Publication
Title
The facts or the story? It takes both to sensitize people about unknown health hazards
Author
Abstract
Communicating about new or unknown health risks is challenging because it requires audiences to engage with and process novel and often complex health information. This study examines how texts can convey awareness and increase knowledge about health risks people are unaware of. The focus is on how text genre (narrative, expository, and mixed-genre) affects relevant emotional (arousal, transportation) and cognitive outcomes (knowledge and risk severity), measured using both online (electrodermal activity) and offline self-report measures. Mixed-effects model analyses revealed that narrative texts exhibit the highest self-reported arousal, transportation, and risk severity. Additionally, transportation mediates the relationship between text genre and risk severity. Ultimately, mixed-genre texts produced significantly higher arousal peaks and confidence ratings on knowledge posttests compared to expository texts. Taken together, the findings suggest that narrative texts perform better at raising awareness, whereas mixed-genre texts seem more effective in learning. The implications for health risk communication are discussed.
Language
English
Source (journal)
Journal of health communication. - Bristol, 1997, currens
Publication
Philadelphia : Taylor & francis inc , 2024
ISSN
1081-0730 [print]
1087-0415 [online]
DOI
10.1080/10810730.2023.2290549
Volume/pages
29 :2 (2024) , p. 107-118
ISI
001122792100001
Pubmed ID
38083857
Full text (Publisher's DOI)
Full text (publisher's version - intranet only)
UAntwerpen
Faculty/Department
Research group
Project info
A Tale of Two Processes. The dynamic interplay between emotion and cognition when learning from texts.
Publication type
Subject
Affiliation
Publications with a UAntwerp address
External links
Web of Science
Record
Identifier
Creation 09.01.2024
Last edited 29.02.2024
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