no impact on policy attitudes, behavioral intentions, or information seeking relevant to pandemic risks. These results were consistent across 84 countries, three variations of the message framing wording, and 560 data processing and analytic choices. Thus, results provide an empirical answer to a global communication question and highlight the emotional toll of loss-framed messages. Critically, this work demonstrates the importance of considering unintended affective consequences when evaluating nudge-style interventions