scholarly journals Message Design Choices Don't Make Much Difference to Persuasiveness and Can't Be Counted On—Not Even When Moderating Conditions Are Specified

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel J. O'Keefe ◽  
Hans Hoeken
Keyword(s):  
Prediction Intervals ◽  
Effect Sizes ◽  
Message Design ◽  
Persuasive Message ◽  
Research And Practice ◽  
Effective Option ◽  
Narrative Format

Persuaders face many message design choices: narrative or non-narrative format, gain-framed or loss-framed appeals, one-sided or two-sided messages, and so on. But a review of 1,149 studies of 30 such message variations reveals that, although there are statistically significant differences in persuasiveness between message forms, it doesn't make much difference to persuasiveness which option is chosen (as evidenced by small mean effect sizes, that is, small differences in persuasiveness: median mean rs of about 0.10); moreover, choosing the on-average-more-effective option does not consistently confer a persuasive advantage (as evidenced by 95% prediction intervals that include both positive and negative values). Strikingly, these results obtain even when multiple moderating conditions are specified. Implications for persuasive message research and practice are discussed.

The Oxford Encyclopedia of Health and Risk Message Design and Processing

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Social Determinants Of Health ◽  
Social Determinants ◽  
Scientific Knowledge ◽  
Partial Information ◽  
Message Design ◽  
Communication Research ◽  
Research And Practice ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Integrated Approaches ◽  
Programs Of Study

134 scholarly articlesThis Encyclopedia has been compiled as an up-to-date and comprehensive theoretically guided work in health and risk communication. Research and practice dedicated to communicating about health and risk to lay audiences grows exponentially with the availability of scientific knowledge on the subject. This work seeks to ensure that what is communicated is not only scientifically accurate but also avoids any partial information or overemphasis of particular features that result in beliefs or actions that may result in personal or societal harms.The Encyclopedia examines, among others: • message exposure and reach • message recipient sociodemographics • normative and integrated approaches • cognitive- and affect-based motivational processes • social determinants of health and riskMore than 150 scholars from around the globe examined the overarching topic from the lens of multiple disciplines and eras of thought. Novel insights emerge from systematic case studies used to illustrate some of these principles in practice, while gaps in existing research generate recommendations for future programs of study and practice.

Confidence Intervals

2009 ◽  
Vol 217 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geoff Cumming ◽  
Fiona Fidler
Keyword(s):  
Confidence Interval ◽  
Confidence Intervals ◽  
Null Hypothesis ◽  
Prediction Intervals ◽  
Effect Sizes ◽  
Significance Testing ◽  
Null Hypothesis Significance Testing ◽  
P Values ◽  
Standardized Effect Sizes ◽  
Mainstream Science

Most questions across science call for quantitative answers, ideally, a single best estimate plus information about the precision of that estimate. A confidence interval (CI) expresses both efficiently. Early experimental psychologists sought quantitative answers, but for the last half century psychology has been dominated by the nonquantitative, dichotomous thinking of null hypothesis significance testing (NHST). The authors argue that psychology should rejoin mainstream science by asking better questions – those that demand quantitative answers – and using CIs to answer them. They explain CIs and a range of ways to think about them and use them to interpret data, especially by considering CIs as prediction intervals, which provide information about replication. They explain how to calculate CIs on means, proportions, correlations, and standardized effect sizes, and illustrate symmetric and asymmetric CIs. They also argue that information provided by CIs is more useful than that provided by p values, or by values of Killeen’s prep, the probability of replication.

Writing Characteristics of Students With Learning Disabilities and Typically Achieving Peers

2016 ◽  
Vol 83 (2) ◽  
pp. 199-218 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steve Graham ◽  
Alyson A. Collins ◽  
Hope Rigby-Wills
Keyword(s):  
Learning Disabilities ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Effect Sizes ◽  
Students With Learning Disabilities ◽  
Writing Quality ◽  
Research And Practice ◽  
Students With Ld ◽  
Weighted Effect ◽  
Typically Achieving ◽  
Calculated Average

There is a general consensus that writing is a challenging task for students with learning disabilities (LD). To identify more precisely the extent and depth of the challenges that these students experience with writing, the authors conducted a meta-analysis comparing the writing performance of students with LD to their typically achieving peers. From 53 studies that yielded 138 effect sizes, the authors calculated average weighted effect sizes, showing that students with LD obtained lower scores than their peers on the following writing outcomes: writing quality (–1.06); organization (–1.04); vocabulary (–0.89); sentence fluency (–0.81); conventions of spelling, grammar, and handwriting (–1.14); genre elements (–0.82); output (–0.87); and motivation (–0.42). Implications for research and practice are provided based on these findings.

