Temporal context and individuals time orientation:
The role of perspective fit in increasing health
communication persuasiveness
Nicolas Fieulaine & Frédéric Martinez
Social Psychology Research Group
at the University of Lyon
Funding for this study was partially provided by IReSP/INPeS
Grant 083/07-DAS.
Background
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In recent studies, time perspective (TP) appeared as one of the most
important psychological predictor of a wide variety of health behaviors
(Boyd & Zimbardo, 2005; Henson & al.,2006; Crockett & al., 2009; Daugherty, 2010)
•
TP corresponds to a general orientation and attitude towards the past,
present, or future (Zimbardo and Boyd, 1999); to the tendency to consider
future consequences (Strathman & al., 1994)
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Most health protective behaviors are temporal dilemmas as they require
the individual to endure costs in the short- term in order to obtain benefits
in the long term (Hall & Fong, 2007)
•
To focus on the here-and-now at the expense of long-term
considerations is related to one’s motivation to perform health protective
behaviors (Chapman, 2005).
•
Future time orientation was related to greater health and preventive
behaviors, whereas present time orientation was related to more risky
and lesser preventive behaviors
•
There is a relation between socioeconomic position and time
perspective, so TP may represent a pathway through which social
inequalities in health occur (Singh-Manoux & Marmot, 2005; Fieulaine & al., 2006;
Adams & White, 2009)
What is the stake for health
communication ?
•
More often, health communications are developed without taking
into account their temporal frame
•
Typical argument for promoting healthy behaviors is « It is difficult on
the moment, but highly beneficial in the future »
•
It is true, but this temporal frame may render messages inefficient for and sometimes rejected by - people who are more sensitive to short
term consequences and not to long-term ones
•
Present-focused people are the most at risk of unhealthy behaviors
and the less convinced by health communication campaigns
(Fieulaine & Martinez, 2010)
•
Deprived people are more susceptible to be stuck in the present, so
health communication can be not only ineffective, but may also
contribute to maintain or reinforce social inequalities in health
Time perspective and persuasion
•
Messages promoting health behaviors (detection or preventive) are
more persuasive when matched with dispositional characteristics of the
target audience.
•
This is explained by the concept of « Fit » (Higgins, 2000): when
information’s and individual’s perspectives are congruent, that leads to
a sense of “feeling right”
•
When « fit » occurs, information is processed more easily and is more
likely to be experienced as fluent. This elicits positive affects that are
associated with feelings of self-efficacy and social identification (for a
review: Lee & Higgins, 2009)
•
Studies on temporal framing showed that people who weigh short-term
outcomes more heavily are more persuaded if the positive outcomes of
the promoted behavior are presented as occurring immediately,
whereas future-oriented individuals are more persuaded by long term
positive outcomes (Orbell & Hagger, 2006; Orbell & Kyriakaki, 2008)
•
Matching message’s and individual’s time orientations is a way to
increase persuasion and the effectiveness of communications
Research questions
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How to deal with the differential impact of health communications in
relation to individuals time orientation ?
•
There is actually two ways:
o Enhance long-term thinking by individual or group training (Hall & Fong,
2003)
o To build messages that emphasize short-term benefits (Kees, 2011)
•
The first is costly and irrelevant for mass-media campaigns
•
It is sometimes difficult to find some (believable) short-term benefits
•
It is important to emphasize long-term consequences to promote
health behaviors and future-oriented mindset
•
How to make a future-oriented message persuasive for presentoriented people ?
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Can we put the message in a temporal context that improve its
persuasive impact ?
•
Can we go beyond the mismatch between message content and
individuals dispositions by establishing a match between context and
dispositions ?
Aims of the study
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To test the impact of an induced temporal context on the
persuasive impact of a health-promotion message
•
By using a real message and conditions
•
To test whether a fit between situation and message can go
beyond the unfit between dispositional time orientation and the
message
•
Then, present-oriented people could be more influenced by a
future oriented message when presented in a present-oriented
context.
