Macau University of Science and Technology, Macao SAR, China.
Beijing Normal University-Hong Kong Baptist University International College, Zhuhai, China.
Soc Sci Med. 2023 Sep;332:116128. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2023.116128. Epub 2023 Jul 29.
The booster vaccine plays a key role in ending COVID-19 crisis. However, promoting COVID-19 booster vaccination often interferes with individuals' freedom of choice and leads to psychological reactance.
To promote the public's intention to receive COVID-19 booster dose, this study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of different message designs from psychological reactance theory's perspective.
A 2 × 2 × 2 factorial experiment was conducted in Macao in January 2022 (N = 469). Partial least squares structural equation modeling and a complementary three-way ANOVA were performed to examine the effects of message frame (gain frame vs. loss frame), freedom restoration postscripts (present vs. absent), and other-referencing cues (present vs. absent) on reducing psychological reactance.
The present study has successfully broadened the scope of the psychological reactance theory by examining its applicability to the context of COVID-19 booster vaccination promotion. Our findings indicate that the gain-framed promotion messages tend to be the most effective in reducing perceived reactance. However, freedom restoration postscripts, other-referencing cues, and mixed message design were found to be ineffective in alleviating reactance. Besides, the insignificance of direct effect from message frame to intention suggests that the message design itself cannot influence people's vaccination intentions; rather, it must rely on reducing perceived threat, reactance, and further improving vaccination intentions.
Our study offered valuable insights from psychological reactance perspective, identifying message features that can be effective in health promotions. Furthermore, message design specifically aimed at reducing the threat to freedom may yield unexpected persuasive effects, an aspect currently overlooked in health promotion strategies.
加强针疫苗在结束 COVID-19 危机方面发挥着关键作用。然而，推广 COVID-19 加强针疫苗接种常常会干扰个人的选择自由，并导致心理抗拒。
为了提高公众接种 COVID-19 加强针的意愿，本研究旨在从心理抗拒理论的角度探讨不同信息设计的效果。
2022 年 1 月在澳门进行了一项 2×2×2 析因实验（N=469）。采用偏最小二乘结构方程模型和补充三向方差分析来检验信息框架（收益框架与损失框架）、自由恢复后记（有与无）和他人参照线索（有与无）对减少心理抗拒的影响。
本研究通过检验心理抗拒理论在 COVID-19 加强针接种推广背景下的适用性，成功拓展了该理论的应用范围。研究结果表明，收益框架的推广信息往往最能有效降低感知到的抗拒。然而，自由恢复后记、他人参照线索和混合信息设计都被发现无法减轻抗拒。此外，信息框架对意图的直接影响不显著表明，信息设计本身并不能影响人们的接种意愿，而必须依赖于降低感知威胁、抗拒和进一步提高接种意愿。
本研究从心理抗拒的角度提供了有价值的见解，确定了在健康促进中可能有效的信息特征。此外，专门针对减少对自由的威胁的信息设计可能会产生意想不到的说服效果，这是目前在健康促进策略中被忽视的一个方面。
