Citation

Ward NJ, Finley K, Townsend A, Scott BG. Transp. Res. F Traffic Psychol. Behav. 2021; 80: 250-259.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2021, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.trf.2021.04.013

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Psychological reactance to persuasive messages can undermine and contradict the goals of those messages. This study examined the effect of message characteristics (forcefulness and framing) on psychological reactance to traffic safety messages that promoted safe behavior (seat belt wearing) and prohibited risky behavior (distracted driving) in terms of threat appraisal, emotional reaction, and message attitude. The study also included perceiver characteristics (reactance proneness, behavior attitude, and risk-taking propensity). Using a within-subject design, subjects completed an online experiment that presented short traffic safety messages followed by questions that measure psychological reactance. The results demonstrated that forceful messages could increase psychological reactance. However, the perceiver characteristics were often significant as covariates affecting this relationship. The study concludes that the design of effective traffic safety messages must consider both the characteristics of the message content and the characteristics of the message audience.

Language: en