Mechanisms and effects of persuasive sleep hygiene promotion messages for body weight control

• Autores: Vargas-Rosero, Elizabeth, Igartua, Juan-José
• Formato: artículo
• Fecha de Publicación: 2024
• Institución: Universidad de Piura
• Repositorio: Revista de Comunicación
• Lenguaje: español
• OAI Identifier: oai:revistas.udep.edu.pe:article/3321
• Enlace del recurso: https://revistadecomunicacion.com/article/view/3321
• Nivel de acceso: acceso abierto
• Materia: persuasión; comunicación para la salud; investigación experimental; análisis de procesos condicionales; sobrepeso; obesidad; higiene del sueño; persuasion; health communication; experimental research; conditional process analysis; overweight; obesity; sleep hygiene

Healthy behaviors have traditionally been promoted through persuasive messages that provide information about figures or arguments and are designed with an openly persuasive objective. However, other strategies have recently been established, such as the use of narrative messages and mixed formats (which combine information and tell a story). The evidence is not conclusive about the efficacy of these three modalities of persuasion (informational, narrative, and mixed) nor about the mechanisms responsible. Methodology: Two experiments were carried out that compared the effects of the three modalities of persuasive messages mentioned and that were designed to promote sleep hygiene as a factor in controlling body weight. In addition, the role of involvement with the theme of the message and the need for cognition were considered as possible moderator variables. Results: It was observed that the informational message exerted significant indirect effects on the perceived effectiveness of the message, beliefs, and behavioral intention through the self-reference mechanism. In contrast, the narrative and mixed messages owed their persuasive effectiveness to emotional activation, narrative transport, and identification with the protagonist. Conclusions: This paper advances knowledge about persuasion and the most effective strategies to design campaigns to control body weight through the promotion of sleep hygiene.