The Unintended Target: Assessing Nonsmokers' Reactions to Gain- and Loss-Framed Antismoking Public Service Announcements

Abstract

This study examined nonsmokers' emotional responses and intentions to promote smoking cessation after exposure to a gain- or loss-framed antismoking public service announcement (PSA). Participants were 183 nonsmokers, and results reveal that gain- and loss-framed antismoking PSAs elicited different types and levels of affect as a function of the message theme for the antismoking PSA. Although secondhand smoke PSAs elicited higher levels of anger toward smokers and fear of secondhand smoke, smoking addiction PSAs tended to elicit more guilt among nonsmokers. Elicited emotions were significant predictors of intentions, and overall, loss-framed appeals worked better than gain-framed appeals at increasing nonsmokers' intentions to talk to friends who smoke about quitting.

Acknowledgments

The authors thank the Oklahoma Tobacco Research Center for providing the funding to complete this study.

Notes

Note. Means are adjusted for pretest measures of nonsmokers' intent to talk to smoker friends about smoking cessation (M = 2.02, SD = .57). Different subscripts indicate significant differences at p < .05. PSA = public service announcement.