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

Dorison, CA, Lerner, JS, Heller, BH, Rothman, AJ, Kawachi, II, Wang, K, Rees, VW, Gill, BP, Gibbs, N, Ebersole, CR, Vally, Z, Tajchman, Z, Zsido, AN, Zrimsek, M, Chen, Z, Ziano, I, Gialitaki, Z, Ceary, CD, Lin, Y, Kunisato, Y, Yamada, Y, Xiao, Q, Jiang, X, Du, X, Yao, E, Wilson, JP, Cyrus-Lai, W, Jimenez-Leal, W, Law, W, Collins, WM, Richard, KL, Vranka, M, Ankushev, V, Schei, V, Križanić, V, Kadreva, VH, Adoric, VC, Tran, US, Yeung, SK, Hassan, W, Houston, R, Lima, TJS, Ostermann, T, Frizzo, T, Sverdrup, TE, House, T, Gill, T, Fedotov, M, Paltrow, T, Jernsäther, T, Koptjevskaja-Tamm, M, Hostler, TJ, Ishii, T, Szaszi, B, Adamus, S, Suter, L, Habib, S, Studzinska, A, Stojanovska, D, Janssen, SMJ, Stieger, S, Schulenberg, SE, Tatachari, S, Azouaghe, S, Sorokowski, P, Sorokowska, A, Song, X, Lewis, SC, Sinkolova, S, Grigoryev, D, Drexler, SM, Daches, S, Geniole, SN, Vračar, S, Massoni, S, Zorjan, S, Sarıoğuz, E, Izquierdo, SM, Alves, SG, Pöntinen, S, Solas, SÁ, Ordoñez-Riaño, S, Očovaj, SB, Onie, S, Lins, S, Çoksan, S, Sacakli, A, Ruiz-Fernández, S, Geiger, SJ, FatahModares, S, Walczak, RB, Betlehem, R, Vilar, R, Cárcamo, R, Ross, RM, McCarthy, R, Ballantyne, T, Westgate, EC, Afhami, R, Ren, D, Monteiro, RP, Reips, U-D, Reggev, N, Calin-Jageman, RJ, Pourafshari, R, Oliveira, R, Nedelcheva-Datsova, M, Rahal, R-M, Ribeiro, RR, Radtke, T, Searston, R, Habte, R, Zdybek, P, Chen, S-C, Maturan, PLG, Perillo, JT, Isager, PM, Kačmár, P, Macapagal, PM, Szwed, P, Hanel, PHP, Forbes, PAG, Arriaga, P, Paris, B, Papachristopoulos, K, Correa, PS, Kácha, O, Bernardo, M, Campos, O, Bravo, ON, Galindo-Caballero, OJ, Ogbonnaya, CE, Bialobrzeska, O, Kiselnikova, N, Simonovic, N, Cohen, N, Nock, NL, Johannes, N, Albayrak-Aydemir, N, Say, N, Torunsky, N, Van Doren, N, Sunami, N, Rachev, NR, Majeed, NM, Schmidt, N-D, Nadif, K, Corral-Frías, NS, Ouherrou, N, Pantazi, M, Lucas, MY, Vasilev, MR, Ortiz, MV, Butt, MM, Kabir, M, Muda, R, Tejada Rivera, MdCM, Sirota, M, Seehuus, M, Parzuchowski, M, Toro, M, Hricova, M, Maldonado, MA, Marszalek, M, Karekla, M, Mioni, G, Bosma, MJ, Westerlund, M, Vdovic, M, Bialek, M, Silan, MA, Anne, M, Misiak, M, Grinberg, M, Capizzi, M, Espinoza Barría, MF, Kurfali, MA, Mensink, MC, Harutyunyan, M, Khosla, M, Korbmacher, M, Adamkovič, M, Ribeiro, MFF, Terskova, M, Hruška, M, Martončik, M, Voracek, M, Čadek, M, Frías-Armenta, M, Kowal, M, Topor, M, Roczniewska, M, Oosterlinck, M, Kohlová, MB, Paruzel-Czachura, M, Romanova, M, Papadatou-Pastou, M, Lund, ML, Antoniadi, M, Jones, MV, Ortiz, MS, Manavalan, M, Muminov, A, Kossowska, M, Friedemann, M, Wielgus, M, Varella, MAC, Colloff, MF, Bradford, M, Vaughn, LA, Eudave, L, Vieira, L, Pineda, LMS, Pérez, LC, Lazarevic, LB, Jaremka, LM, Kushnir, E, Anton-Boicuk, L, de