Boomerang Effects in Response to Public Health Interventions: Some Unintended Consequences in the Alcoholic Beverage Market

Some warnings and other public health interventions have been found to produce effects opposite to those intended. Researchers employing a variety of methods have observed these boomerang effects in connection with interventions in a number of different contexts. One possible explanation for such boomerang effects lies in the theory of psychological reactance, roughly defined as the state of being aroused in opposition to perceived threats to personal choice. In particular, some consumer reactions described in research on alcoholic beverage warnings, alcohol education efforts, and the minimum drinking age can be concisely explained in terms of psychological reactance. An obvious implication is that boomerang effects should be taken into account as one of the potential costs of launching a mass communication campaign or requiring a warning. In some cases (such as warnings about the health effects of alcohol abuse) there may be so little to be gained in terms of improved consumer knowledge that the potential cost of oppositional attitudes or behavior should receive substantial attention in the evaluation of proposed and current interventions.

[1]  G. Marín Self-reported awareness of the presence of product warning messages and signs by Hispanics in San Francisco. , 1994, Public health reports.

[2]  M. Goldman,et al.  Using alcohol expectancies to predict adolescent drinking behavior after one year. , 1989, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology.

[3]  M. Wood,et al.  Alcohol norms and expectations as predictors of alcohol use and problems in a college student sample. , 1992, The American journal of drug and alcohol abuse.

[4]  Brad J. Bushman,et al.  Effects of Warning and Information Labels on Consumption of Full-Fat, Reduced-Fat, and No-Fat Products , 1998 .

[5]  J. Craig Andrews,et al.  The Effectiveness of Alcohol Warning Lables: A Review and Extension , 1995 .

[6]  W. Mace,et al.  The effect of laughter on evaluation of a slapstick movie. , 1970, Journal of personality.

[7]  R. Netemeyer,et al.  The Role of Cognitive Responses as Mediators of Alcohol Warning Label Effects , 1993 .

[8]  T. Rundall,et al.  A Meta-analysis of School-based Smoking and Alcohol Use Prevention Programs , 1988, Health education quarterly.

[9]  Kenneth R. Laughery,et al.  Warnings and risk communication , 1999 .

[10]  Mark A. deTurck,et al.  A Developmental Analysis of Warning Signs: The Case of Familiarity and Gender , 1989 .

[11]  R. Hauge,et al.  The experiencing of positive consequences of drinking in four Scandinavian countries. , 1990, British journal of addiction.

[12]  L. Snyder,et al.  Caution: Alcohol advertising and the surgeon general's alcohol warnings may have adverse effects on young adults , 1992 .

[13]  Michael S. Goodstadt,et al.  Drug Education—A Turn on or a Turn Off? , 1980 .

[14]  Franklin E. Zimring,et al.  The Legal Threat as an Instrument of Social Change , 1971 .

[15]  D. Cahalan,et al.  American drinking practices: A national study of drinking behavior and attitudes. , 1970 .

[16]  J. Brehm,et al.  Psychological Reactance: A Theory of Freedom and Control , 1981 .

[17]  M. Nyström Positive and negative consequences of alcohol drinking among young university students in Finland. , 1992, British journal of addiction.

[18]  F. Rhodewalt,et al.  Type A Behavior and Diabetic Control: Implications of Psychological Reactance for Health Outcomes1 , 1988 .

[19]  S. Vrana,et al.  The effect of alcohol on self-evaluation and perception of negative interpersonal feedback. , 1986, Journal of studies on alcohol.

[20]  L. Kaskutas,et al.  Long‐term effects of alcohol warning labels: Findings from a comparison of the United States and Ontario, Canada , 1999 .

[21]  G. N. Braucht,et al.  Deviant drug use in adolescence: a review of psychosocial correlates. , 1973, Psychological bulletin.

[22]  R. M. Berberian,et al.  The Effectiveness of Drug Education Programs: A Critical Review , 1976, Health education monographs.

[23]  J. Orford,et al.  Drinking behavior and attitudes and their correlates among university students in England. I. Principal components in the drinking domain. II. Personality and social influence. III. Sex differences. , 1974, Quarterly journal of studies on alcohol.

[24]  Preferential treatment of women and psychological reactance theory: An experiment , 1992 .

[25]  S. Chaiken,et al.  The psychology of attitudes. , 1993 .

[26]  F. Rhodewalt,et al.  Reactance and the coronary-prone behavior pattern: the role of self-attribution in responses to reduced behavioral freedom. , 1983, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[27]  Adolescent alcohol expectancies in relation to personal and parental drinking patterns. , 1987 .

