| Though a considerable amount of research has analyzed the two approaches to message framing (news and cognitive framing), no studies have explicitly examined the effects of combining both formats in one persuasive message. In addition, the influence of discrete emotions on framing effects has largely been ignored in the framing literature. Further, previous findings of the moderating role of message recipients' need for cognition and personal relevance on outcomes appear contradictory and need reconciling. Thus, this dissertation addresses these issues by examining how the interaction of message frames, discrete emotions, and individual characteristics influences protection responsibility perceptions, message elaboration, risk estimates, and behavioral intentions in the context of a bioterrorist threat.;Undergraduates (N = 460) were randomly assigned to one of three emotion priming conditions (anxiety vs. pride vs. neutral affect). After the emotion manipulation, they were randomly assigned to read one of four framed messages (episodic vs. thematic, loss vs. gain) that discussed previous bioterrorist attacks and recommended getting vaccinated in the eventuality of a smallpox attack. Need for cognition (NFC) and perceived knowledge about terrorism and health threats were measured a week before the experiment, and personal relevance, protection responsibility perceptions, depth of cognitive processing, risk estimates of future negative events, and intentions to get vaccinated against smallpox were measured immediately after the participants had read the messages. A week later, follow-up behavioral intentions and information seeking behavior were assessed.;The results suggest that participants who received emotion primes were largely unaffected by news or cognitive frames or a combination of both frame types. Also, no significant differences in outcomes emerged between the anxiety or pride conditions. Further, perceived knowledge, NFC, and personal relevance failed to interact with cognitive frames to impact outcomes. Yet, additional analyses suggested that participants' emotions may have overwhelmed any framing effects that would emerge under conditions of more neutral affect. Theoretical and practical implications for the study's findings are provided, including the role of both receiver emotion and schema development on message framing effects. |