Holanda Coelho, GL, Ahlgren, L, Levitan, CA, Micheli, L, Volz, L, Stojanovska, M, Boucher, L, Samojlenko, L, Delgado, LGJ, Kaliska, L, Warmelink, L, Rojas-Berscia, LM, Yu, K, Wachowicz, J, Desai, K, Barzykowski, K, Kozma, L, Evans, K, Kirgizova, K, Agesin, BE, Koehn, MA, Wolfe, K, Korobova, T, Klevjer, K, van Schie, K, Vezirian, K, Damnjanović, K, Thommesen, KK, Schmidt, K, Filip, K, Grzech, K, Hoyer, K, Moon, K, Rana, K, Janjić, K, Suchow, JW, Kielińska, J, Cruz Vásquez, JE, Beitner, J, Vargas-Nieto, JC, Roxas, JCT, Taber, J, Urriago-Rayo, J, Pavlacic, JM, Bavolar, J, Soto, JA, Olofsson, JK, Vilsmeier, JK, Messerschmidt, J, Czamanski-Cohen, J, Boudesseul, J, Lee, JM, Kamburidis, J, Zickfeld, J, Miranda, JF, Verharen, JPH, Hristova, E, Beshears, JE, Đorđević, JM, Bosch, J, Valentova, JV, Antfolk, J, Berkessel, JB, Schrötter, J, Urban, J, Röer, JP, Norton, JO, Silva, JR, Pickering, JS, Vintr, J, Uttley, J, Kunst, JR, Ndukaihe, ILG, Iyer, A, Vilares, I, Ivanov, A, Ropovik, I, Sula, I, Sarieva, I, Metin-Orta, I, Prusova, I, Pinto, I, Bozdoc, AI, Almeida, IAT, Pit, IL, Dalgar, I, Zakharov, I, Arinze, AI, Ihaya, K, Stephen, ID ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9714-8295, Gjoneska, B, Brohmer, H, Flowe, H, Godbersen, H, Kocalar, HE, Hedgebeth, MV, Chuan-Peng, H, Sharifian, M, Manley, H, Akkas, H, Hajdu, N, Azab, H, Kaminski, G, Nilsonne, G, Anjum, G, Travaglino, GA, Feldman, G, Pfuhl, G, Czarnek, G, Marcu, GM, Hofer, G, Banik, G, Adetula, GA, Bijlstra, G, Verbruggen, F, Kung, FYH, Foroni, F, Singer, G, Muchembled, F, Azevedo, F, Mosannenzadeh, F, Marinov, E, Štrukelj, E, Etebari, Z, Baskin, E, Garcia, EOL, Musser, E, van Steenkiste, IMM, Ahn, ER, Pronizius, E, Jackson, EA, Manunta, E, Agadullina, E, Šakan, D, Dursun, P, Dujols, O, Dubrov, D, Willis, M, Tümer, M, Beaudry, JL, Popović, D, Dunleavy, D, Djamai, I, Krupić, D, Vega, D, Du, H, Mola, D, Davis, WE, Holford, DL, Lewis, DMG, Vaidis, DC, Ozery, DH, Ricaurte, DZ, Storage, D, Sousa, D, Alvarez, DS, Rosa, AD, Krupić, D, Marko, D, Moreau, D, Reeck, C, Correia, RC, Whitt, CM, Lamm, C, Solorzano, CS, von Bastian, CC, Sutherland, CA, Overkott, C, Aberson, CL, Wang, C, Karashiali, C, Noone, C, Chiu, F, Picciocchi, C, Karaarslan, C, Cellini, N, Esteban-Serna, C, Reyna, C, Batres, C, Li, R, Grano, C, Carpentier, J, Tamnes, CK, Fu, CHY, Ishkhanyan, B, Bylinina, L, Jaeger, B, Bundt, C, Allred, TB, Bokkour, A, Bogatyreva, N, Chopik, WJ, Antazo, B, Behzadnia, B, Becker, M, Cocco, B, Chou, W-L, Hubena, B, Žuro, B, Aczel, B, Baklanova, E, Bai, H, Balci, BB, Babinčák, P, Dixson, BJW, Mokady, A, Kappes, HB, Atari, M, Szala, A, Szabelska, A, Aruta, JJB, Domurat, A, Arinze, NC, Modena, A, Adiguzel, A, Monajem, A, ARABI, KAE, Özdoğru, AA, Olaya