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Framing communication: Communicating the antismoking message effectively to all smokers
Author(s) -
Wong Carissa O.,
McMurray Nancy E.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
journal of community psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.585
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 1520-6629
pISSN - 0090-4392
DOI - 10.1002/jcop.10015
Subject(s) - quit smoking , smoking cessation , psychology , framing (construction) , differential effects , social psychology , health communication , medicine , advertising , communication , business , structural engineering , pathology , engineering
There is a need to effectively communicate the antismoking issue across all sectors of the community, particularly to smokers with no intentions to quit smoking. Information can be framed using positively or negatively focused language to communicate the message content with maximum effect. Current cigarette smokers, with and without intentions to quit smoking (N = 70), were asked to respond to a Quit Smoking message framed either positively (benefits of quitting) or negatively (costs of not quitting). Participants were assessed pre‐post message and at 3‐months follow‐up. Results obtained suggest message frames had differential effects on message processing and increasing smokers' self‐confidence to quit smoking. In particular, trends in results suggest smokers with and without intentions to quit smoking interacted differently to framed messages. These findings may facilitate the improvement of community‐based health communications, by encouraging the use of differential message frames to effectively communicate the antismoking information to encourage all smokers to stop smoking and discourage others from adopting the smoking behavior. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.