[28]  The Relationship Between Drug Education Programs in the Greater New Haven Schools and Changes in Drug Use and Drug-Related Beliefs and Perceptions , 1976, Health education monographs.

[29]  D. Mcclelland The Drinking man , 1972 .

[30]  M. Block Alcohol and alcoholism : drinking and dependence , 1970 .

[31]  H. Perkins,et al.  Stability and Contradiction in College Students' Drinking Following a Drinking-Age Law Change. , 1989 .

[32]  M. Knapp,et al.  Anti-drug abuse commercials. , 1977, The Journal of communication.

[33]  J. Kulik,et al.  Behavioral and Self-Concept Antecedents and Correlates of College-Student Drinking Patterns , 1977 .

[34]  Richard G. Netemeyer,et al.  Effects of Consumption Frequency on Believability and Attitudes toward Alcohol Warning Labels , 1991 .

[35]  H. Blane,et al.  Alienation, self-esteem and attitudes toward drinking in high-school students. , 1968, Quarterly journal of studies on alcohol.

[36]  J. Rotter Generalized expectancies for internal versus external control of reinforcement. , 1966, Psychological monographs.

[37]  F. Melges,et al.  Situations related to drinking alcohol. A factor analysis of questionnaire responses. , 1975, Journal of studies on alcohol.

[38]  J. Crowley Educational status and drinking patterns: how representative are college students? , 1991, Journal of studies on alcohol.

[39]  M. Hilton,et al.  Public support for warning labels on alcoholic beverage containers. , 1991, British journal of addiction.

[40]  ‘There is no shame in it any more’: how providers of sexual health advice view young people's sexuality , 1996 .

[41]  C. Steele,et al.  Alcohol myopia. Its prized and dangerous effects. , 1990, The American psychologist.

[42]  Michael E. Hilton,et al.  An Overview of Recent Findings on Alcoholic Beverage Warning Labels , 1993 .

[43]  F. Williams College Student Drinking Behaviors before and after Changes in State Policy. , 1990 .

[44]  M. Konovsky,et al.  Social drinking and self-esteem in married couples. , 1982, Journal of studies on alcohol.

[45]  T N Robinson,et al.  Do cigarette warning labels reduce smoking? Paradoxical effects among adolescents. , 1997, Archives of pediatrics & adolescent medicine.

[46]  S. Hadden Regulating Product Risks Through Consumer Information , 1991 .

[47]  John L. Swasy,et al.  An Evaluation of the Alcohol Warning Label: Initial Survey Results , 1991 .

[48]  D P MacKinnon,et al.  The alcohol warning and adolescents: 5-year effects. , 2000, American journal of public health.

[49]  Robert L. Bangert-Drowns,et al.  The Effects of School-Based Substance Abuse Education — A Meta-Analysis , 1988, Journal of drug education.

[50]  E Vingilis,et al.  Effects of raising the legal drinking age in Ontario. , 1981, British journal of addiction.

[51]  H. Kelley,et al.  Communication And Persuasion , 1953 .

[52]  H. B. Young,et al.  Perceived opportunity, alienation, and drinking behavior among Italian and American youth. , 1970, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[53]  D. Kahneman,et al.  Anomalies: The Endowment Effect, Loss Aversion, and Status Quo Bias , 1991 .

[54]  M. Stutts,et al.  Young Adults’ Perceptions of Warnings and Risks Associated with Alcohol Consumption , 1992 .

[55]  B. Greenberg ON RELATING ATTITUDE CHANGE AND INFORMATION GAIN. , 1964, The Journal of communication.

[56]  D. Mackinnon,et al.  The alcohol warning label and adolescents: the first year. , 1993, American journal of public health.

[57]  Kent P. Vaubel,et al.  The Noticeability of Warnings on Alcoholic Beverage Containers , 1993 .

[58]  J. Angst,et al.  Alcohol, tobacco and cannabis: 12-year longitudinal associations with antecedent social context and personality. , 1990, Drug and alcohol dependence.

[59]  M. Strube,et al.  A Self‐Attribution‐Reactance Model of Recovery from Injury in Type A Individuals1 , 1985 .

[60]  C. E. Joubert Relationship among Self-Esteem, Psychological Reactance, and other Personality Variables , 1990, Psychological reports.

[61]  H. Landrine,et al.  Gender expectations for alcohol use: A study of the significance of the masculine role , 1988 .

[62]  J. Unger,et al.  Attitudes toward anti-tobacco policy among California youth: associations with smoking status, psychosocial variables and advocacy actions. , 1999, Health education research.

