Examining an Effective Communication Message to Promote Participation in Sports Activity: Applying the Extended Parallel Process Model

ABSTRACT

The present study examined how a message based on the extended parallel process model can affect individuals’ attitudes and intention to participate in sports activity. A two by two between-subject experiment was conducted among 152 participants who were randomly assigned to one of the four different messages. Individuals’ threat perception was found to increase attitudes and intentions toward sports activity when they also had a high level of efficacy perception to participate in sports activity, supporting the hypothesis. Furthermore, for those with a high level of efficacy, the protective motivation mediated a positive relationship between perceived threat and attitudes, whereas for those with a low level of efficacy, the defensive motivation mediated the negative relationship between perceived threat and attitudes. Neither of the proposed mediators predicted the relationship between perceived threat and intentions. The present study suggests that a theory-based message can help increase campaign effects to promote sports.

探讨有效沟通信息对体育活动参与的促进作用:应用新平行过程模式

本研究探讨了基于新平行过程模式的信息如何影响个人参与体育活动的态度及目的。随机抽取152名参与者, 在主体间进行两种 (威胁认知程度) 和两种 (功效认知程度) 的实验 (共四种实验信息) , 每人将得到不同的实验信息。如果个人参与体育活动的功效认知水平越高, 其威胁认知则会增强对活动的态度和目的, 那么验证假设。此外, 对于功效认知水平较高的人来讲, 保护动机则会在感知的危险和态度之间起着积极的调节作用, 反之, 对于功效认知水平较低的人来讲, 防御动机则会在两者之间起到消极作用。但是, 两种调节机制都无法预测感知的危险与目的之间的关系。研究显示, 基于此理论的信息能够加强体育的活动效果。

KEYWORDS:

• Fear appeal
• extended parallel process model
• sports participation promotion
• message persuasiveness
• campaign effects

关键词:

• 恐惧诉求
• 新平行过程模式
• 提升体育参与
• 信息说服力
• 活动效果

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. In South Korea, there is a low level of public awareness of differences among physical activity, sports, and exercise. In particular, the concept of physical activity is ill understood among Koreans. Rather, Koreans generally use the term ‘sports activity’ to define any bodily movements to promote physical and mental health, including not only sports requiring rules and competitiveness but also fitness exercise, outdoor activities, and daily physical activity. Therefore, sports activity is defined within the present study as ‘any kind of body movement which contributes to physical health, mental health, and social transaction’ (Wellard, 2007), which is considered the same as physical activity in South Korea (Kim & Ryu, 2016).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Lira Yun

Ms. Lira Yun (MS, Seoul National University, Korea) is a PhD candidate at the faculty of physical education and recreation, University of Alberta in Canada. Her main focus is to study how best to evaluate large-scale health promotion programs and/or campaigns by identifying individual psychological factors that need to be incorporated in the evaluation framework. She examines the role of both conscious and automatic cognitive processes of campaign components within individuals’ behavior change.

Tanya R. Berry

Dr. Tanya R. Berry (PhD, University of Victoria, Canada) is a professor at the faculty of physical education and recreation, University of Alberta in Canada. She is a Tier II Canada Research Chair in Physical Activity Promotion. Her main focus is to study the roles of both conscious and automatic cognitive processing of messages about physical activity and diet, with the long-term goal of understanding how best to facilitate positive health behaviors. The two main objectives of her research programs are (1) to further understanding of how health messages are processed at both automatic and conscious levels and how this may subsequently influence behavior and (2) to examine the role of implicit cognitive processes within behavior change interventions.