Human Imagery and Psychological Reactance in Persuasive Health Messages

Although mass-mediated persuasive messages often feature images of people, their impacts are surprisingly understudied. We tested whether attributes of human imagery influence psychological reactance to a health promotion PSA, either alone or combined with language style. Participants ( N = 1,100) viewed a message promoting sun safety that contained a forceful (vs. courteous) appeal and featured a model with forceful (vs. neutral) body language. The model’s physical characteristics (gender and skin tone) also varied. Both forceful text and forceful body language indirectly lowered protective behavioral intentions via reactance, and male-model messages had this effect for female participants. Our findings demonstrate the potential for features of human imagery to inadvertently hinder persuasion. Study results also highlight the value in measuring perceived visual freedom threat alongside traditional reactance measures. We discuss implications for reactance theory and measurement and highlight important directions for research on reactance to visuals.