Torres, AJ, Theodoropoulou, A, Jurković, AP, Kassianos, AP, Findor, A, Hartanto, A, Thibault Landry, A, Ferreira, A, Santos, AC, De la Rosa-Gomez, A, Gourdon-Kanhukamwe, A, Todsen, AL, Karababa, A, Janak, A, Bran, A, Tullett, AM, Kuzminska, AO, Krafnick, AJ, Urooj, A, Khaoudi, A, Ahmed, A, Groyecka-Bernard, A, Askelund, AD, Adetula, A, Belaus, A, Charyate, AC, Wichman, AL, Stoyanova, A, Greenburgh, A, Thomas, AG, Arvanitis, A, Forscher, PS, Mallik, PR, Primbs, MA, Miller, JK, Moshontz, H, Urry, HL, IJzerman, H, Basnight-Brown, DM, Chartier, CR, Buchanan, EM and Coles, NA, 2022. In COVID-19 health messaging, loss framing increases anxiety with little-to-no concomitant benefits: experimental evidence from 84 countries. Affective Science, 3, pp. 577-602. ISSN 2662-205X

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Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic 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.

Item Type:	Journal article
Publication Title:	Affective Science
Creators:	Dorison, C.A., Lerner, J.S., Heller, B.H., Rothman, A.J., Kawachi, I.I., Wang, K., Rees, V.W., Gill, B.P., Gibbs, N., Ebersole, C.R., Vally, Z., Tajchman, Z., Zsido, A.N., Zrimsek, M., Chen, Z., Ziano, I., Gialitaki, Z., Ceary, C.D., Lin, Y., Kunisato, Y., Yamada, Y., Xiao, Q., Jiang, X., Du, X., Yao, E., Wilson, J.P., Cyrus-Lai, W., Jimenez-Leal, W., Law, W., Collins, W.M., Richard, K.L., Vranka, M., Ankushev, V., Schei, V., Križanić, V., Kadreva, V.H., Adoric, V.C., Tran, U.S., Yeung, S.K., Hassan, W., Houston, R., Lima, T.J.S., Ostermann, T., Frizzo, T., Sverdrup, T.E., House, T., Gill, T., Fedotov, M., Paltrow, T., Jernsäther, T., Koptjevskaja-Tamm, M., Hostler, T.J., Ishii, T., Szaszi, B., Adamus, S., Suter, L., Habib, S., Studzinska, A., Stojanovska, D., Janssen, S.M.J., Stieger, S., Schulenberg, S.E., Tatachari, S., Azouaghe, S., Sorokowski, P., Sorokowska, A., Song, X., Lewis, S.C., Sinkolova, S., Grigoryev, D., Drexler, S.M., Daches, S., Geniole, S.N., Vračar, S., Massoni, S., Zorjan, S., Sarıoğuz, E., Izquierdo, S.M., Alves, S.G., Pöntinen, S., Solas, S., Ordoñez-Riaño, S., Očovaj, S.B., Onie, S., Lins, S., Çoksan, S., Sacakli, A., Ruiz-Fernández, S., Geiger, S.J., FatahModares, S., Walczak, R.B., Betlehem, R., Vilar, R., Cárcamo, R., Ross, R.M., McCarthy, R., Ballantyne, T., Westgate, E.C., Afhami, R., Ren, D., Monteiro, R.P., Reips, U.-D., Reggev, N., Calin-Jageman, R.J., Pourafshari, R., Oliveira, R., Nedelcheva-Datsova, M., Rahal, R.-M., Ribeiro, R.R., Radtke, T., Searston, R., Habte, R., Zdybek, P., Chen, S.