When to Accentuate the Negative: The Effects of Perceived Efficacy and Message Framing on Intentions to Perform a Health-Related Behavior

The authors explore the relationship between perceived efficacy, depth of processing, and message framing. They conduct two experiments on varying health-related issues: sexually transmitted disease and skin cancer. In both studies, the authors demonstrate that a low efficacy condition (i.e., when it is uncertain that following the recommendations will lead to the desired outcome) motivates more in-depth processing. They then show that when subjects process in-depth, negative frames are more persuasive than positive ones. In contrast, a high efficacy condition generates less effortful message processing in which positive and negative frames are equally persuasive.