Temporal frames, temporal focus, and behavioral expectations: The persuasive impact of near and distant threats.

BACKGROUND: Ultraviolet (UV) photography and photoaging visuals make hidden sun damage visible to the naked eye, granting the potential to create messages that vary in temporal dimensionality. As UV photos depict immediate skin damage, the photo communicated that exposure in sun causes invisible damage to the young truck driver (near temporal frame) and visible damage (e.g., wrinkles) to the old truck driver (distant temporal frame). OBJECTIVE: The current study examines the moderating effects of loss/gain frames and temporality variables on the relationship between temporal framing and sun safe behavioral expectations. METHOD: U.S. adults (N = 897) were assigned to a 2 (near/distant temporal frame) × 2 (gain/loss frame) between-participants experiment. RESULTS: The loss frame triggered greater fear compared to the gain frame, this fear forms an indirect path where loss frames increase fear and fear increases changes in sun safe behavioral expectations. Participants exposed to the distant frame had increased behavior expectations if either of the two temporality variables (CFC - future or current focus) were low. Participants with low temporality indicators (i.e., CFC - future, current focus, or future focus) exposed to the gain frame had increased behavior expectations. CONCLUSIONS: The findings demonstrate the potential utility of temporal frames as a tool for designing strategic health messages.

Visual Tailoring and Skin Cancer Prevention: Comparing Personalized, Stock, and Non-Ultraviolet Images.

Past research has demonstrated that ultraviolet (UV) photos - which reveal skin damage as dark patches - can increase preventive behaviors. Emerging camera technology facilitates personalized UV photos for interventions, yet little is known about how personalized photos compare to other visuals and what cognitive or affective mechanism explains their persuasive impact. To engage this research line, the current study compared the impact of personalized UV (PUV), stock UV (SUV), and non-UV (NUV) photos and, to advance theorizing on fear appeals, explored underlying affective mechanisms including physiological fear. A sample of 169 undergraduate students participated in a 3 (Visual conditions: PUV, SUV, NUV) × 2 (Efficacy conditions: No efficacy and Efficacy) between-participants message experiment on a computer equipped with iMotions 6.4 that tracked real-time physiological responses (facial expression and skin conductance). Results demonstrated that PUV skin damage photos produced significantly greater self-reported fear and positive valence (detected by facial expression analysis) than NUV and SUV visuals. Mediation analysis demonstrated that fear had a significant indirect effect on the relationship between exposure to PUV skin damage visuals and behavior expectations.