-C., Maturan, P.L.G., Perillo, J.T., Isager, P.M., Kačmár, P., Macapagal, P.M., Szwed, P., Hanel, P.H.P., Forbes, P.A.G., Arriaga, P., Paris, B., Papachristopoulos, K., Correa, P.S., Kácha, O., Bernardo, M., Campos, O., Bravo, O.N., Galindo-Caballero, O.J., Ogbonnaya, C.E., Bialobrzeska, O., Kiselnikova, N., Simonovic, N., Cohen, N., Nock, N.L., Johannes, N., Albayrak-Aydemir, N., Say, N., Torunsky, N., Van Doren, N., Sunami, N., Rachev, N.R., Majeed, N.M., Schmidt, N.-D., Nadif, K., Corral-Frías, N.S., Ouherrou, N., Pantazi, M., Lucas, M.Y., Vasilev, M.R., Ortiz, M.V., Butt, M.M., Kabir, M., Muda, R., Tejada Rivera, M.C.M., Sirota, M., Seehuus, M., Parzuchowski, M., Toro, M., Hricova, M., Maldonado, M.A., Marszalek, M., Karekla, M., Mioni, G., Bosma, M.J., Westerlund, M., Vdovic, M., Bialek, M., Silan, M.A., Anne, M., Misiak, M., Grinberg, M., Capizzi, M., Espinoza Barría, M.F., Kurfali, M.A., Mensink, M.C., Harutyunyan, M., Khosla, M., Korbmacher, M., Adamkovič, M., Ribeiro, M.F.F., Terskova, M., Hruška, M., Martončik, M., Voracek, M., Čadek, M., Frías-Armenta, M., Kowal, M., Topor, M., Roczniewska, M., Oosterlinck, M., Kohlová, M.B., Paruzel-Czachura, M., Romanova, M., Papadatou-Pastou, M., Lund, M.L., Antoniadi, M., Jones, M.V., Ortiz, M.S., Manavalan, M., Muminov, A., Kossowska, M., Friedemann, M., Wielgus, M., Varella, M.A.C., Colloff, M.F., Bradford, M., Vaughn, L.A., Eudave, L., Vieira, L., Pineda, L.M.S., Pérez, L.C., Lazarevic, L.B., Jaremka, L.M., Kushnir, E., Anton-Boicuk, L., de Holanda Coelho, G.L., Ahlgren, L., Levitan, C.A., Micheli, L., Volz, L., Stojanovska, M., Boucher, L., Samojlenko, L., Delgado, L.G.J., Kaliska, L., Warmelink, L., Rojas-Berscia, L.M., Yu, K., Wachowicz, J., Desai, K., Barzykowski, K., Kozma, L., Evans, K., Kirgizova, K., Agesin, B.E., Koehn, M.A., Wolfe, K., Korobova, T., Klevjer, K., van Schie, K., Vezirian, K., Damnjanović, K., Thommesen, K.K., Schmidt, K., Filip, K., Grzech, K., Hoyer, K., Moon, K., Rana, K., Janjić, K., Suchow, J.W., Kielińska, J., Cruz Vásquez, J.E., Beitner, J., Vargas-Nieto, J.C., Roxas, J.C.T., Taber, J., Urriago-Rayo, J., Pavlacic, J.M., Bavolar, J., Soto, J.A., Olofsson, J.K., Vilsmeier, J.K., Messerschmidt, J., Czamanski-Cohen, J., Boudesseul, J., Lee, J.M., Kamburidis, J., Zickfeld, J., Miranda, J.F., Verharen, J.P.H., Hristova, E., Beshears, J.E., Đorđević, J.M., Bosch, J., Valentova, J.V., Antfolk, J., Berkessel, J.B., Schrötter, J., Urban, J., Röer, J.P., Norton, J.O., Silva, J.R., Pickering, J.S., Vintr, J., Uttley, J., Kunst, J.R., Ndukaihe, I.L.G., Iyer, A., Vilares, I., Ivanov, A., Ropovik, I., Sula, I., Sarieva, I., Metin-Orta, I., Prusova, I., Pinto, I., Bozdoc, A.I., Almeida, I.A.T., Pit, I.L., Dalgar, I., Zakharov, I., Arinze, A.I., Ihaya, K., Stephen, I.D., Gjoneska, B., Brohmer, H., Flowe, H., Godbersen, H., Kocalar, H.E., Hedgebeth, M.V., Chuan-Peng, H., Sharifian, M., Manley, H., Akkas, H., Hajdu, N., Azab, H., Kaminski, G., Nilsonne, G., Anjum, G., Travaglino, G.A., Feldman, G., Pfuhl, G., Czarnek, G., Marcu, G.M., Hofer, G., Banik, G., Adetula, G.A., Bijlstra, G., Verbruggen, F., Kung, F.Y.H., Foroni, F., Singer, G., Muchembled, F., Azevedo, F., Mosannenzadeh, F., Marinov, E., Štrukelj, E., Etebari, Z., Baskin, E., Garcia, E.O.L., Musser, E., van