lecture 5: defensive reactions & self-affirmation

Question 1

ELM (Petty & Cacioppo)

Answer 1

1. Peripheral route –> superficial info processing (cues) (Don’t focus on the information but on the source)
2. Central route –> elaboration, deep info processing (Paying attention to quality of arguments)

Question 2

Name the defensive strategies (Van ‘T Riet & Ruiter, 2011)

Answer 2

1. Avoidance = Ignore (preference-inconsistent) beliefs/information (passive)
2. Denial = Refuse to accept the information (passive)
3. Suppression = Suppres information from conscious awareness (active)
4. Cognitive reappraisal = Accept preference-inconsistent info, but reduce impact by adding other beliefs (active)

Question 3

Why do people defensively process and respond to health information?

Answer 3

1. Fear control (EPPM; Witte 1992)
   - Especially, when response-efficacy and or self-efficacy is low
2. It is not about the physical health threat, but it is a threat to positive self-view, self-integrity (psychological threat) –> self-affirmation theory

Question 4

Explain the Extended parallel Process Model (EPPM; Witte, 1992)

Answer 4

• When the susceptibility/severity of a threat are low, the message will get rejected (1st appraisal, threat appraisal)
• When self-efficacy/response-efficay is low, people will experience fear and will then reject the message (2nd appraisal, efficacy appraisal) (people judge it as manipulative or exaggerate)
• When efficacy appraisal is perceived as high, the message will be accepted and lead to behavior change

Question 5

What are the possible defensive reactions according to the EPPM model?

Answer 5

1. Defensive avoidance: “When I read the info, my first reaction was that I didn’t want to think about diabetes’
2. Perceived manipulation: “The message was manipulative”
3. Message derogation: “This message was overblown”

Question 6

Explain Self-affirmation Theory (Steele, 1988)

Answer 6

• People are motivated to protect and maintain a positive self-view
• We protect our self-integrity by boosting another domain (e.g. relationships)
• Health information suggesting changing lifestyle / behavior is seen as threat to positive self-view –> people respond defensively
• Self affirmation –> Global self-integrity

Question 7

Name the values of the Global Self-Integrity

Answer 7

1. Roles (e.g. student)
2. Values (e.g. humor)
3. Group identities (e.g. culture, nation)
4. Central beliefs (e.g. ideology, political beliefs)
5. Goals (e.g. health)
6. Relationships (e.g. family, friends)

Question 8

Research Epton & Harris (2008)

Answer 8

• Focused on promoting healthy behavior (fruit and vegetable consumption)
• What are the effects of Self Affirmation on self-efficacy and response-efficacy?
• Self-affirmation promotes acceptance of health information, intentions, and behavior
• Small, but positive and reliable effect
• People who self-affirmed, showed higher vegetable/fruit consumption
• Thus, self-affirmation before giving health information increases the health behavior

Question 9

Jessop et al (2009)

Answer 9

• Research about the demand for sunscreen samples
• New brief integrated self-affirmation task showed more demand for sunscreen samples (behavior)
• Traditional self-integration task didn’t show an effect
• Too artificial to repeat. Also method not able to use in a mass media health campaign