Mechanisms and effects of persuasive sleep hygiene promotion messages for body weight control

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.26441/RC23.1-2024-3321

Keywords:

persuasion, health communication, experimental research, conditional process analysis, overweight, obesity, sleep hygiene

Abstract

Healthy behaviors have traditionally been promoted through persuasive messages that provide information about figures or arguments and are designed with an openly persuasive objective. However, other strategies have recently been established, such as the use of narrative messages and mixed formats (which combine information and tell a story). The evidence is not conclusive about the efficacy of these three modalities of persuasion (informational, narrative, and mixed) nor about the mechanisms responsible. Methodology: Two experiments were carried out that compared the effects of the three modalities of persuasive messages mentioned and that were designed to promote sleep hygiene as a factor in controlling body weight. In addition, the role of involvement with the theme of the message and the need for cognition were considered as possible moderator variables. Results: It was observed that the informational message exerted significant indirect effects on the perceived effectiveness of the message, beliefs, and behavioral intention through the self-reference mechanism. In contrast, the narrative and mixed messages owed their persuasive effectiveness to emotional activation, narrative transport, and identification with the protagonist. Conclusions: This paper advances knowledge about persuasion and the most effective strategies to design campaigns to control body weight through the promotion of sleep hygiene.

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Author Biographies

Elizabeth Vargas-Rosero, Universidad Nacional de Colombia

Doctora en Comunicación por la Universidad del Norte. Profesora Asociada de la Universidad Nacional de Colombia y Vicedecana Académica de la Facultad de Enfermería. Sus principales líneas de investigación son la comunicación para la salud, la promoción de la salud y la prevención de la enfermedad, y la salud cardiovascular. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2710-4320, evargasr@unal.edu.co

Juan-José Igartua, University of Salamanca

Doctor en Psicología de la Universidad del País Vasco (1996) y Catedrático de Universidad (Full Professor) del área de Comunicación Audiovisual y Publicidad de la Universidad de Salamanca, donde dirige el Observatorio de los Contenidos Audiovisuales (www.ocausal.es). Además, es miembro de la “Academia Europaea: The Academy of Europe” (https://www.ae-info.org), en la sección “Film, Media and Visual Studies". Su investigación se centra en el análisis de los efectos mediáticos (media effects). https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9865-2714, jigartua@usal.es

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Published

01/03/2024

How to Cite

Vargas-Rosero, E., & Igartua, J.-J. (2024). Mechanisms and effects of persuasive sleep hygiene promotion messages for body weight control. Revista De Comunicación, 23(1), 555–581. https://doi.org/10.26441/RC23.1-2024-3321

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