Steenkiste, I.M.M., Ahn, E.R., Pronizius, E., Jackson, E.A., Manunta, E., Agadullina, E., Šakan, D., Dursun, P., Dujols, O., Dubrov, D., Willis, M., Tümer, M., Beaudry, J.L., Popović, D., Dunleavy, D., Djamai, I., Krupić, D., Vega, D., Du, H., Mola, D., Davis, W.E., Holford, D.L., Lewis, D.M.G., Vaidis, D.C., Ozery, D.H., Ricaurte, D.Z., Storage, D., Sousa, D., Alvarez, D.S., Rosa, A.D., Krupić, D., Marko, D., Moreau, D., Reeck, C., Correia, R.C., Whitt, C.M., Lamm, C., Solorzano, C.S., von Bastian, C.C., Sutherland, C.A., Overkott, C., Aberson, C.L., Wang, C., Karashiali, C., Noone, C., Chiu, F., Picciocchi, C., Karaarslan, C., Cellini, N., Esteban-Serna, C., Reyna, C., Batres, C., Li, R., Grano, C., Carpentier, J., Tamnes, C.K., Fu, C.H.Y., Ishkhanyan, B., Bylinina, L., Jaeger, B., Bundt, C., Allred, T.B., Bokkour, A., Bogatyreva, N., Chopik, W.J., Antazo, B., Behzadnia, B., Becker, M., Cocco, B., Chou, W.-L., Hubena, B., Žuro, B., Aczel, B., Baklanova, E., Bai, H., Balci, B.B., Babinčák, P., Dixson, B.J.W., Mokady, A., Kappes, H.B., Atari, M., Szala, A., Szabelska, A., Aruta, J.J.B., Domurat, A., Arinze, N.C., Modena, A., Adiguzel, A., Monajem, A., ARABI, K.A.E., Özdoğru, A.A., Olaya Torres, A.J., Theodoropoulou, A., Jurković, A.P., Kassianos, A.P., Findor, A., Hartanto, A., Thibault Landry, A., Ferreira, A., Santos, A.C., De la Rosa-Gomez, A., Gourdon-Kanhukamwe, A., Todsen, A.L., Karababa, A., Janak, A., Bran, A., Tullett, A.M., Kuzminska, A.O., Krafnick, A.J., Urooj, A., Khaoudi, A., Ahmed, A., Groyecka-Bernard, A., Askelund, A.D., Adetula, A., Belaus, A., Charyate, A.C., Wichman, A.L., Stoyanova, A., Greenburgh, A., Thomas, A.G., Arvanitis, A., Forscher, P.S., Mallik, P.R., Primbs, M.A., Miller, J.K., Moshontz, H., Urry, H.L., IJzerman, H., Basnight-Brown, D.M., Chartier, C.R., Buchanan, E.M. and Coles, N.A.
Publisher:	Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date:	September 2022
Volume:	3
ISSN:	2662-205X
Identifiers:	Number Type 10.1007/s42761-022-00128-3 DOI 1604932 Other
Rights:	Post-prints are subject to Springer Nature re-use terms.
Divisions:	Schools > School of Social Sciences
Record created by:	Laura Ward
Date Added:	17 Oct 2022 08:39
Last Modified:	26 Sep 2023 03:00
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/47250

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