Mitigating Psychological Reactance: The Role of Message‐Induced Empathy in Persuasion

This article examines the role of message-induced state empathy in persuasion. Message-induced empathy is conceptualized as a perception–action process that consists of affective, cognitive, and associative components. Twenty professionally produced public service announcements (PSAs) were used as stimuli messages in a 2 (high vs. low empathy) × 2 (antismoking vs. drunk driving) × 5 (messages) mixed-design quasi-experimental study. The 289 participants were randomly assigned to each cell and watched five PSAs presented in a random sequence. Results showed that state empathy has unique contribution to predicting persuasion outcomes above and beyond the individual's affective and cognitive responses to the messages. In addition, state empathy also has an indirect effect on persuasion via mitigating psychological reactance. Die Minderung psychologischer Reaktanz: Die Rolle von botschaftsinduzierter Empathie bei Persuasion Dieser Artikel untersucht den Effekt von botschaftsinduzierter Zustandsempathie auf Persuasion. Zwanzig professionell produzierte Public Service Announcements (PSA-Spots) wurden als Stimuli in einer quasi-experimentellen Studie mit 2 (hoch vs. niedrig Empathie) x 2 (Anti-Raucher vs. Trunkenheit am Steuer) x 5 (Botschaften) Mixed-Design eingesetzt. 289 Teilnehmer wurden zufallig auf die Bedingungen aufgeteilt und sahen 5 PSA-Spots in zufalliger Reihenfolge. Die Ergebnisse einer Mehrebenenmodellierung zeigen, dass Zustandsempathie einen einzigartigen Beitrag zu Persuasionseffekten leistet, der uber individuelle affektive und kognitive Reaktionen auf die Botschaften hinausgeht. Zu dieser direkten Wirkung auf Persuasion, zeigt Zustandsempathie auch einen indirekten Einfluss auf Persuasion vermittelt uber die Minderung von psychologischer Reaktanz. Implikationen fur Persuasion, Gesundheitskommunikationskampagnen und zukunftige Forschung werden diskutiert. Schlusselbegriffe: Zustandsempathie, psychologische Reaktanz, Persuasion, Gesundheitskommunikation, Mehrebenenmodellierung Attenuer la reactance psychologique : le role persuasif de l’empathie provoquee par les messages Resume Cet article examine le role de l’etat d’empathie provoque par les messages dans la persuasion. Vingt messages d’interet public realises par des professionnels ont ete utilises comme stimuli dans une etude quasi experimentale a devis mixte, 2 (forte ou faible empathie) x 2 (anti-tabac ou alcool au volant) x 5 (messages). Les 289 participants ont ete assignes au hasard a chaque cellule et ont visionne cinq messages d’interet public presentes dans une sequence aleatoire. Les resultats d’une modelisation a plusieurs niveaux montrent que l’etat d’empathie contribue de facon unique a la prediction des resultats de la persuasion, au-dela des reactions affectives et cognitives qu’a l’individu face aux messages. En plus d’un effet direct sur la persuasion, l’etat d’empathie a egalement un effet indirect sur la persuasion par l’attenuation de la reactance psychologique. Les consequences pour la persuasion, pour les campagnes de communication sur la sante et pour la recherche future sont traitees. Mots cles : etat d’empathie, reactance psychologique, persuasion, communication sur la sante, modelisation a plusieurs niveaux

[1]  Rohini Ahluwalia.  Examination of psychological processes underlying resistance to persuasion , 2000 .

[2]  James Price Dillard,et al.  The Multiple Affective Outcomes of AIDS PSAs , 1996 .

[3]  Vincent Cicchirillo,et al.  Empathy and Affective Orientation as Predictors of Identification with Television Characters , 2005 .

[4]  Claude H. Miller,et al.  Identifying Principal Risk Factors for the Initiation of Adolescent Smoking Behaviors: The Significance of Psychological Reactance , 2006, Health communication.

[5]  Gregory Makoul,et al.  Examining Empathy in Medical Encounters: An Observational Study Using the Empathic Communication Coding System , 2005, Health communication.

[6]  P. Silvia.  Deflecting Reactance: The Role of Similarity in Increasing Compliance and Reducing Resistance , 2005 .

[7]  Michael D. Basil,et al.  Identification as a mediator of celebrity effects , 1996 .

