JOINT CCCAHP SEMINAR - The role of impulsivity in persuasiveness of narrative and non-narrative messages promoting healthy eating for young people. Seminar

Event details

Impulsivity has been identified as a potential risk factor for unhealthy diet in adolescence. The use of narratives (e.g., testimonials or personal stories) in public health appeals has been found to facilitate the adoption of health-related behaviour, but is under-explored in adolescent populations. In my PhD research programme four studies examined how a key aspect of impulsivity, negative urgency, moderated the effects on adolescents’ fruit and vegetable consumption and reduced unhealthy snacking of narrative and non-narrative messages. First two studies showed that the effectiveness of narrative and non-narrative health messages may depend on adolescents’ level of impulsivity, with narratives being persuasive for those low in impulsivity and non-narratives for those high in impulsivity. Further studies investigated the mechanisms underpinning these persuasive effects and demonstrated that the effects of narrative and non-narrative messages are mediated by different cognitive processes depending on individual differences in impulsivity. Those low in impulsivity are transported (emotionally absorbed) into a narrative message and those high in impulsivity are engaged in an active elaboration of arguments presented in a non-narrative message.