Procedure
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•
Experimental study design
Four steps:
o Measure of individuals time orientation (CFC scale)
• “I often consider how things might be in the future and try to influence
those things with my day to day behavior,” (1 extremely characteristic
to 5 extremely uncharacteristic)
• Presented as unrelated to the second study
o Induction of a temporal context
• By presenting the study timelines and objectives as short-term or longterm focused
o Presentation of the message (future-oriented )
• By an assistant introduced as a health educator
• Participants were encouraged to listen cautiously the message in order
to give their evaluation
o Measures of message reception
• Overall impression of the message (pleasant, easy to understand,
disturbing…)
• Willingness to perform the promoted behavior (seeking information on
cannabis)
• On 1 to 7 scales (not at all to extremely)
• Recall of risks evoked
Induction
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"Thank you for agreeing to participate in our research on young people's
health, which will last a few days (vs. a few years). Its objective is to meet
soon now (vs. in the future) the challenges posed by health in the
present (vs. future). It is essential that researchers work hard to provide
immediate (vs. durable) solutions to problems that raise questions for
today (vs. for years to come). This is why your participation is so
important, to contribute to the immediate (vs. future) evolutions our
results will allow for. Research is really for the present (vs. future). Your
participation take place in this short (vs. Long) term. "
The chosen campaign
•
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A campaign on cannabis use
Promoting information seeking on risks related to cannabis use
•
•
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High prevalence of cannabis use in France (Lifetime 30,6%)
Students are target population (Lifetime 33%)
It was repeatedly evidenced that TP is related to cannabis use
(Apostolidis & al, 2006; Fieulaine & Martinez, 2011)
•
A future-focused message (long term risks and benefits)
o
o
o
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Describe cannabis
Details the risks of regular consumption
Promote information seeking for self and others
Oral presentation in small groups using a slideshow
Sample, checks, analyse
•
Sample : 155 students from UoL (37
•
Randomized sampling :
Mage = 20,36)
o Three groups composed of low- and high-CFC subjects (median split)
• Without induction (N=52)
• Present-oriented induction (N=51)
• Future-oriented induction (N=52)
o
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men et 118 women, 18 to 30 years old,
No significant differences between groups for CFC and substance use
Manipulation:
o
Study was considered as more important for the immediate present in the present
induction condition, and more important for the future in the future induction
condition
•
In control condition, high CFC subjects report more positive attitudes
towards the message and greater intention to perform the
promoted behavior than low CFC subjects
•
We conducted 2 (induction: present of future) X 2 (CFC: high or low)
ANOVAs
Results
Intention of information seeking
(F (1,96) = 9.88, p <.01)
Recalled risks
F(1,97)=6,51; p=.01
Deserve diffusion
F(1,97)=7,04; p<.009
Willingness to diffuse
F(1,96)=6,84; p=.01
« Easy to understand »
F(1, 97)=4,24; p<.05
« Feeling involved/concerned »
F(1,96)=4,53; p=.03
A replication study
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Aims:
o To replicate these results in another sample
o To test the impact of induced context using a present-oriented
message
o To explore potential mediators of the contextual effect
•
•
•
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Same procedure
Adding conditions with present-focused message
Larger samples (N=376; >= 60 per condition)
Measures of self-esteem, feeling of inclusion, and fear
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No effect appeared with the present-oriented message,
largely rejected (negative evaluations, negative feelings,
disturbing)
Replicated effects…
With the future-oriented message:
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•
•
•
•
•
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Intention to share with others (F=3,25; p=.04)
Number of risks recalled (F=3,20; p=.04)
Deserve diffusion (F=4,14; p=.01)
Easy to believe (F=4,32; p=.01)
Easy to understand (F=3,63; p=.02)
Feeling concerned (F (1, 127)=2,79; p<.10
Feelings of being involved in the situation (F=7,18; p=.001)
Discussion
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Temporal context established prior to the diffusion of a future-oriented
message have an impact on individuals sensitivity
A present oriented context improve sensitivity of present-oriented
individuals, but decrease sensibility of future oriented individuals
Suggest a « fit » effect (Lee & Higgins, 2009), rather than a induction of a
time orientation (Cheng & al. 2011)
Some findings suggest that induction have an effect on feelings of social
inclusion
A present oriented message is less well evaluated than a future oriented
one
•
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Results are only partially replicated
Behavioral measures are missing
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Future lab and field studies are needed
Thanks for your attention
nicolas.fieulaine@univ-lyon2.fr