Promoting COVID-19 Vaccination: The Interplay of Message Framing, Psychological Uncertainty, and Public Agency as a Message Source

The study examines how framing, psychological uncertainty, and agency type influence campaign effectiveness in promoting coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines. A 2 (gain vs. loss frame) × 2 (high vs. low uncertainty) × 2 (national vs. local agency) between-subjects experiment was conducted among Houston residents ( N = 382). Findings revealed that a loss frame was more effective among participants primed with high uncertainty through a thought-listing task; however, it was less persuasive under conditions of low uncertainty due to increased psychological reactance. Moreover, there was an interaction effect between uncertainty and agency type on vaccine beliefs. The study contributes to the framing literature by identifying psychological uncertainty as a moderator and provides useful suggestions for vaccine message design.

Emoji Your Story: The Advertising Effectiveness of Emoji-Based Narratives

Emojis are often used as single symbols to express emotions. Moreover, they serve as paralanguage in mass media and digital communication. Emojis are also used to tell narratives in advertising. Thus far, the latter usage of emojis has not been investigated. In two studies, we investigated the effectiveness of emoji-based narratives compared with textual narratives. Based on the data obtained from a thought-listing task, we found that consumers focus on solving the emoji puzzle when emojis are presented, whereas textual narratives are seldom replicated in such detail and induce additional thoughts about product features. We found the following five mediating effects: emoji-based narratives influence brand attitudes and the propensity to follow recommendations (provided in social-marketing campaigns) through 1. higher levels of narrative transportation, 2. higher perceptions of ad originality, 3. lower message comprehensibility, 4. stronger curiosity, and 5. lower perceptions of brand/organization trustworthiness. In total, emoji puzzles proved to be advantageous compared with textual narratives, with one exception: if the ad promoted advice that had no immediate and direct relevance for to the consumers’ lives (e.g., avoiding the use of animal-tested cosmetics and contributing to the preservation of the Amazon rainforest), the participants showed a low propensity to solve the emoji puzzle.

An Investigation of Affective Reactions to the First-Time Administration of an English Oral Elicited Imitation Test and Oral Narrative Test

As some language tests may be more anxiety-provoking than others, anxiety, other affective reactions, and related perceptions evoked by the English oral elicited imitation test (EI), a sentence repetition task measuring the implicit knowledge of grammar in a way not resembling natural communication, were investigated during first-time administration by means of a 10-point rating scale and a thought-listing tool. Because anxiety and other emotions cannot be interpreted in absolute terms, the same reactions induced by a special type of an English oral narrative test (ON) were investigated for comparison. A quantitative and qualitative analysis revealed EI to be more anxiety-provoking than ON as it created considerably higher levels of tension and worry. The possible causes include the perception of EI as very difficult, the uncertainty and confusion generated by the oral nature of its instruction and stimuli, and lack of an openly declared focus. Careful administration of EI is recommended to reduce anxiety and unfavorable perceptions. Other, much less frequent affective reactions to the tests and perceptions included satisfaction, curiosity, excitement, hope, confusion, interest, boredom, uncertainty, and concentration.

When Inner Speech and Imagined Interactions Meet

Imagined interactions (IIs) occur when individuals recall past conversations with others as well as anticipate future ones. IIs intersect with the concept of inner speech, yet little is known about what elements IIs and inner speech share as well as how they differ. Information is offered about both Imagined Interaction Theory and inner speech, followed by a discussion pertaining to how they interact with other inner experiences. Results based on self-reported inner speech using a Thought Listing procedure are also presented. Two main conclusions are reached: (a) IIs constitute mental activities that do include one type of inner speech but which recruit additional components absent in the latter. (b) Inner speech includes IIs, but also encompasses many other topics and functions not present in, or served by, IIs. Consequently, inner speech and IIs ought not to be equated.

Neutralizing the Effect of Political Worldviews by Communicating Scientific Agreement: A Thought-Listing Study

Messages emphasizing scientific agreement are increasingly used to communicate politically polarizing issues. Proponents argue that these messages neutralize the effect of people’s political worldviews due to the neutral scientific character of the message. Yet this argument has not undergone extensive testing. Addressing this, we measured participants’ thoughts on scientists featured in messages emphasizing scientific agreement on politically dissonant issues. Our results show that readers often produce less favorable thoughts and moral judgments when scientists agree on a politically dissonant issue. As a result, messages emphasizing scientific agreement on politicized issues might not always neutralize the effect of people’s political worldviews.