ABSTRACT

Rates of skin cancer among young women are increasing and most cases are associated with tanning behavior. In health communication, scholars and practitioners use framing as a strategy to design persuasive messages. In this experiment, we advance framing research by testing a serial model of framing theory in the context of outdoor tanning behavior among collegiate women. We designed two message frames, language difficulty, and message relevance, to target accessibility and applicability, two mechanisms within framing theory. We deployed these frames in a 2 × 2 experimental design and found that message frames that promoted accessibility and applicability significantly increased perceptions of severity, susceptibility, and reduced behavioral intentions to tan. Our results support framing theory and provide practical implications for message designers who use frames to inform and persuade.

摘要

年轻女性的皮肤癌发病率正在上升，大多数病例与晒黑行为有关。在健康传播中，学者和从业者使用框架作为设计有说服力信息的策略。在这个实验中，我们通过在大学女性户外晒黑行为的背景下测试框架理论的系列模型来推进框架研究。我们设计了两个消息框架、语言难度和消息相关性，以针对可访问性和适用性，这是框架理论中的两种机制。我们在 2 × 2 实验设计中部署了这些框架，发现促进可访问性和适用性的消息框架显着增加了对严重性、易感性的感知，并降低了晒黑的行为意图。