[8]  Brian L. Quick,et al.  Further Evidence That Psychological Reactance Can Be Modeled as a Combination of Anger and Negative Cognitions , 2007, Commun. Res..

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

[10]  J. Decety,et al.  Human Empathy Through the Lens of Social Neuroscience , 2006, TheScientificWorldJournal.

[11]  Reactance to Perceived External Pressure to Introduce Quality Assurance Standards in Organizations , 1999 .

[12]  Peter Salovey,et al.  The Systematic Influence of Gain-and Loss-Framed Messages on Interest in and Use of Different Types of Health Behavior , 1999 .

[13]  Robin L. Nabi.  Anger, fear, uncertainty, and attitudes: a test of the cognitive-functional model , 2002 .

[14]  Joan Meyers-Levy,et al.  Exploring Message Framing Outcomes When Systematic, Heuristic, or Both Types of Processing Occur , 2004 .

[15]  C. Williams,et al.  Biopsychosocial elements of empathy: a multidimensional model. , 1990, Issues in mental health nursing.

[16]  Jeff Niederdeppe,et al.  Syntactic Indeterminacy, Perceived Message Sensation Value-Enhancing Features, and Message Processing in the Context of Anti-Tobacco Advertisements , 2005 .

[17]  Shirley Feldman-Summers,et al.  Implications of the buck‐passing phenomenon for reactance theory , 1977 .

[18]  Hyuhn-Suhck Bae,et al.  Entertainment-Education and Recruitment of Cornea Donors: The Role of Emotion and Issue Involvement , 2008, Journal of health communication.

[19]  Claude H. Miller,et al.  Adolescent Reactance and Anti-Smoking Campaigns: A Theoretical Approach , 2003, Health communication.

[20]  James Price Dillard,et al.  Affect and Persuasion , 2000, Commun. Res..

[21]  Daniel J. O'Keefe,et al.  Message Properties, Mediating States, and Manipulation Checks: Claims, Evidence, and Data Analysis in Experimental Persuasive Message Effects Research , 2003 .

[22]  B. L. Omdahl,et al.  Cognitive appraisal, emotion, and empathy , 1995 .

[23]  P. Shaver,et al.  Emotion knowledge: further exploration of a prototype approach. , 1987 .

[24]  James Price Dillard,et al.  Message Frames Interact With Motivational Systems to Determine Depth of Message Processing , 2009, Health communication.

[25]  A. Mehrabian,et al.  A measure of emotional empathy. , 1972, Journal of personality.

[26]  J. Decety,et al.  A Social-Neuroscience Perspective on Empathy , 2006 .

[27]  P. Keller.  Converting the unconverted: the effect of inclination and opportunity to discount health-related fear appeals. , 1999, The Journal of applied psychology.

[28]  A. Babrow,et al.  The Role of Empathy in Responses to Persuasive Risk Communication: Overcoming Resistance to HIV Prevention Messages , 2004, Health communication.

[29]  Chen-Chao Tao,et al.  Conceptualizing Media Stimuli in Experimental Research: Psychological Versus Attribute‐Based Definitions , 2007 .

[30]  R. Bagozzi,et al.  Public Service Advertisements: Emotions and Empathy Guide Prosocial Behavior , 1994 .

[31]  Jonathan Cohen.  Defining Identification: A Theoretical Look at the Identification of Audiences With Media Characters , 2001 .

[32]  Jennifer Aaker,et al.  Empathy Versus Price: The Influence of Emotional Appeals Across Cultures , 1998 .

[33]  Sophia Rabe-Hesketh,et al.  Multilevel and Longitudinal Modeling Using Stata , 2005 .

[34]  James Price Dillard,et al.  The role of fear in persuasion , 2004 .

[35]  Claude H. Miller,et al.  Psychological Reactance and Promotional Health Messages: The Effects of Controlling Language, Lexical Concreteness, and the Restoration of Freedom , 2007 .

[36]  S. Campo,et al.  Differential Effects of Exposure to Social Norms Campaigns: A Cause for Concern , 2006, Health communication.

[37]  Adam Smith.  Cognitive Empathy and Emotional Empathy in Human Behavior and Evolution , 2006 .

[38]  R. Peterson.  On the Use of College Students in Social Science Research: Insights from a Second‐Order Meta‐analysis , 2001 .

[39]  Christian Keysers,et al.  Empathy for positive and negative emotions in the gustatory cortex , 2007, NeuroImage.

