Exploring the Effects of Motivational Orientation On Compliance with Loss-Framed and Gain-Framed Cancer Screening Messages

Theoretical Background and research questions/hypothesis: The aim of the present study is to determine what health messages are most persuasive in increasing thyroid cancer awareness and testing among young adults who were exposed as children to cancer-inducing radioactive iodine (I-131) released following the Chernobyl accident in 1986. In the past, loss-framed messages have generally been found to be more effective for changing detection behaviors (Banks, Salovey, Greener, Rothman, 1995).  Individuals’ motive propensities have been found to interact with the nature of the message framing (i.e., gain and loss frames) on health-related behavioral choices. Individuals can differ in the extent to which they are: (a) approach oriented (inclined to approach for potential gain that maps onto the brain’s Behavioral Activation System) and this is measured by the BAS scale or (b) avoid oriented (inclined to avoid risks and losses that maps onto the brain’s behavioral Inhibition System) and this is measured by the BIS scale (Gray, 1990). The general finding in past research is that messages (loss, gain) that are congruent with the participants’ propensities (more loss or gain salient) are more effective for changing health behaviors, which is called the “message congruency” effect (Mann, Sherman, Updegraff, 2004). Based on the above it was hypothesized that (a) a loss-framed message would yield higher intention to get screened for thyroid cancer than a gain-framed message; and (b) when a message is framed in terms of losses, avoidance-oriented individuals will have higher intent to get tested than approach-oriented individuals, and when a message is framed in terms of gains, approach-oriented individuals will have higher intent to get tested than avoidance-oriented individuals.

Methods: An experimental study was conducted to systematically examine the interacting effects of motivational orientation and the nature of the framing of the message on intent to seek thyroid cancer screening for a sample of 150 Ukrainians at risk of radiation-induced thyroid cancer.

Results: Although past research suggests that a loss-framed message might be more effective for promoting cancer detection, there was no evidence in the current work for such a main effect for a loss-framed message. The intervention was effective across frames in producing a change in intention to get tested.

Conclusions: The pattern of findings found here argues that to change health behaviors both individual propensities and the nature of the message framing must be concurrently considered. Namely, those individuals in the gain-framed, but not in the loss-framed condition, showed enhanced intent to get tested when they had both lower levels of avoidance motivational disposition and higher levels of approach disposition. Individuals high in avoidance motivation responded less favorably to both gain and loss-framed messages than low-BIS participants. Additional findings are discussed.

Implications for research and/or practice: These research findings have applied implications (e.g., for targeting populations for health behaviors globally) and theoretical implications (e.g., how levels of avoid and approach motivation may combine with message framing to impact behavior change).