Lifespan and Developmental Considerations in Health and Risk Message Design

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jon F. Nussbaum ◽  
Amber K. Worthington
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Health Behaviors ◽  
Older Adult ◽  
Developmental Differences ◽  
Message Design ◽  
Theoretical Frameworks ◽  
Persuasive Message ◽  
Formal Caregivers ◽  
Design Theories ◽  
Message Strategies

Health and risk message design theories do not currently incorporate a lifespan view of communication. The lifespan communication perspective can therefore advance theorizing in this area by considering how the fundamental developmental differences that exist within and around individuals of different ages impact the effectiveness of persuasive message strategies. Designing health messages for older adults therefore requires an examination of how theoretical frameworks used in health and risk message design can be adapted to be age sensitive and to effectively target older adults. Additionally, older adults often make health decisions in conjunction with informal caregivers, including their adult children or spouses, and/or formal caregivers. Message design scholars should thus also consider this interdependent influence on health behaviors in older adults. Strategic messages targeting these caregivers can appeal to, for example, a caregiver’s perception of responsibility to care for the older adult. These messages can also be designed to not only promote the older adults’ health but also to alleviate caregiver stress and burden. Importantly, there is an unfounded stereotype that all older adults are alike, and message designers should consider the most beneficial segments of the older adult audience to target.

Effects of Reading Comprehension Interventions for Students with Learning Disabilities

1994 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 223-232 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Talbott ◽  
John Wills Lloyd ◽  
Melody Tankersley
Keyword(s):  
Learning Disabilities ◽  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Study Author ◽  
Experimental Methods ◽  
Effect Sizes ◽  
Students With Learning Disabilities ◽  
Research And Practice ◽  
Comparison Groups

We examined 48 studies of interventions designed to affect the reading comprehension of students with learning disabilities and coded their characteristics and effect sizes. Our analyses revealed that students who received the researchers' experimental methods obtained reading comprehension scores that were higher than those of 87% of students in comparison groups. Strong effects were more likely when students' performance was assessed on lower level comprehension measures, when the study author delivered the interventions, and when the experimental students' performance was compared to that of students who did not receive any special intervention. These results indicate that although effective reading comprehension interventions exist, there are gaps between their use in research and practice.

The Use and Misuse of Classical Statistics: A Primer for Social Workers

2021 ◽  
pp. 104973152110082
Author(s):  
Daniel J. Dunleavy ◽  
Jeffrey R. Lacasse
Keyword(s):  
Social Workers ◽  
Null Hypothesis ◽  
Effect Sizes ◽  
Significance Testing ◽  
Null Hypothesis Significance Testing ◽  
P Values ◽  
Research And Practice ◽  
Classical Statistics ◽  
Frequentist Statistics ◽  
Common Misconceptions

In this article, we offer a primer on “classical” frequentist statistics. In doing so, we aim to (1) provide social workers with a nuanced overview of common statistical concepts and tools, (2) clarify ways in which these ideas have oft been misused or misinterpreted in research and practice, and (3) help social workers better understand what frequentist statistics can and cannot offer. We begin broadly, starting with foundational issues in the philosophy of statistics. Then, we outline the Fisherian and Neyman–Pearson approaches to statistical inference and the practice of null hypothesis significance testing. We then discuss key statistical concepts including α, power, p values, effect sizes, and confidence intervals, exploring several common misconceptions about their use and interpretation. We close by considering some limitations of frequentist statistics and by offering an opinionated discussion on how social workers may promote more fruitful, responsible, and thoughtful statistical practice.

When is it OK to Joke? Adding humor to fear-based colonoscopy screening messages may increase compliance

2020 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 581-602
Author(s):  
Nick Carcioppolo ◽  
Aurora Occa ◽  
Elena V. Chudnovskaya
Keyword(s):  
High Frequency ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Fear Appeals ◽  
Message Design ◽  
Fear Appeal ◽  
Cancer Worry ◽  
Online Experiment ◽  
Persuasive Message ◽  
Response Efficacy ◽  
Colonoscopy Screening

AbstractLarge scale campaigns frequently use humor to increase compliance with colonoscopy screening recommendations. Problematically, we know little about how humor functions to influence screening. This study seeks to understand whether and how messages framed using humor appeals function differently from those using fear appeals to increase colonoscopy intentions. An online experiment (N = 186) was conducted comparing colonoscopy screening messages framed with a fear appeal and mixed humor/fear appeal. The addition of humor was more effective among those with high frequency of cancer worry, whereas the fear appeal resulted in significantly higher response efficacy, which was in turn associated with increased colonoscopy intentions. These results begin to describe situations in which intervention messages framed with a mixed humor/fear appeal may be more or less effective than interventions framed with fear appeals alone. Practical and theoretical implications for persuasive message design are discussed.

Machine learning as an effective paradigm for persuasive message design

2020 ◽  
Vol 54 (3) ◽  
pp. 1023-1045
Author(s):  
Moti Zwilling ◽  
Shalom Levy ◽  
Yaniv Gvili ◽  
Peter Dostal
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
Message Design ◽  
Persuasive Message
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