[63]  R. Wright,et al.  Reactance as Impression Management: A Critical Review , 1982 .

[64]  L. Kaskutas,et al.  Early impacts of alcoholic beverage warning labels: national study findings relevant to drinking and driving behavior , 1993 .

[65]  E. Giannakopoulos,et al.  Psychological reactance: effects of age and gender. , 1994, The Journal of social psychology.

[66]  P. Finn,et al.  Risks entailed in teenage intoxication as perceived by junior and senior high school students , 1981, Journal of youth and adolescence.

[67]  D. J. Hanson,et al.  University students' drinking patterns and problems: examining the effects of raising the purchase age. , 1988, Public health reports.

[68]  Roger L. McCarthy,et al.  Product Information Presentation, User Behavior, and Safety , 1984 .

[69]  B. Leigh,et al.  Beliefs about the effects of alcohol on self and others. , 1987, Journal of studies on alcohol.

[70]  R Jessor,et al.  Adolescent development and the onset of drinking. A longitudinal study. , 1975, Journal of studies on alcohol.

[71]  C. Carver Perceived coercion, resistance to persuasion, and the Type A behavior pattern , 1980 .

[72]  M. Earleywine,et al.  Personality risk and alcohol consumption: a latent variable analysis. , 1990, Addictive behaviors.

[73]  J. Brockner,et al.  The roles of self-esteem and self-consciousness in the Wortman-Brehm model of reactance and learned helplessness. , 1983, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[74]  P. W. Meilman,et al.  Alcohol consumption by college undergraduates: current use and 10-year trends. , 1990, Journal of studies on alcohol.

[75]  K. Vranizan,et al.  Type A behavior pattern and alcohol intake in middle‐aged men. , 1986, Psychosomatic medicine.

[76]  L. Wallack,et al.  Mass Media Campaigns: The Odds Against Finding Behavior Change , 1981, Health education quarterly.

[77]  Aversive conditioning and cognitive mediators with alcoholic respondents. , 1975, The British journal of addiction to alcohol and other drugs.

[78]  K. Mills,et al.  A Data Based Alcohol Abuse Prevention Program in a University Setting. , 1983 .

[79]  L. Kaskutas,et al.  Changes in Public Attitudes toward Alcohol Control Policies since the Warning Label Mandate of 1988 , 1993 .

[80]  D. Lister-Sharp,et al.  Alcohol misuse prevention for young people: a systematic review reveals methodological concerns and lack of reliable evidence of effectiveness. , 1997, Addiction.

[81]  S. Wise,et al.  The Therapeutic Reactance Scale: A Measure of Psychological Reactance , 1991 .

[82]  L. Bensley,et al.  The Role of Psychological Reactance in Drinking Following Alcohol Prevention Messages1 , 1991 .

[83]  J. Brehm A theory of psychological reactance. , 1981 .

[84]  P. D. Cherulnik,et al.  Individual difference in psychological reactance: the interaction between locus of control and mode of elimination of freedom. , 1974, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[85]  R. Netemeyer,et al.  Believability and Attitudes toward Alcohol Warning Label Information: The Role of Persuasive Communications Theory , 1990 .

[86]  Robert C. Blattberg,et al.  Discussant’s Comments , 1979, The Quest for a Science of Accounting.

[87]  R. Jessor,et al.  Problem Behavior and Psychosocial Development: A Longitudinal Study , 1978 .

[88]  R. Comer,et al.  Coronary-Prone Behavior and Reactance , 1982 .

[89]  P. Vitale,et al.  Reactance theory and alcohol consumption laws: further confirmation among collegiate alcohol consumers. , 1994, Journal of studies on alcohol.

[90]  Thomas A. Dingus,et al.  Methodological Techniques for Evaluating Behavioral Intentions and Compliance , 1999 .

[91]  L. Kaskutas,et al.  First effects of warning labels on alcoholic beverage containers. , 1992, Drug and alcohol dependence.

[92]  Thomas L. Ward,et al.  Warnings: Fundamentals, design, and evaluation methodologies: Vol. 1, by Mark R. Lehto and James M. Miller, Fuller Technical Publications, Ann Arbor, MI, 1986, xvii + 287 pages, £45.00 , 1989 .

[93]  C. Steele,et al.  Alcohol-related expectancies: defined by phase of intoxication and drinking experience. , 1981, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology.

[94]  R Jessor,et al.  Risky driving and adolescent problem behavior: an extension of problem behavior theory , 1987 .