[40]  H. Winklhofer,et al.  Index Construction with Formative Indicators: An Alternative to Scale Development , 2001 .

[41]  Susan E. Morgan,et al.  Associations Between Message Features and Subjective Evaluations of the Sensation Value of Antidrug Public Service Announcements , 2003 .

[42]  R. Longabaugh,et al.  Less directiveness by therapists improves drinking outcomes of reactant clients in alcoholism treatment. , 2005, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology.

[43]  M. Oliver.  Tender Affective States as Predictors of Entertainment Preference , 2008 .

[44]  Joel B. Cohen,et al.  When Communications Collide with Recipients' Actions: Effects of Post-Message Behavior on Intentions to Follow the Message Recommendation , 2003, Personality & social psychology bulletin.

[45]  Michael Burgoon,et al.  Long-Term Effects of Language Intensity in Preventive Messages on Planned Family Solar Protection , 2000, Health communication.

[46]  Rüdiger J Seitz,et al.  Functional modularity of the medial prefrontal cortex: involvement in human empathy. , 2006, Neuropsychology.

[47]  J. Dillard,et al.  Empathy, communication, and prosocial behavior , 1988 .

[48]  H. Kelman.  PROCESSES OF OPINION CHANGE , 1961 .

[49]  J. Foubert,et al.  Effects of Two Versions of an Empathy-Based Rape Prevention Program on Fraternity Men's Survivor Empathy, Attitudes, and Behavioral Intent to Commit Rape or Sexual Assault , 2006 .

[50]  J. Dillard,et al.  On the Nature of Reactance and its Role in Persuasive Health Communication , 2005 .

[51]  Comparing Adolescent Reactions to National Tobacco Countermarketing Advertisements Using Web TV , 2005 .

[52]  J. Decety,et al.  The functional architecture of human empathy. , 2004, Behavioral and cognitive neuroscience reviews.

[53]  Mark H. Davis.  Empathy: A Social Psychological Approach , 1994 .

[54]  P. Zimbardo,et al.  The effects of threat of surveillance and actual surveillance on expressed opinions toward marijuana. , 1980, The Journal of social psychology.

[55]  N. Eisenberg,et al.  The relation of empathy to prosocial and related behaviors. , 1987, Psychological bulletin.

[56]  Craig A. Smith,et al.  Appraisal components, core relational themes, and the emotions , 1993 .

[57]  Steven M. Edwards,et al.  Role-Taking: Enhancing the Online Experience , 2003 .

[58]  F. D. Waal.  Putting the Altruism Back into Altruism: The Evolution of Empathy , 2008 .

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

[60]  D. J. Ringold,et al.  Boomerang Effects in Response to Public Health Interventions: Some Unintended Consequences in the Alcoholic Beverage Market , 2002 .

[61]  M. Fishbein,et al.  The Attentional Mechanism of Message Sensation Value: Interaction between Message Sensation Value and Argument Quality on Message Effectiveness , 2006 .

[62]  Robin L. Nabi,et al.  Avoiding the boomerang: testing the relative effectiveness of antidrug public service announcements before a national campaign. , 2002, American journal of public health.

[63]  K. Courneya,et al.  The Effects of Source Credibility and Message Framing on Exercise Intentions, Behaviors, and Attitudes: An Integration of the Elaboration Likelihood Model and Prospect Theory1 , 2003 .

[64]  Nichole Egbert,et al.  Empathy and social support for the terminally ill: Implications for recruiting and retaining hospice and hospital volunteers , 2003 .

[65]  M. Stephenson.  Examining Adolescents' Responses to Antimarijuana PSAs , 2003 .

[66]  R. Lazarus.  Emotion and Adaptation , 1991 .

[67]  Joan Meyers-Levy,et al.  The Influence of Message Framing and Issue Involvement , 1990 .

[68]  P. Goldie.  How we think of others' emotions , 1999 .

[69]  James Price Dillard,et al.  Does Perceived Message Effectiveness Cause Persuasion or Vice Versa? 17 Consistent Answers , 2007 .

[70]  C. T. Salmon,et al.  Unintended Effects of Health Communication Campaigns , 2007 .

[71]  S. Preston,et al.  Empathy: Its ultimate and proximate bases. , 2001, The Behavioral and brain sciences.

[72]  Stephen A. Rains,et al.  Psychological Reactance and Persuasive Health Communication: A Test and Extension of the Intertwined Model , 2007 .