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Soveri A, Karlsson LC, Mäki KO, Holford D, Fasce A, Schmid P, Antfolk J, Karlsson L, Karlsson H, Nolvi S, Karukivi M, Lindfelt M, Lewandowsky S. Trait reactance as psychological motivation to reject vaccination: Two longitudinal studies and one experimental study. Appl Psychol Health Well Being 2024; 16:597-614. [PMID: 37942873 DOI: 10.1111/aphw.12506] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2023] [Accepted: 10/17/2023] [Indexed: 11/10/2023]
Abstract
Anti-science attitudes can be resilient to scientific evidence if they are rooted in psychological motives. One such motive is trait reactance, which refers to the need to react with opposition when one's freedom of choice has been threatened. In three studies, we investigated trait reactance as a psychological motivation to reject vaccination. In the longitudinal studies (n = 199; 293), we examined if trait reactance measured before the COVID-19 pandemic was related to people's willingness to get vaccinated against COVID-19 up to 2 years later during the pandemic. In the experimental study (n = 398), we tested whether trait reactance makes anti-vaccination attitudes more resistant to information and whether this resistance can be mitigated by framing the information to minimize the risk of triggering state reactance. The longitudinal studies showed that higher trait reactance before the COVID-19 pandemic was related to lower willingness to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Our experimental study indicated that highly reactant individuals' willingness to vaccinate was unaffected by the amount and framing of the information provided. Trait reactance has a strong and durable impact on vaccination willingness. This highlights the importance of considering the role of trait reactance in people's vaccination-related decision-making.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Soveri
- FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
- Centre for Population Health Research, University of Turku and Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland
| | - Linda C Karlsson
- FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
- Centre for Population Health Research, University of Turku and Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland
| | - Karl O Mäki
- Department of Psychology and Speech-Language Pathology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Dawn Holford
- School of Psychological Science, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Angelo Fasce
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Philipp Schmid
- Centre for Language Studies, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Institute for Planetary Health Behavior, Erfurt, Germany
- Health Communication Working Group, Implementation Research, Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Jan Antfolk
- Department of Psychology, Åbo Akademi University, Turku, Finland
| | - Linnea Karlsson
- FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
- Centre for Population Health Research, University of Turku and Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland
| | - Hasse Karlsson
- FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
- Centre for Population Health Research, University of Turku and Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland
- Department of Psychiatry, Turku University Hospital and University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Saara Nolvi
- FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
- Centre for Population Health Research, University of Turku and Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland
- Department of Psychology and Speech-Language Pathology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Max Karukivi
- Department of Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Turku and Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland
| | - Mikael Lindfelt
- Department of Theology, Åbo Akademi University, Turku, Finland
| | - Stephan Lewandowsky
- School of Psychological Science, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
- Department of Psychology, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
- School of Psychological Science, University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
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Yachin M, Duong H. Meaningful Media Experiences and Vaccination Message Communication: An Experimental Study with Vaccine-Hesitant Individuals. JOURNAL OF HEALTH COMMUNICATION 2024; 29:274-283. [PMID: 38590184 DOI: 10.1080/10810730.2024.2339229] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/10/2024]
Abstract
Guided by the eudaimonic media and the health persuasion literature, the current study explores how meaningful emotions elicited from entertainment media exposure decreases anti-vaccination attitudes among vaccine-hesitant individuals. Results of a between-subjects experiment (N = 409) showed that participants who viewed meaningful music videos (vs. neutral videos) and vaccination messages embedded in the user-generated comments reported more empathy, less reactance, and less anti-vaccination attitudes. Multigroup analysis revealed that this association was held for participants who were hesitant about whether they would get fully vaccinated, but not for participants who were determined to not get vaccinated. Theoretical and practical implications were discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mor Yachin
- Department of Communication, College of Arts & Sciences, Georgia State University, Atlanta, USA
| | - Hue Duong
- Department of Communication, College of Arts & Sciences, Georgia State University, Atlanta, USA
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Rains SA, Richards AS. US state vaccine mandates did not influence COVID-19 vaccination rates but reduced uptake of COVID-19 boosters and flu vaccines compared to bans on vaccine restrictions. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121:e2313610121. [PMID: 38359292 PMCID: PMC10895249 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2313610121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2023] [Accepted: 12/11/2023] [Indexed: 02/17/2024] Open
Abstract
During the COVID-19 pandemic, some US states mandated vaccination for certain citizens. We used state-level data from the CDC to test whether vaccine mandates predicted changes in COVID-19 vaccine uptake, as well as related voluntary behaviors involving COVID-19 boosters and seasonal influenza vaccines. Results showed that COVID-19 vaccine adoption did not significantly change in the weeks before and after states implemented vaccine mandates, suggesting that mandates did not directly impact COVID-19 vaccination. Compared to states that banned vaccine restrictions, however, states with mandates had lower levels of COVID-19 booster adoption as well as adult and child flu vaccination, especially when residents initially were less likely to vaccinate for COVID-19. This research supports the notion that governmental restrictions in the form of vaccination mandates can have unintended negative consequences, not necessarily by reducing uptake of the mandated vaccine, but by reducing adoption of other voluntary vaccines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen A Rains
- Department of Communication, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721-0025
| | - Adam S Richards
- Department of Communication Studies, Furman University, Greenville, SC 29613-1000
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Plohl N, Musil B. Trust in science moderates the effects of high/low threat communication on psychological reactance to COVID-19-related public health messages. JOURNAL OF COMMUNICATION IN HEALTHCARE 2023; 16:401-411. [PMID: 38038055 DOI: 10.1080/17538068.2023.2279395] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/02/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND As illustrated by the COVID-19 pandemic, communicating evidence-based health recommendations represents a tremendous challenge; among some recipients, public health messages can cause anger and negative cognitions, also known as psychological reactance, and consequently lead to negative attitudes and low intentions to perform the promoted behavior. The present study investigated the role of message characteristics (i.e. high vs. low freedom-threat messages), individuals' trust in science (i.e. high vs. low trust in science), and their interaction in determining responses to public health messages. METHODS We conducted an experimental study, in which participants (N = 228) with high or low trust in science were exposed to high or low freedom-threat messages promoting mask-wearing to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and regular physical activity. RESULTS We found support for the notion that messages imposing high threat to freedom lead to higher state psychological reactance, and more negative attitudes and behavioral intentions. Moreover, our results showed that trust in science has a main and interaction effect (together with message characteristics) on state reactance, behavioral intentions, and - to a lesser degree - attitudes, in the case of COVID-19, but not physical activity messages. The findings remained the same regardless of controlling for other relevant variables. CONCLUSIONS While our study has some limitations, such as a rather homogeneous sample, a limited number of experimental stimuli, and a relatively artificial experimental environment, it offers some insight into the important role of health communication recipients' trust in science and provides advice on how to communicate health recommendations to skeptics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nejc Plohl
- Department of Psychology, University of Maribor, Maribor, Slovenia
| | - Bojan Musil
- Department of Psychology, University of Maribor, Maribor, Slovenia
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