Don't Let the Flu Catch You: Agency Assignment in Printed Educational Materials About the H1N1 Influenza Virus

Abstract

In English and in other languages, the agency for viral transmission can be grammatically assigned to people (e.g., Thousands may contract H1N1) or to the virus itself (e.g., H1N1 may infect thousands). These assignment options shape different conceptions of transmission as attributable either to social contact within one's control or to pursuit of an active predator. The authors tested the effect of agency assignment and agentic images on young adults' (N = 246) reactions to educational materials about H1N1 influenza. The authors hypothesized that assigning agency to the virus would heighten perceived severity and personal susceptibility relative to human agency assignment. Results were consistent with this hypothesis, indicating that virus agency increased perceptions of severity, personal susceptibility, and reported intentions to seek vaccination relative to human agency. The image manipulation did not directly affect these factors. The findings suggest that strategic agency assignment can improve the effectiveness of educational materials about influenza and other health threats.

Notes

Note. Boldface indicates that the item loaded high on a particular factor and was thus counted as part of that factor.

^a Factor scales were computed by averaging item ratings. The first two scales had a 5-point range, whereas the remaining had a 7-point range.

¹It is notable that criticisms of “depersonalizing” language in medical discourse have focused on post-treatment description messages (e.g., case histories), rather than the prevention-oriented messages at issue in our research. Whether message timing influences the perception of depersonalization is an important issue for future research. We thank an anonymous reviewer for pointing it out to us.

²The reported level of influenza vaccination within the past 12 months in our sample (66.4%) was higher than the national average for people in their age range (40.4% among persons over 18 according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; see http://www.cdc.gov/flu/professionals/ vaccination/coverage_0910estimates. htm). In this respect, our sample is not completely representative of the U.S. population most at risk for acquiring H1N1.