In COVID-19 Health Messaging, Loss Framing Increases Anxiety with Little-to-No Concomitant Benefits: Experimental Evidence from 84 Countries
Citation
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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, Coles NA. In COVID-19 Health Messaging, Loss Framing Increases Anxiety with Little-to-No Concomitant Benefits: Experimental Evidence from 84 Countries. Affect Sci. 2022 Sep 26:1-26. doi: 10.1007/s42761-022-00128-3. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 36185503; PMCID: PMC9510728.Abstract
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 experimen- tally 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.
