ABSTRACT
Objectives: This study aims to evaluate the association among framed messages (egoism-, altruism-, and loss-framed information), perceived net benefits (PNB), and willingness to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. Methods: A between-subject survey experiment was designed to assess the above association. A total of 1,316 individuals were included in this study. The participants were randomly assigned to one control group (receiving non-framed information) and three experimental groups (receiving egoism-, altruism-, and loss-framed information). The participants then reported their vaccination willingness and perceived effectiveness and side effects of vaccination. PNB was determined by subtracting the perceived side effects from perceived effectiveness. Results: Compared with the control group, participants in the experimental groups exhibited stronger vaccination willingness. Higher PNB levels were associated with enhanced vaccination willingness. However, only loss-framed messages indirectly affected vaccination willingness through PNB. Conclusion: PNB can mediate the impact of message framing on vaccination willingness. However, the mediation effect of PNB was only found in the relationship between loss-framed messages and vaccination willingness. Copyright © 2023 Li, Gong, Tang and Zhou.
ABSTRACT
A survey experiment was conducted that exposed Dutch citizens to different scenarios that either emphasized the gains or the losses regarding the number of victims or the economic damage caused by SARS-CoV-2. Replicating prospect theory in an ecologically valid crisis context, we found that gain frames promoted risk-aversive preferences, whereas loss frames increased support for risk-seeking alternatives. We further demonstrate the effect's conditionality: Framing effects are strongest for health compared to economic scenarios and most pronounced when the type of intervention entails the highest risk associated with the respective domain. Theoretically, we show that the strongest media effects occur as an interplay between emphasis and equivalence framing effects, which underlines the need for media effects research to integrate both framing elements rather than studying them separately.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE: Vaccination is an efficient public health strategy for controlling infectious diseases like the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, this study evaluates the effect of gain-framed, loss-framed, and altruism messages on willingness to get a COVID-19 vaccine and confirms the best strategy for promoting vaccination. METHODS: Herein, we designed an online survey experiment, including a control (exposure to non-framed information) and three experimental (exposure to gain-framed, loss-framed, or altruistic messages) groups, to assess the vaccination willingness. All participants (n = 1316) were randomly assigned into one of the four groups. RESULTS: The individuals exposed to gain-framed, loss-framed, or altruism messages exhibited a higher willingness to get a COVID-19 vaccine than those exposed to non-framed information. Moreover, the loss-framed information effect on vaccination willingness was more substantial than the other two messages. However, no significant difference was observed between the gain-framed and altruism messages. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that a loss-framed information dissemination strategy could be preferable to motivate vaccination willingness against COVID-19.