[95]  R. A. Gordon,et al.  Attitudes toward a change in the legal drinking age: Reactance versus compliance. , 1992 .

[96]  V. Wadley,et al.  Persuasion, reactance, and judgments of interpersonal appeal , 1992 .

[97]  Ruth C. Engs,et al.  Reactance Theory: A Test with Collegiate Drinking , 1989 .

[98]  Joel Huber,et al.  Consumer processing of hazard warning information , 1988 .

[99]  M. C. Jones,et al.  Personality correlates and antecedents of drinking patterns in adult males. , 1968, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology.

[100]  S. Walfish,et al.  Drug and alcohol education programs: a review of outcome studies. , 1980, The International journal of the addictions.

[101]  J. Brockner,et al.  Self-esteem and reactance: Further evidence of attitudinal and motivational consequences , 1985 .

[102]  Ken R. Smith,et al.  Alcohol Warnings: How do you know when you have Had One Too Many? , 1991 .

[103]  J A Russell,et al.  The mediating role of emotions in alcohol use. , 1975, Journal of studies on alcohol.

[104]  M. Goldman,et al.  Expectations of reinforcement from alcohol: their domain and relation to drinking patterns. , 1980, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology.

[105]  P. O'Malley,et al.  Effects of minimum drinking age laws on alcohol use, related behaviors and traffic crash involvement among American youth: 1976-1987. , 1991, Journal of studies on alcohol.

[106]  R. A. Wicklund,et al.  Consumer Behavior and Psychological Reactance , 1980 .

[107]  G. Barnes The development of adolescent drinking behavior: an evaluative review of the impact of the socialization process within the family. , 1977, Adolescence.

[108]  A. Folsom,et al.  Do Type A men drink more frequently than Type B men? Findings in the Multiple Risk Factor Intervention Trial (MRFIT) , 1985, Journal of Behavioral Medicine.

[109]  M. Goldman,et al.  Development of alcohol-related expectancies in adolescents: separating pharmacological from social-learning influences. , 1982, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology.

[110]  Brad J. Bushman,et al.  Forbidden fruit versus tainted fruit: Effects of warning labels on attraction to television violence , 1996 .

[111]  Drinking habits and expectancies about alcohol's effects for self versus others. , 1983, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology.

[112]  D. C. Glass,et al.  Behavior Patterns, Stress, and Coronary Disease , 1977 .

[113]  L. Goodwin Explaining alcohol consumption and related experiences among fraternity and sorority members. , 1989 .

[114]  D. Gorman The Failure of Drug Education. , 1997 .

[115]  Daniel Kahneman,et al.  Anomalies: The Endowment Effect, Loss Aversion, and Status Quo Bias , 1991 .

[116]  K. Graves An Evaluation of the Alcohol Warning Label: A Comparison of the United States and Ontario, Canada in 1990 and 1991 , 1993 .

[117]  C. Amos,et al.  Cigarette smoking, alcohol, and oral contraceptive use by Type A adolescent—The Bogalusa heart study , 1989, Journal of Behavioral Medicine.

[118]  D P MacKinnon,et al.  Substance use and memory for health warning labels. , 1993, Health psychology : official journal of the Division of Health Psychology, American Psychological Association.

[119]  R. A. Dodder,et al.  Raising the Legal Minimum Drinking Age: Short-Term Effects with College Student Samples , 1986 .

[120]  I. Maltzman,et al.  Factors associated with alcohol use in university students. , 1992, Journal of studies on alcohol.

[121]  A. F. Williams Self-concepts of college problem drinkers. I. A comparison with alcoholics. , 1965, Quarterly journal of studies on alcohol.

[122]  M Hyland,et al.  Government Health Warnings and the “Boomerang” Effect , 1979, Psychological reports.

[123]  H. Martin,et al.  When pleasure begets pleasure: Recipient responsiveness as a determinant of physical pleasuring between heterosexual dating couples and strangers. , 1978 .

[124]  R. A. Wicklund Freedom and reactance , 1974 .

[125]  A. F. Williams Social drinking, anxiety, and depression. , 1966, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[126]  H Wechsler,et al.  'Binge' drinkers at Massachusetts colleges. Prevalence, drinking style, time trends, and associated problems. , 1992, JAMA.

[127]  Ingrid M. Martin,et al.  Intended and Unintended Consequences of Warning Messages: A Review and Synthesis of Empirical Research , 1994 .

[128]  G J Wilde,et al.  Effects of mass media communications on health and safety habits: an overview of issues and evidence. , 1993, Addiction.