Framing Antismoking Message –
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PSAs. Affect items in this present study were compounded across the instances of
messages and tested for their reliabilities in forming affect scales.
The resulting affect scales and corresponding items in this study are: (a) fear (fearful,
afraid, scared; = .92); (b) anger (irritated, angry, annoyed, aggravated, = .91); (c)
sadness (sad, dreary, dismal, = .77); (d) guilt (guilty, ashamed, anxious; = .88); (e)
happiness (happy, cheerful, joyful, = .84); (f) contentment (contented, peaceful, mellow,
tranquil, = .88); and (g) surprise (surprised, startled, astonished, = .90). All the affect
items were combined to create the positive affect measures and negative ones; the scale
of surprise was excluded because it has no valence (Dillard & Peck, 2001).
Attitude toward the Message
To measure attitude toward the message, participants were asked to complete two
seven-point scales (foolish/wise, and bad/good) in response to the question, “I think the
information on this statement is…?” These two items composed of the attitude measure
( = .88).
Perceived Effectiveness Measures
To measure the perceived effectiveness of the message, participants were asked to
answer the question, “I think the short statement that I just read is…” on two seven-point
scales (not convincing/ very convincing, and not persuasive/very persuasive).
Participants were also asked to rate the two sentences, “I think the information can
convince my friends who smoke to quit smoking” and “The statement convince me not to
smoke” on seven-point scales (strongly disagree/strongly agree). These four items
composed of the measure of perceived message effectiveness ( = .78).
Manipulated Variables
There is one manipulated independent variable in this study.
Convention