Table 2.
Experiment 1a and 1b: mean scores of the decisions and evaluations in the negative and positive valence and language use (direct vs. indirect) conditions
| Positive valence | Negative valence | Neutrala | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Direct risk is low M (SD) | Indirect risk is not high M (SD) | Direct risk is high M (SD) | Indirect risk is not low M (SD) | Numbers only M (SD) | |
| N = 72 | N = 80 | N = 72 | N = 72 | N = 76 | |
| Cordocentesis | |||||
| Decision | 2.69 (.88) | 2.72 (.93) | 2.10 (.82) | 2.11 (.81) | 2.37 (1.03)b |
| Evaluation of patient mood | 3.19 (1.19) | 3.00 (1.09) | 2.64 (1.01) | 2.76 (1.03) | 2.63 (1.37)c |
| Evaluation of doctor | 9.31 (3.08) | 9.67 (2.54) | 8.40 (2.94) | 8.90 (2.67) | 9.08 (2.91) |
| N = 72 | N = 78 | N = 72 | N = 81 | N = 72 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Echocardiography | |||||
| Decision | 3.72 (.70) | 3.83 (.75) | 3.04 (.99) | 3.18 (1.06) | 3.43 (.84)b |
| Evaluation of patient mood | 4.78 (1.06) | 4.72 (1.18) | 3.78 (1.24) | 3.90 (1.27) | 4.35 (.97)b |
| Evaluation of doctor | 10.49 (2.36) | 10.63 (2.49) | 9.29 (2.76) | 9.01 (2.73) | 9.83 (2.57)c |
Higher numbers indicate higher intention to perform a medical procedure, higher expected mood and more positive evaluation of a doctor
aIn the last column we presented average results for a message without a verbal description. Significant differences between the mean for neutral valence (only numbers) and means for positive valence and negative valence were marked: b—mean for neutral valence significantly higher from the mean of negative value and lower from mean of positive valence with a certainty of p < .05; c—mean for neutral valence significantly lower from mean of positive valence and does not differ from mean of negative valence with a certainty of p < .05