How Do We Process Nutrition-Related Health Messages? An Online Study
Valerie Rodríguez-Hernández, Daniela Batallas, Vanesa Hidalgo, Alicia Salvador
The present study investigated the perceived persuasiveness of three persuasive strategies —Ethos (authority), Pathos (emotions), and Logos (logic) — in messages focusing on meat consumption. In addition, the relationship between individual characteristics and the persuasive strategies were evaluated. Three hundred and ten participants (mean age = 40.80) completed an online survey assessing messages framed with different persuasive strategies and completing psychological questionnaires. Results showed that Ethos was the most persuasive, followed by Logos and Pathos. Gender differences were revealed, with women, particularly middle-aged and older groups, finding Ethos and Pathos more persuasive than men. No significant variations were observed across age, education, or work status. However, some of the personality traits and coping styles were associated with the strategies. Extraversion and Conscientiousness predicted the perceived persuasiveness of Ethos, while Openness was associated to Logos. Avoidance coping predicted the persuasiveness of Pathos, while Cognitive and Social Support coping were associated with all three strategies. These findings underscore the importance of tailoring persuasive messages that promote more sustainable behaviours to the demographic and psychological characteristics of the target audience. Such an approach increases persuasive efficacy and the involvement of people, to be more informed and convinced of the relevance of a more sustainable future and planet.
Keywords
Nutrition-related health messages, Persuasive strategies, Personality traits, Coping styles.
