Factors Affecting Adherence to Governmental Health Warnings and the Case of Over-the- Counter Cough and Cold Medications (OTCCCM) in Children Under Two - Innovation and Marketing in the Pharmaceutical Industry - page 344

question in the context of vividness—the degree to which a message incorporates
imagery that makes the message come to life. Block and Keller ( 1997 ) examined
vividness in the context of health communications related to sexually transmitted
diseases and skin cancer. They found a preference for vivid over non-vivid material,
but only when participants believed they could follow the recommendations in the
message (high self-effi cacy). Another moderator of the effectiveness of vivid vs.
pallid messages is congruence between the vivid elements and the theme of the
message (Smith and Shaffer 2000 ). Vivid information led to greater recall, as long
as the language was congruent with the message (e.g., describing a smoker as “gasp-
ing desperately for air,” p. 777). Noncongruent vivid information, on the other hand,
impaired recall of the message (e.g., “the nonsmoker's lung capacity is so powerful
that the individual has the ability to infl ate a balloon the size of a cow. The smoker,
on the other hand, can only infl ate a balloon the meager size of a golf ball,” p. 778).
In another study, Lemal and Van den Bulck ( 2010 ) compared narrative messages,
deemed to be more vivid, and nonnarrative messages containing the same informa-
tion with a control non-message condition. Four weeks later, participants exposed to
the narrative message were 2-4 times more likely to have engaged in health promot-
ing actions, compared to participants in the control group. In contrast, participants
exposed to the nonnarrative condition only differed from that of the control group in
that they sought out more information about skin cancer. Avis and colleagues ( 2004 )
found that more women who viewed a videotape promoting mammography had a
mammogram in the preceding year as compared to a group who had received a
pamphlet, but this effect was not signifi cant after controlling for baseline screening
rates in both groups (75 % reported a mammogram in previous year; 90 % in previ-
ous 2 years). Still, this increase was higher than for many other interventions.
Further, the video group showed several longitudinal effects, whereby they became
more likely to report feeling control over getting a mammogram (self-effi cacy), and
the percent of women who believed they had control increased over time. Also, the
video group became more likely to report feeling that mammograms are benefi cial
and assuring. These longitudinal effects are particularly relevant in the context of
the FDA warning, which was issued only once though parents are expected to
adhere indefi nitely. Finally, Keller and Block ( 1997 ) demonstrated the importance
of resource allocation, indicating that irrespective of the vividness of the message,
maximum persuasiveness will be achieved when there is a match between the
resources allocated to the message (presumably high for OTC-CCM given the risk
of life-threatening side effects) and those associated with the message. Thus, in
addition to considering the vividness of the message, government agencies may
need to determine how to achieve this resource match.
As they use large, vivid pictures to illustrate the benefi ts vs. harms of adherence
vs. non-adherence, Sample Warnings A and B epitomize the use of vividness in
communicating the intended health message. Sample Warning D also uses images,
but they are less prominent and do not depict the consequences associated with
adherence or non-adherence (i.e., quitting or continuing to smoke). Still, the images
encourage the recipient to adopt the desired behavior of getting help.