The Effects of Regulatory Fit and Presentation Order of Health Messages in Countering Unhealthy Food Advertising's Influence on Attitudes and Intentions to Eat Healthily (Top Student Paper)

• In Event: Top Papers in Health Communication

Abstract

This research seeks to investigate the effectiveness of health messages in countering unhealthy food advertising’s influence on attitudes and intentions to eat healthily. Guided by a theoretical framework anchored in the regulatory fit theory, a quasi-experiment was conducted to test for the effects of regulatory fit and the presence of primacy effects when two sets of health messages were presented alongside an unhealthy food commercial on television. The health messages were crafted to match either the individuals’ prevention or promotion regulatory orientation, and presented before and after a fast food commercial. Findings revealed significant three-way interaction effects for both prevention- and promotion-fit and provides support for the moderating influence of presentation order on regulatory fit. The study highlights the importance of message congruency and presentation order of health messages on intentions to eat healthily and presents their implications for public health policy and intervention.

Authors

• Su Lin Yeo, Singapore Management University

• May O. Lwin, Nanyang Technological U

• Ying-yi Hong, Nanyang Technological U