What Makes People Underestimate the Perceived Impact of Public Service Announcements? The Theoretical Implication for the Third-Person and First-Person Perceptions

oleh: Nam Young Kim &, Masudul Karim Biswas

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: Athens Institute for Education and Research 2018-04-01

Deskripsi

What makes people undervalue the impact of health campaign messages that promote positive behavioral changes? Using the Extended Parallel Process Model’s (EPPM) rationale, this study explores whether an interaction between individuals’ existing self-efficacy and message attributes (i.e., level of fear) can lead to psychological defensiveness, which makes them cognitively undervalue the Public Service Announcements (PSAs). In the context of anti-binge drinking PSA, a 2 (Fear Appeal: High vs. Low) X 2 (Perceived Self-Efficacy: High vs. Low) experiment reveals that participants with low self-efficacy find a greater effect of PSA on others than on themselves if the PSA includes too much threat or fear (i.e., the third-person perception). Conversely, participants who have a high self-efficacy perceive a greater PSA influence on themselves than on others (i.e., the first-person perception) in response to a high fear-arousing PSA. The theoretical implications for the third-person and first-person perceptions as well as practical implications are discussed.