Beneath the Surface: Abstract Construal Mindset Increases Receptivity to Metaphors in Health Communications

Widespread messages use metaphoric language and imagery to prompt recipients to interpret health-related concepts in terms of dissimilar, familiar concepts (e.g., " fight the war on cancer"). When do these messages work? According to Conceptual Metaphor Theory, thinking metaphorically involves looking past concepts' superficial differences to identify their similarities at a structural level. Thus, we hypothesized that when people's general construal mindset is oriented to focus on information's abstract meaning, not its concrete details, they would process a metaphor's target health concept in ways that correspond to the dissimilar concept. Accordingly, after priming an abstract, but not concrete, construal mindset: framing sun exposure as enemy confrontation (vs. literally) increased cancer risk perceptions and sun-safe intentions (Study 1; N =186); and framing smoking cessation as an arduous journey (vs. literally) increased appreciation of quitting difficulties and interest in cessation tools (Study 2; N =244). We discuss practical and theoretical implications for improving health communication.