Frame effects in persuasive messages against smoking

Literature on message framing effects on persuasive communication shows mixed results. It appears that framing effects depend on different factors that activate different processes. We report the results of an experiment in which smokers and non-smokers judged some characteristics of messages describing negative consequences of smoking or positive consequences of not smoking. Positive consequences were framed either as gains or avoided losses and negative consequences were framed either as losses or as foregone gains. Results show that perceived persuasive efficacy increases with loss and gain messages, particularly when gain messages are evaluated by smokers and loss messages describe long-term consequences