Effects of affective states on colorectal cancer screening health message persuasion depend on whether people avoid cancer information

Abstract

People frequently defensively avoid information about threatening health conditions. We tested whether, consistent with a mood-as-a-resource hypothesis, inducing high arousal positive mood (vs high arousal negative or neutral mood) would decrease colorectal cancer (CRC) information avoidance among people who avoid cancer information and are non-adherent to CRC screening. In a pilot study (N = 265), we successfully identified video clips that induced positive, neutral, or negative emotions in individuals who either do or do not tend to avoid CRC information. In the main study (N = 337), avoidance moderated the effects of affect induction on screening intentions; whereas avoiders’ screening intentions tended to be stronger after the neutral affect induction than after either the positive or negative affect induction, the pattern was the opposite for non-avoiders. Messages targeting avoiders might be more effective if they do not employ emotional appeals—including fear appeals or even gain framing if it evokes high arousal positive affect.