Table 5.
Believability, convincingness, and personal relevance scores by statement characteristics
| Statement characteristic | Believability mean (SD) | Convincingness mean (SD) | Personal relevance mean (SD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Message type | |||
| Positive frame (n = 978) | 3.23 (1.18)a | 3.10 (1.19)a | 2.76 (1.20)a |
| Fear appeal (n = 2055) | 3.15 (1.14) | 3.01 (1.15) | 2.68 (1.15) |
| Numerical evidence (n = 986) | 3.05 (1.19) | 2.96 (1.21) | 2.63 (1.23) |
| Message wording | |||
| ‘Increases risk of cancer’ (n = 994) | 3.15 (1.19)b | 3.02 (1.18)b | 2.66 (1.23) |
| ‘Can cause cancer’ (n = 989) | 3.06 (1.19) | 2.92 (1.19) | 2.58 (1.22) |
| Cancer specificity | |||
| General (n = 1964) | 3.18 (1.15)c | 3.05 (1.16)c | 2.76 (1.20)c |
| Specific (n = 1817) | 3.12 (1.16) | 2.99 (1.16) | 2.64 (1.18) |
aMean for positive frame message type significantly different to mean for fear appeal and numerical evidence message types.
bMean for ‘increases risk’ wording significantly different to mean for ‘can cause risk’ wording.
cMean for general statements significantly different to mean for specific statements.