TY - JOUR
T1 - Does regulatory fit lead to more effective health communication? Asystematic review
AU - Ludolph, Ramona
AU - Schulz, Peter J.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 Elsevier Ltd.
PY - 2015/3/1
Y1 - 2015/3/1
N2 - Many of today's threats to public health arise from people's lifestyle. Hence, the public's compliance with advice given for health promotion and disease prevention has to be enhanced. Much research traces back the efficacy of health promotion messages to message qualities, while other work focuses on recipient qualities. Regulatory focus theory posits inter-individual differences in motivational orientation, namely a promotion or prevention focus, and offers a unique chance to look at message and recipient variables at the same time (. Higgins, 1997). Whereas a promotion-focused individual tries to achieve desired end-states, someone with a prevention focus is rather vigilant. If individuals' goal pursuit strategies match their regulatory orientation, they experience regulatory fit, which increases the perceived persuasiveness of health messages (. Higgins, 2000). Such a match can be evoked by particularly framed messages that highlight a person's regulatory orientation. Thus, the assumption of regulatory fit goes beyond the concept of gain- and loss-framing. To assess whether regulatory fit contributes to the effectiveness of health communication, a systematic review was conducted.An extensive systematic search led to the inclusion of 30 studies, for which data were extracted and quality appraised. Findings were summarized using narrative synthesis. Most studies (n=23) were conducted in the USA and assessed the effects of regulatory fit on behavioral intention (n=21). Nineteen experiments used samples of university students, and the health context chosen most often was a healthy diet (n=7). Sixteen experiments manipulated regulatory orientation whereas chronic regulatory focus was measured ten times. The majority of studies confirmed that regulatory fit enhanced the effectiveness of health messages, which did not vary much across different health domains or outcomes. Regulatory fit is a promising approach for tailoring health messages as the synergy effects of regulatory fit increase their effectiveness.
AB - Many of today's threats to public health arise from people's lifestyle. Hence, the public's compliance with advice given for health promotion and disease prevention has to be enhanced. Much research traces back the efficacy of health promotion messages to message qualities, while other work focuses on recipient qualities. Regulatory focus theory posits inter-individual differences in motivational orientation, namely a promotion or prevention focus, and offers a unique chance to look at message and recipient variables at the same time (. Higgins, 1997). Whereas a promotion-focused individual tries to achieve desired end-states, someone with a prevention focus is rather vigilant. If individuals' goal pursuit strategies match their regulatory orientation, they experience regulatory fit, which increases the perceived persuasiveness of health messages (. Higgins, 2000). Such a match can be evoked by particularly framed messages that highlight a person's regulatory orientation. Thus, the assumption of regulatory fit goes beyond the concept of gain- and loss-framing. To assess whether regulatory fit contributes to the effectiveness of health communication, a systematic review was conducted.An extensive systematic search led to the inclusion of 30 studies, for which data were extracted and quality appraised. Findings were summarized using narrative synthesis. Most studies (n=23) were conducted in the USA and assessed the effects of regulatory fit on behavioral intention (n=21). Nineteen experiments used samples of university students, and the health context chosen most often was a healthy diet (n=7). Sixteen experiments manipulated regulatory orientation whereas chronic regulatory focus was measured ten times. The majority of studies confirmed that regulatory fit enhanced the effectiveness of health messages, which did not vary much across different health domains or outcomes. Regulatory fit is a promising approach for tailoring health messages as the synergy effects of regulatory fit increase their effectiveness.
KW - Behavior change
KW - Framing
KW - Health communication
KW - Health education
KW - Persuasion
KW - Regulatory fit
KW - Regulatory focus theory
KW - Systematic review
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84921497528&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.socscimed.2015.01.021
DO - 10.1016/j.socscimed.2015.01.021
M3 - Article
C2 - 25617673
AN - SCOPUS:84921497528
SN - 0277-9536
VL - 128
SP - 142
EP - 150
JO - Social Science and Medicine
JF - Social Science and Medicine
ER -